The Five Coolest Walks in Cumbria

As the record temperatures continue I have a confession to make:  I really do NOT get on well with hot weather.  Sunny is fine, but I don't fare well in the heat which makes getting out for a hike in this weather problematic.  I'm fair skinned and burn easily, which also doesn't help, so I have two choices:  stay indoors in a darkened room with all the windows open or find a decent walk which won't fry me to a crisp.  As I get very easily bored the first option doesn't really work for more than a day or so, so plan B it is - and here are my five favourite "keep cool" walks in Cumbria.

PLEASE NOTE:  You know the routine - even on a cool walk ensure you have a decent hat, high SPF cream smothered all over you, long sleeves and plenty of fluids.

Derwent Water

Although it's a good long hike (around 9 miles) to complete a full lap of the lake, it's mostly flat and huge sections of it are in woodland so there are plenty of places to avoid the heat of the sun.  The last time I did it I loaded the rucksack with drinks and snacks and took most of the day over it (hot weather is not the time for speedy hikes!) and I enjoyed plenty of stops along the way.  The other perk to a hike around Derwent Water is that if you decide you've had enough half way around you can jump on the gondola to get back into Keswick.  Perfect!

Armathwaite - River Eden

River Eden

The Eden Valley is one of the most beautiful corners of Cumbria and a stroll along the banks of the Eden is a joy at any time of the year, however during very hot spells it also has the added benefit of being largely shady and that, together with the ever present river, results in a very cool and pleasing hike with plenty of gorgeous views along the way.  (You may recall we recently went headhunting along the River Eden and, if you missed that, it's right here.)

Hampsfell - Grange-over-Sands

Hampsfell Hospice

It may be a hill but the beauty of Hampsfell is that for most of the climb upwards you're walking through the cool woods of Eggerslack.  True, the last section is exposed but by then you've got a cooling breeze and, at the summit, there's the Hospice where you can sit in the shade and catch your breath.  After that there are the dramatic limestone pavements to explore and a long cool descent through either Eggerslack or Charney woods - either way you end up back in the village where there are a plethora of excellent cafes, pubs and pie shops to choose from.

St Bees Cliffs

St Bees Cliffs

What this walk lacks in shade it makes up for with sea breezes, plus it's a great one way walk and those can be hard to come by.  There are regular busses and trains between St Bees and Whitehaven so, whichever one you start from you know there's an easy way back.  One of my favourite walks is to enjoy a nice pub lunch in St Bees before setting off and then arrive into Whitehaven in time for a chippy tea.  Be sure to leave plenty of time for exploring though as there is loads of fascinating history around Whitehaven and a number of excellent museums (including the superb, and much underrated Rum Story)

Duddon Valley

Pretty much every time I write about the Duddon Valley, someone tells me off for "giving away the secret", but it is a spectacular valley and it would be a shame if all of those breathtaking views went to waste!  There are plenty of paths around the valley, most are not too hilly and plenty of them are in the shade.  If you fancy exploring then do the unthinkable - turn left at Torver (where everyone else turns right to get to Coniston), then take the first road on your right (narrow and steep) and follow it until you find the two small car parks.  From the car parks there are paths down through the woods to Appletree Worth and on over to the River Lickle and a beautiful woodland path.


BEFORE YOU GO!  We are lucky enough to make part of our living from writing books - the fun part is writing them and the hard part is selling them. Yes, you can get them all on Amazon too, but we make next to nothing that way - plus if you buy from us we'll be happy to sign them for you.  Just click the pictures below to find out more.  Cheers! 😀

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Picture Perfect?

We are beyond thrilled that Steve's fantastic book "Cumbria in Photographs" is now out - how fabulous is the cover shot?

Although this project was his baby and he spent much of the time working alone, he took some of the shots when we were out together and, for me, one of the things I love most about our books are the memories and the stories behind the photos, things like...

Wordsworth's Daffodils

He took this one just a few months ago and it was the very last photo taken for the book.  He knew he wanted a shot of the daffodils and he'd been over to Glencoyne Bay (the reputed site of the flowers that inspired the poem) several times to see how they were getting on, but The Beast from the East meant everything was late flowering and the book deadline was looming.  Eventually, 2 days before the book had to be delivered to the publisher, we went over together and Steve got the shot, lying on his stomach in a bog.  Worth it though.

