Cumberland Way

The Cumberland Way is a long distance walk in the North West of England, which meanders some 62 miles across the Lake District.

The Cumberland Way trail starts in the village of Ravenglass, where the Lake District meets the sea. This coastal hamlet is home to the Ravenglass and Eskdale steam railway.  A mile or so away is Muncaster Castle which has been of strategic importance since Roman times, and the family home of the Pennington family since the year 1208.

The walk starts with a fairly easy gradient, but soon gets more challenging. The village of Nether Wasdale awaits at the end of the first day which lies at the southern end of Wastwater, England's deepest lake.

Buttermere Lake is 1.5 miles long and has a footpath all round it. A classic combination of Lake and Mountain makes this a popular place to visit. (photo)

The next destination is Keswick, which is the North Lakes favourite tourist destination, nestling between the Skiddaw Mountains and Derwentwater. This market town boasts a variety of shops, cafes and tea rooms, pubs and restaurants.

Now heading toward the very small village of Dockray, their is a chance see the magnificent waterfall called Aira Force which flows from the fells into Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District.

Eamont Bridge, just south of the market town of Penrith, with its West Coast main line railway station, is where the Cumberland Way walk usually ends for most. This small village is named after the River Eamont and straddles the boundaries of Cumberland and Westmorland. There are two ancient sites in the village. An earthwork known as 'King Arthurs Round Table, and the single standing stone of Mayburgh Henge. Those of you with a few more miles in the tank can continue walking towards Appleby in Westmorland, a wonderful low level walk through the Eden Valley (Additional 12 miles)

	Start	Finish	Distance
day 1	Ravenglass	Nether Wasdale	10m, 16km
day 2	Nether Wasdale	Buttermere	13m, 21km
day 3	Buttermere	Keswick	10m, 16km
day 4	Keswick	Dockray	13m, 21km
day 5	Dockray	Eamont Bridge (Penrith)	16m, 26km
Total			62m, 100km

Route information, maps, distances and itineraries are for general information only and should not be relied on for navigation.

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