Five Day Itinerary in the Lake District

The Lake District, is a region and national park in the northwest of England. A popular holiday destination, it is known for its stunning ribbon lakes and rugged fell mountains. Summiting all of the 214 Wainwrights is a popular form of peak bagging. The Wainwrights cover a wide range of heights, from major mountains such as Scafell Pike, standing tall at 978 metres, or Castle Crag, which is the smallest Wainwright at 290 metres.

We last visited the Lake district in mid July 2020, just after the lockdown restrictions had been eased in England. The trip was booked the year before and at the sight of the vast mountains and dramatic landscapes that lay before me, I just couldn’t help but cry! In fact, I think I probably sobbed which now seems rather amusing. However, I can only assume it was the sheer beauty of the area combined with the fact that we had been in lockdown for so long! Regardless of the reason, I was completely blown away and could not wait to get started on exploring this amazing UK location.

Day One

We set off from Cambridgeshire at 7.30am aware that we had a long journey in front of us - 190miles (4.5hrs) to our first stop. Travelling from the south, we decided to walk Gummer’s Hoe before making our way to our campsite. It is a short walk with an optional scramble at the top. It offers amazing views over Lake Windermere towards the Lakeland Fells and gave us our first climbing experience in the Lakes. Although steep to begin with, we were soon able to indulge in the stunning views. This (and the promise of sweets at the top!) motivated the children to continue.

Afterwards, we continued on our journey to Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, arriving early evening. Fortunately, we had premade dinner, so it was just a case of reheating it! This has become a valuable camping hack for us when we are away.

Castlerigg Hall campsite is immaculately kept and a very well ran campsite with stunning views over Derwent Water. It is a great location for hiking - spots including Walla Crag, Latrigg and Catbells. The site has touring pitches, caravan holiday lets, camping pitches and hex pods available too. It is a big site with a small shop, laundry facilities and several amenity blocks. Nevertheless, due to the layout, it didn’t feel busy at all.

Day Two

The weather in the Lake District is notoriously unpredictable so when we awoke to clear skies, we decided to make the most of the location of the campsite and we hiked up Walla Crag directly from site. We used the details for the route from Castlerigg Hall website to plan our route. This Wainwright was very ‘doable’ for my young children - steep in some areas but without sheer drops (on the route we took) and lots of wide open spaces to run. What I loved most though, was the way that the spectacular, panoramic views were saved for the summit. Just as you reach the very top, you can see the magnitude of the views - literally taking your breath away. 

The hike didn’t take more than two hours, even with my two girls continually stopping to look at everything they noticed along the way. Afterwards, we returned to the campsite for lunch before heading off on another walk. This time we decided to walk from site to Keswick. Again very ‘doable’ but much further and after being in lockdown for so long, we found the steepness of the hills exhausting in places.

Day Three

With so much of the Lake District to explore, we decided to leave the campsite and head to Rydal Cave. We parked at White Moss car park, followed the River Rothay and then walked through the woodland to the cave. Rydal Cave is often described as a ‘hidden gem’ and maybe it is in winter, but in the height of summer I would argue that the cave is a busy tourist attraction rather than a hidden gem. It is worth a visit though. My top tip would be to arrive very early, very late or expect big crowds! The stepping stones are a great feature inside the cave and are the main entry and exit point. The water level rises and falls depending on the time of year and the rainfall. Plan ahead and anticipate getting wet feet - a change of shoes would be good. My children wore wellies which was perfect for inside the cave, but they ideally needed a change of shoes for the rest of the hike.

The area surrounding Rydal Cave is stunning with lots of places to stop for a picnic. It is possible to continue your assent to admire the views from on top of Rydal Cave, or continue even further up to the summit of Loughrigg Fell. We decided to take the Loughrigg Fell option. It is a small but mighty fell at 335m high, standing on the end of the long ridge, coming down from High Raise over Silver How towards Ambleside. The views are stunning but the route has some very steep sections and there are at least three false peaks on the way directly up from Rydal Cave! Great fun though - just take plenty of water and snacks for the children.

On the way back from the campsite that evening, we visited both Ambleside and Grasmere village.  Due to circumstances at the time relating to Covid19, we drove round reach location. On our next visit, we can walk round and properly soak up the atmosphere.

Day Four

In true Lake District style, we awoke to rain this morning! Not ones to shy away from the weather, we decided that it was only a little light rain; the forecast didn’t show anything sinister, so we made our way to Catbells. We drove to Little Town (CA12 5TU) where there is a small area of off road parking and began our assent. We walked the old pony trail, past the llamas, past a waterfall and some old quarry stones, but the rain kept on coming! It was persistent rain and the winds had picked up. We got close but didn’t make it to the summit of Catbells. We decided the weather conditions were just too dangerous, visibility was low and I wasn’t prepared to risk it with the children and the dog. We made the descent as quick as we could. Typically it had stopped raining just before we reached the campervan again!!! We dried off, had a brew and something for lunch before deciding on our next location.

The Honister Pass forms part of a beautiful circular scenic drive from Keswick that includes Newlands Pass, Buttermere and Crummock Water. On this visit, the weather was terrible – perfect for driving and exploring from the warmth of the van though and it was a spectacular drive! There is an amazing slate mine here and definitely one to explore on another occasion. There are so many opportunities to hike the surrounding hills of this area, or just to stop and take in the magnitude of your surroundings.

Day Five

We had plans to climb the Old Man of Coniston today. However, the weather was even worse than yesterday and after our failed attempt to reach the summit of Catbells, we decided to call it a day on a very memorable trip. The Lake District opened our eyes once again to yet more stunning UK landscapes! We shall return, someday very soon!

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