Ennerdale Water

This was one of the days that sticks in the memory without the aid of photos.  It was an absolutely stunning day and perfect for hiking - clear, fresh but not too hot.  Steve wanted a couple of good shots of the heather so we headed up onto the open hillside above Ennerdale Water - we knew the heather, the trees and the fells would look fantastic, but we had no idea that there would be pink rocks which really add to the photo.  We spent ages up there, munching our sarnies and enjoying the views.

Boats on Bassenthwaite Lake

Throughout this book Steve had been very keen to show that Cumbria isn't just a county of amazing views but also a county of action and adventure.  Over the past couple of years we've tried our hands at watersports - only kayaking and canoeing - and he wanted to find a way to include this in the book.  We didn't know this event was taking place and stumbled on it by accident while looking for a good shot of Bassenthwaite.  We wandered into the yacht club and I tried to look as if I belonged there while Steve raced around taking photos and getting annoyed at the boats when they weren't quite in the right place.  Luckily his patience eventually paid off.  Or maybe they heard him muttering on the shoreline...

Kelly Hall Tarn

"There's a tarn up there" he says "Where?" says I, "Up there" he says, as he points beyond the edge of a notveryexcitinglooking car park.  Over the years I've learned to trust him on this so dutifully followed him up and, as usual, he was right, there was a tarn up there and it was a cracker.  I really love the Coniston Fells and this view captures them perfectly.  

St Mary's Church, Wreay

I love eccentric things and what could be more eccentric than an Italian basilica in a tiny Cumbrian village?  It was built between 1840 and 1842 under the direction of Sarah Losh and is regarded as being one of the finest historical buildings in the country.  This photo of the apse clearly shows the fossil windows high above the alter - but the church is crammed with amazing artefacts and quirky details and really is well worth a visit.  (As is the Sarah Losh Heritage Centre and trail in the village.  Oh, and the pub does a rather lovely lunch too!)

Approach to Thirlmere Dam

If either, or both, of us are writing a book then you can pretty much guarantee that Thirlmere will be in there as we both love the place.  The day we took this we were out playing with a Skoda Kodiaq and our bikes and really weren't thinking about photos for this book, but because the road was closed the autumn leaves were undisturbed (yes, I'm having a Justin Hayward moment) and the colours were beautiful; far too good to miss so good job Steve had his camera handy.

Fox's Pulpit

I know it sounds obvious but it's not just the location, it's the weather that often makes or breaks a photo.  We'd been out all day taking other shots, with varying degrees of success, and we were heading home when we decided to nip up to Fox's Pulpit to see if we could get anything.  The sun was setting so it was a bit of a race against time following the tiny single track road and dodging tractors along the way.  There is minimal parking but we were lucky and there was no-one else there.  I scampered around taking long shots of the views while Steve perfectly captured the commemorative plaque and the warm glow of the sun on the rocks.

Silloth Sunset

This is another day when we were out playing with a car, this time a Toyota Hilux which Steve was very taken with.  We'd spent the weekend having picnics in the back of it and generally taking it on a Grand Tour of the county and ended up in Silloth.  I'm rather fond of Silloth, it has a very pretty church, a lovely park on the coast and spectacular sunsets.  This was one of those "quick, take the photo before the birds move" shots while we sat on a bench finishing off our flask of tea,  Perfect.

Frozen Bubbles

These were taken on a very cold hike over Place Fell.  There are few finer fells in the Lake District; all of the routes up are interesting and offer glorious views and, with the fell being sat right next to Ullswater, there's always plenty going on down on the lake to keep you amused.  On this particular day we'd taken loads of photos from the summit and were on our way down when Steve spotted these.  In Canada there's a lake called Lake Abraham which is world famous for it's frozen bubbles, but who knew we had our own mini version right here on top of Place Fell?

