The Windermere Way is a 45-mile circuit of

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

, a lake in the English Lake District. The route is wholly within the

Lake District National Park The Lake District National Park is a national park in North West England that includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was de ...

and takes in the summits of Wansfell,

Loughrigg Fell Loughrigg Fell is a hill in the central part of the English Lake District. It stands on the end of the long ridge coming down from High Raise over Silver How towards Ambleside, and is separated from its neighbours by the depression o ...

and Gummer's How as well as passing through the towns of

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern headwater) of Windermere, England's largest n ...

and

History and status

The Windermere Way is an unofficial route and mostly follows footpaths and bridleways. There are short stretches of road walking. The route can be broken down into four easy stages with an easy return to your starting point using the Windermere Ferry or the Lake Steamers.

Route

The walk circumambulates

and includes just about all the accessible lake shore paths together with ascents of the high points around the lake. The route is broken down into four sections that most people will manage in a day’s easy walking. The

walk starts at Bowness Bay and follows the lake shore northwards before ascending Orrest Head, dropping down again to cross Trout Beck then taking to the high fell tops, visiting Wansfell Pike the highest point on the walk. Between

and Ferry House, the walk starts by climbing

, then drops down again past Loughrigg Tarn and on to a pleasant lakeside stroll by

Wray Castle Wray Castle is a Victorian neo-gothic building at Claife in the English county of Cumbria. The house and grounds have belonged to the National Trust since 1929, and house has opened to the public on a regular basis since 2013. The grounds, ...

. It then climbs steeply again, to give views from Claife Heights, finishing at Ferry Nab. Between Ferry Nab and Lakeside the route passes through Cunsey and winds along the western shore of Windermere, visiting High Dam at Finsthwaite before concluding at Lakeside Steamer Pier. The final stretch from Lakeside back to Bowness is the longest and doesn't touch the lakeshore at all, but does afford some excellent views from Gummer's How and lovely walking through the woods.

Connecting trails

The route connects with the

Dales Way The Dales Way is an long-distance footpath in Northern England, from (south-east to north-west) Ilkley, West Yorkshire, to Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria. This walk was initially devised by the West Riding Ramblers' Association with the 'leadi ...

at Bowness and Cumbria Way at Skelwith Bridge.

Places of interest

The following hills are crossed by the route: *Wansfell *Loughrigg *Claife Heights *Gummers Howe The following lakes and tarns are passed by the route: *Windermere *Grasmere *Loughrigg Tarn *High Dam

External links

The Windermere Way
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223063815/http://www.windermere-way.co.uk/ , date=23 February 2021 Lake District Footpaths in Cumbria Long-distance footpaths in England