Buttermere

Buttermere

Route: Circuit of Buttermere

Area: Western Lake District

Date of walk: 5th July 2020

Walkers: Andrew

Distance: 5.1 miles

Ascent: 400 feet

Weather: Windy, mostly cloudy with a few bursts of sun

At long last the lockdown imposed as a result of the Covid-19 virus has been relaxed. It’s been over 3 months since I’ve been able to add a new walk to the site, and I was raring to go. I’ve missed some of my old haunts, and so decided to revisit one of my favourites, Buttermere

The circuit of Buttermere appears over 20 times on this site and is one of the classic low level walks in the Lake District. The beauty and accessibility of the walk is both a virtue and a problem, in that the path can be too busy at peak times and if you prefer to walk in relative solitude, then it’s best to choose a quiet day and time. I made an early start and thanks to this only passed by a few other walkers during the course of two hours

I parked in my usual spot, the National Trust car park at Long How. I walked through Buttermere village, passed by the Fish Inn, and followed the path to the foot of the lake. I always walk around Buttermere in an anti-clockwise directions in order to keep the best views ahead. After crossing the new footbridge over Buttermere Dubs I set off along the lakeshore path which leads to the head of Buttermere. I was fortunate today, since my arrival at the head of the lake (possibly the most beautiful section of the walk) coincided with some decent light as patches of sun broke through the clouds 

After crossing Peggy’s Bridge and passing by Gatesgarth Farm I started the return leg along the other shore, following a recently improved path. Following recent heavy rainfall, the level of the lake was unusually high and the path was flooded in one place. I had to resort to a mini scramble up some slippery rocks in order to keep my boots dry. I then passed through the short tunnel in the rocks near Hassness and continued along the lakeshore path. This brought me back into Buttermere village to end a walk which I could never tire of

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

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