Hampsfell Hospice

Steve would probably be the first to admit that he's not a morning person - in our books you'll find far more pictures of sunsets than sunrises.  I, on the other hand, am definitely a morning person and can be really annoying about it too. To be fair, on this particular occasion, I had warned him the night before that we'd be getting up early to see the sunrise on a snowy Hampsfell - we knew the snow had fallen overnight and there were clear skies forecast for the next morning - but it still didn't make it any easier.  While I organised flasks of hot coffee and some breakfast sarnies to enjoy while we were up there, Steve cursed and muttered at me - but we knew we had to be up there before the dog walkers to get a footprint free shot.  As you can see we made it - but literally only by about 5 minutes.

If you want to see more you'll find over 120 fantastic photos in the book - we have a VERY small number currently available which you can order directly from us here - if you want, Steve will even sign it for you.

Failing that you can also find it on Amberley (the publisher's) website,  Walking-books.com or, of course, on Amazon.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 21 - Because of the history.

Of course I have to mention the history - we wrote a whole book about the history - we could have written more (and we will!) - and I don't want to  give away everything in the book, but here are a few highlights of Lake District (and Cumbrian) history which deserve the recognition of UNESCO.

Castlerigg Stone Circle (Neolithic)

Hampsfell Hospice (Victorian)

Viking dug out boat - dug out of Kentmere tarn and now in Kendal Museum

The history behind St Bees

Old stone way markers

Fishstones - Cartmel (old market site)

Cartmel Priory

The ancient tradition of gurning!

Wray Castle (Victorian)

Shap Abbey (12th - 15th Century)

Site of Roman settlement Kentmere

Wrengill quarry - Longsleddale

Wainwright

To learn more about the #LakeDistrictBid  please click here - where you can also register your support for the bid with a couple of clicks of your mouse (or prods of your screen).

You can grab a mince pie and a glass of sherry and catch up on all the reasons starting from day 1 - just click here or scroll the column on the right to see what you've been missing.  :-)

Head Above the Clouds

“Inversion, inversion in inversion” I chirped as I bounced up and down on the bed at 6:30am.  You really have to pity Steve at times.  Grabbing some clobber I decided that, for a change, we’d nip up Hampsfell as we’d not seen an inversion over the bay before.  Steve wasn’t so sure, but then he’s never been much of a morning person.

Hampsfell Hospice

I bounced up the fell, full of the joys of spring, but the bounces got slower and further apart as I neared the top and realised we needed to be considerably higher.  Steve emerged from the mist with a face that said he perhaps occasionally missed the quiet and rather more predictable life he enjoyed before he met me.

Bribing him with coffee and the promise of pies from Higginson’s we switched to plan B – head back to the car and aim for Red Screes.

There were no breaks at all in the mist along the A590 and we began to have our doubts but, as we neared the top of Kirkstone Pass the cloud began to thin and out we popped.  We parked up in bright sunshine and began our hike up the fell.  Red Screes is a straightforward hike with steps most of the way and a bit of a scramble towards the top.  By now my early energy levels had dropped and Steve disappeared off ahead to get some shots from the summit.

I caught him up at a small rocky outcrop around Snarker Moss where we set about the coffee and a couple of Scotch Eggs and sat back to take in the views.  I’m a huge fan of trashy “end of the world” disaster movies and sitting above the clouds with just the peaks of the other fells around us reminded me of the scene at the end of “2012” where the sea has covered the globe leaving only the highest peaks in the clear.

We had no other big plans for the day so rather than race around we decided to sit back in the sunshine and watch the clouds as they ebbed and flowed in the valleys below.  The fells were deserted and the only other sound was a skylark singing away as it flew high above us.  The fells are usually such a high energy place so it was lovely to just relax for a few hours up there and take in the views;  I’ll admit I had a quick snooze before we decided it was lunch time and polished off a couple more pies.

By now the inversion had dissipated and the breeze had picked up so we began to make our way back to the car.  We passed several other hikers along the way and part of me felt sorry for them for missing the best part of the day but, if I’m honest, another part was secretly glad we’d had the fells to ourselves for so long.

It was still far too nice a day for rushing around so we paused for a well earned pint and a bowl of chips in the wonderful Kirkstone Pass Inn before finally heading home.  It may not have been the first inversion we’d seen and possibly not even the best, but it was certainly the most relaxing and one we’ll remember for a long time to come.