Crummock Water

Crummock Water

Route: Circuit of Crummock Water

Area: Western Lake District

Date of walk: 4th April 2019

Walkers: Andrew 

Distance: 8.4 miles

Ascent: 800 feet

Weather: Sunny patches

Crummock Water is often overlooked by its sister lake Buttermere – so much the better as it’s equal to Buttermere in beauty, yet the paths are far quieter. It is however a much longer circuit, taking 4 hours or so to complete, almost double the time it takes to walk round Buttermere

I parked as usual in the National Trust car park at Scale Hill and followed the track to the foot of the lake. There was no-one else about, as I’d made an early start. I set off in an anti-clockwise direction as the views down the lake are more extensive in that direction

After reaching the foot of the lake I followed the easy lakeshore path which turns towards Mellbreak and then follows its eastern foot. This section is very juicy in all but the driest weather, and was so today. When I reached Scale Bridge I crossed over Buttermere Dubs and followed the path into Buttermere village. Beyond the village there’s a short road section, and to minimise contact with tarmac I took the path over Hause Point below Rannerdale Knotts. This has the added benefit of offering some superb retrospective views

When I reached the hause I descended and rejoined the Buttermere road. This road section may be avoided by diverting into Rannerdale and taking the path to Cinderdale Common (it would be unthinkable not to visit Rannerdale in May, follow the link to see why). Today I decided instead to carry on along the road 

At Cinderdale Common I turned off the road to join a path leading down to the eastern shore of Crummock Water which I followed back to the foot of the lake. From here I retraced my steps along the track through Lanthwaite Wood back to the start of a wonderful circuit

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)

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