Route: Circuit of Buttermere
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 17th December 2021
Walkers: Andrew, Gilly and James
Distance: 5.1 miles
Ascent: 400 feet
Weather: Sunny
After several dull and overcast days, and an indifferent weather forecast for today, it was a pleasant surprise to see sunshine and blue skies. Without ado we drove over to Buttermere, a place which we could never tire of
This circuit appears over 20 times on this site and is one of the classic low level walks in the Lake District. The beauty and accessibility of the walk is both a virtue and a problem in that the path can be too busy at peak times and, if you prefer to walk in relative solitude, then it’s best to choose a quiet day and time. We made an early start and thanks to this, and the time of year, we only passed by a few other walkers during the course of two hours
We parked in our usual spot, the National Trust car park at Long How. We walked through Buttermere village and followed the path to the foot of the lake. I always walk around Buttermere in an anti-clockwise direction in order to keep the best views ahead. After crossing the footbridge over Buttermere Dubs we set off along the lakeshore path which leads to the head of Buttermere. Shafts of low sunbeams illuminated the surroundings and made this a heavenly part of the walk
After crossing Peggy’s Bridge and passing by Gatesgarth Farm we started the return leg along the other shore, passing through the rock tunnel near Hassness along the way. We continued along the shoreline path and, where it forks off to the foot of the lake, we carried on ahead. This brought us back into Buttermere village to end one of the best low level walks in the Lake District
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
The start of the walk as we leave Long How car park and follow the road into Buttermere village
Low winter sun casting sunbeams around Fleetwith Pike
Beyond the village we follow the track to the foot of Buttermere
Fleetwith Pike again
We head towards Sourmilk Gill
View along Buttermere to Fleetwith Pike at its head
We follow the lakeshore path with Burtness Wood on our right...
Burtness Wood
Hassness on the other side of the lake
A heavenly section of the walk, with ever improving views of Fleetwith Pike...
Horse Close...
The White Hut bothy at the head of Buttermere, and a good place to view our surroundings....
The path to the head of Buttermere
The path forks off to the right for Haystacks but we carry on ahead
We turn left before the Buttermere pines
Warnscale Beck from Peggy's Bridge
Looking back to High Crag
Beyond Gatesgarth we start the return leg, here looking across to Low Crag
Low Crag below High Crag
High Stile on our left
Looking back to Fleetwith Pike and the head of Buttermere
High Crag again as we pass by Hassness
Looking back to the head of the lake
We pass through a short tunnel, carved out in the 19th century by a Manchester Mill owner
Wonderful views back to the head of Buttermere beyond the tunnel....
We turn away from the lake to walk back into Buttermere village
St James' Church Buttermere - from here we walk back through the village to the end of a wonderful walk
A couple of days later, a return visit at dawn in atmospheric conditions...
