Cumbria Way - Carlisle to Keswick (★★★★★)

Looking for some new walks, I stumbled across a description of the Cumbria Way - which promised a lower-level walk through the Lake District, that gives a route through the lakes, but without the whole obsession with wainwrights, and steep scrambles.

This looked right up my street - and looking into it I figured that the most enjoyable way to do it would be to do a northern section running between Carlisle and Keswick, and then a later southern section from Ulverston to Keswick - allowing extra time in Keswick to chill a bit on both walks.

For the northern section - which is the section walked on this particular trip - I had originally figured on walking Carlisle to Caldbeck, and then Caldbeck to Keswick - but looking at the distances, I eventually just figured that I would just walk the whole span in one go. 

This means almost thirty miles of walking lie ahead of me today - but this does save from having two fairly short days along this stretch.

And so today, I'm heading out on the very earliest train of the day, and manage to get into Carlisle at eight-thirty - and am ready to head off on my way. And from here I head west, to joined up with the river near the station.

The beginnings of this walk are not too awe-inspiring - following a well-concreted route along the river - but as we break past the edge of Carlisle, this transitions into the earliest beginnings of countryside, with lots of people out and about on morning walks.

One of the reasons for looking to walk this route in April was to avoid the worst of the rain. October to January are a bit of a rain-fest in the lakes. February to March and June to September have moderate rain for the lakes. But in April and May, the rainfall in the lakes is not so bad (March and June are the best of the other months).

Another good thing about late April - and this one was unexpected - was that this was the time for all the dandelions to be out in flower - and on the cycle route out of Carlisle (heading past Cummersdale) the fields were full of dandelions in full display. 

This made for a very pleasant walk down to Dalston - although if I'm honest, on a second visit I would probably start the walk at Dalston train station, and save on the first 4 miles of walking out of Carlisle (and I'm pretty sure I'll be back again at some point).

Dalston I found to be a very pleasant town - it had an older guy out using a spade to clear the grass off the cycle tracks / footpath, the school was very pleasant and had it's own sheep - and the rest of the village had a lovely park like feel. 

Heading over the river you pass by the old mills, walking down towards Buckabank - and this felt like a really lovely place to live.

From here, this pleasant but populated setting slowly starts to get replaced by a more rural setting - heading off through fields of sheep towards Hawksdale Hall - and whilst the reason for walking the Cumbria Way was to explore the lakes, I was surprised by how much I was enjoying this preamble.

Then in the fields following Lime House School, the first views out towards the lakes start to appear, as I continued to walk through this very pleasant landscape.

First sight of the lakes walking through the fields heading south

By this point I was in a very good mood, and enjoying the day - stopping off briefly to impress some elderly chaps off for a walk with my plans to walk to Keswick (they asked where I was walking to - I was not seeking to show off).

Not too far after Lime House School, Rose Castle comes into view on the right hand side. And as I had a bit of time I Googled it, and it is a castle that has hosted kings over the years, including a visit from Edwards I in 1300 - and it formed part of the defensive line to protect against invasions by the Scots. 

These days if you are after a fancy place to have a wedding it could be yours for a mere £10,000 (and to be fair it probably is a wonderful place for a wedding).

After here, the countryside is not in any way bad, but transitions into fairly standard countryside, and is more forgettable that everything else we have seen today - with the peak of the trip so far having been either side of Lime House School.

Once past Sebergham, the path starts to bend to the west - and before long we start to get better views of the hills to be reached after passing through Caldbeck.

A look across prior to reaching Caldbeck

These views appear via small gaps in the trees and we only get brief tastes of what lies ahead before arriving at Caldbeck.

Caldbeck itself is a pretty village and if you are looking to break this walk into two, this is really the main option for accommodation - with nothing else really being an option from here on until you reach Keswick.

Having navigated through Caldback, the path begins a fairly gradual climb, but the peak in the distance is the route that the path will be taking over the hills - climbing up to the peak at High Pike.

A rather nice view ahead

At Nether Row you pass the last house on the way up, and then its not long before the path takes more of a steeper gradient - and here you just need to set a fairly gentle pace, and settle in for the long-haul - because it will be a little while before the climb stops at the top. 

High Pike is a fell not a mountain, but at 658 meters above sea level it is pretty tall - particularly if your starting point is somewhere as low as Carlisle. 

Mountains are generally over 600 meters, and with Carlisle only being about 30 meters above sea level, it does feel like for the purpose of this walk it could be considered a small mountain? But it's not, so at this point you haven't just climbed a mountain - sorry. 

But as you do reach the top, what you find are some very lovely views out over the surrounding area - and across the peaks beyond.

