Route: Buttermere circuit
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 5th November 2026
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 5.1 miles
Ascent: 400 feet
Weather: Mostly cloudy
The Buttermere circuit appears many times on this site – more often than any other walk as it’s one of our favourites, which we follow several times a year. It does tend to be busy at peak times, so we always visit out of season and arrive early
We parked as usual in the National Trust car park at Long How and walked through Buttermere village, passing by the Buttermere Court Hotel (formerly The Fish). We followed the path to the foot of the lake and set off around Buttermere in an anti-clockwise direction in order to keep the best views ahead
We continued along the lakeshore path, where the autumn colours in the woodland were showing well, and just beyond the head of Buttermere we turned left to begin the return leg. We crossed Peggy’s Bridge from which there are lovely views looking both ways along Warnscale Beck. After passing through Gatesgarth Farm there followed a short road section before we joined the lakeshore path to the stony beach at Hassness. Beyond Hassness we passed through the short rock tunnel (a torch isn’t needed, but keep your head down if you’re tall). Anyone wearing plimsolls will end up with wet feet as the tunnel is full of puddles at all times of the year. From here we walked back into Buttermere village to end a classic circuit, one of the best low level walks in the country
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)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
The start of the walk as we follow the road into Buttermere village
We follow the path to the foot of the lake
We cross the bridge over Buttermere Dubs
Waterfall in Sour Milk Gill
We follow the path through Burtness Wood...
The main path continues to the right, but we prefer to take the narrower one which keeps to the lakeshore
Fleetwith Pike at the head of Buttermere
Looking back
We continue along the path...
Haystacks on the right
Looking across to Char Cottage, or the White Hut, as we reach the head of Buttermere
Warnscale Beck from Peggy's Bridge...
...and now looking the other way
Herdwick sheep grazing at the head of the lake
Looking back to High Crag and High Stile
We pass through Gatesgarth Farm, with Fleetwith Pike towering overhead
Looking back to Fleetwith Pike again
High Stile
We walk along the stony beach at Hassness...
Autumn colours in the woods at Dalegarth
We walk through the tunnel, made by a former owner of Hassness Estate so that he didn’t need to stray too far from the shore. Torches aren't needed, but mind your head if you're very tall
Looking back
More autumn colours along the way
We follow the path back into Buttermere
We pass by St James' Church and from here it's a short stroll back to the start
