Buttermere walk - circuit of Buttermere

Route: Circuit of Buttermere

Area: Western Lake District

Date of walk: 2nd March 2016

Walkers: Andrew

Distance: 5.1 miles

Ascent: 400 feet

Weather: rain and sleet at first, sunny spells later

This walk has appeared on my site 10 times now but it’s one that’s worth repeating again and again, such is its beauty. Changes in the season and the weather make it different each time

Being a creature of habit I parked as usual in the National Trust car park near Buttermere village and set off around the circuit of the lake in an anti-clockwise direction. I’ve no idea why, it just seems the natural way to go

As I left the village and approached the lake the weather was miserable – low cloud, poor visibility, and driving rain and sleet – but gradually conditions improved and by the time I reached the head of Buttermere the sun was shining and visibility was superb. After crossing Peggy’s Bridge and passing by Gatesgarth Farm I started the return leg along the other shore, and as I did so the clouds rolled in and this turned out to be the last of the good light. I then passed through the short tunnel in the rocks near Hassness and followed the sometimes rocky path back into Buttermere village

Last night’s dusting of snow on the fells enhanced the scenery and it was 2 hours well spent in one of lakeland’s most beautiful places

For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box

Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)