Looking out to the peaks from the top

This is a very different landscape - and now we are in the rugged, and fairly gnarly Cumbrian Mountains - and this is a very quiet stretch, without many car parks or easy access point.

Instead between here and Keswick there really isn't all that much other than hills, streams and plenty of marshy spots to bury your feet in.

But whilst initially the path is heading directly south on a fairly flat level, at Grainsgill Beck it is time to change direction and start heading downhill into the valley below.

The descent itself is a bit of a scramble, as there are rocks to go around - and even with it having been very dry there is plenty of water around to swallow your feet in. 

But as you start to make your way to the base of the hill, you start to get better views into the valley - and also start to see more sights of the old mines.

Having dropped down into the valley

The mining works here are part of Carrock Mine - which was mining wolfram, which is an ore used to make tungsten (which is a particularly dense and strong metal, with a very high melting point - which makes it useful for electric filaments and munitions).

As it is, the mine has been long disbanded and there are only small hints of its former presence. However, it definitely must have been one of the prettiest mining spots when in operation. And here, I perhaps could be persuaded to become a miner.

After a slightly slow descent, we are now on a very flat and easily walkable path - and this path turns right, and starts to head along the base of the valley towards Keswick. 

This part of the walk is a delight, and although I have tried to limit the photos to the particular highlights, there is almost no point along the route that hasn't got an amazing view.

Walking along the valley towards Keswick

After heading past Great Calva, the path rises up slightly and heads up to Skiddaw House - which is a very remote hostel based in this valley - and according to its information, the highest hostel in Britain. 

This accommodation is best suited to those content to have no phone signal, but it does at least have lights, heating and hot water (before I put too many people off). And the views certainty aren't too bad.

Here the path turns to the left, and after following up with a right turn, Lonscale Fell lies up ahead.

Lonscale Fell up ahead

I'm not a huge fan of the paths that run along the edge of a steep drop (I'm afraid of drops, not heights) - and the path can be seen in the picture above cutting up onto the ridge, and then it hugs the edge of the ridge.

Doing the same route again I would instead take the next left on the path, and follow the lower route on the other side of Glenderaterra Beck - which would have allowed me to walk with a slightly lower heart rate. 

As it was though, I continued on, and up along the side of the ridge - and then after some very careful walking to avoid a nasty fall to my early and untimely death (without being overly dramatic about it), the path bends round to head west, ahead of a dip down to Keswick.

The view having rounded the corner and finally had some fencing put in to keep me safe

By this point the sun can be seen to be getting a little lower in the sky, but it had been a big climb up to High Pike - so I'd been taking it gently to keep my tired legs happy, and with Keswick coming up ahead you can fairly easily judge your pace to match the progress of the day.

But in the final light of the day, it was time to begin that final descent into Keswick.

The final stretch heading into Keswick

This was my final destination for the day - and there was time left to get something to eat and drink, before an early collapse into bed.

The Following Day : 

Normally I will split these routes into separate days for each walk, but one of the plans around this trip was to have the opportunity to follow up the previous day with a more lazy explore around Keswick, and so the next day I headed out for a bit of wander after some breakfast.

Next time I think I will do a full loop of the lake, but on this occasion I went up the first part of the path to Cat Bells (this route down the lake is actually the next part of the Cumbria Way, so this is a spoiler of sorts), and diverted off here to climb the first bit of Cat Bells, and look out over the lake. 

Going up the hill felt a bit heavy going after the previous day - but fortunately two older ladies (who passed me) were kind enough to have a good old natter about how remarkably slow I was: "You have to remember that not everyone is as fit as us". 😐

But after I had finished having a good cry over those remarks, I headed back down the hill - and then enjoyed a very gentle stroll along the edge of Derwent Water, with all the dog walkers - where I was thankfully safe away from abusive grannies.

And here I was back following the next bit of the Cumbria Way - which cuts down over rugged terrain from here, on it's way to Skelwith Bridge.

But today I was just having a very lazy amble - and it was a perfect gentle walk along the edge of the lake, before heading back into Keswick to catch the bus to Penrith, and then catch the train home.

Heading round the lake

The lake with some trees

The lake with a pier

Those buses to Penrith run very frequently - and visiting Keswick via public transport is exceptionally easy. So if you only fancy a gentle walk around the lake, that is perfectly feasible too.

Total Distance: 29.5 miles
Total Ascent: 3,760 feet

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

For an additional walk heading through Carlisle, see the walk along Hadrian's Wall Path from Bowness on Solway to Haltwhistle (through Carlisle).

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 85 and 90 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Cumbria Way guidebook (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.