Route: Circuit of Buttermere
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 23rd November 2017
Walkers: Andrew, Gilly, James and Nicola
Distance: 5.1 miles
Weather: Cloudy with rainshowers
For the last 24 hours there had been torrential and incessant rain in the Lake District, to the extent that streams and rivers burst their banks in some places, leading to localised flooding. At last there were some signs of the rain abating and a walk was on the cards. Frequent showers and high winds dictated a low level route and a circuit of Buttermere would fit the bill perfectly
After driving gingerly along the inundated lanes we parked as usual in the National Trust car park at Long How which for once was deserted. We walked through Buttermere village and set off around the lake in an anti-clockwise direction out of force of habit. Sourmilk Gill waterfall at the foot of the lake was a raging torrent and part of the path nearby was underwater, so we took a slightly higher path to avoid this
We continued to the head of the lake, much of which was flooded, and then walked across to Gatesgarth Farm to start the return journey. On reaching Hassness a section of the path was under deep water. We debated whether to circumvent this via a rocky and potentially slippery climb or whether to head up to the road and in the end opted for the latter, and from here we followed the road back to the edge of Buttermere, rejoining our usual path just before the village. For the benefit of anyone following this route, the maps page shows the standard route rather than the one we took, as the circumstances of our detour were exceptional and unlikely to be repeated
Despite the poor weather we all enjoyed this classic walk
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 day before the walk, we drove past Comb Beck Buttermere to check out the conditions - which were appalling
Later on, a red squirrel putting his long bushy tail to good use
The start of today's walk from Long How car park - the first time I've seen it empty
We walk past Crag Houses...
...and the Fish Inn
Path to the foot of Buttermere, looking towards Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks
Approaching the foot of the lake...
A very full Buttermere
Photo of Bonnie taken by James
Sourmilk Gill
Buttermere Dubs
Floods at the foot of the lake
Sourmilk Gill waterfalls
We take a higher path at first as the lakeside one is submerged, but we're soon able to rejoin it
We follow the path through Burtness Wood...
Looking across to Hassness
Fleetwith Pike
Hassness again - we didn't know at the time, but we'd have to leave the flooded lakeside path at that point and climb up to the road
Fleetwith Pike
Warnscale Beck
The flooded head of Buttermere
The bothy...
James and Nicola just before we turn left to walk across the head of the lake
The path to Gatesgarth Farm
Buttermere pines
We cross the footbridge over Warnscale Beck
An isolated burst of sunshine on Mellbreak
Warnscale Bottom
Fleetwith Pike
Beyond Gatesgarth we walk along the Buttermere road for a short distance
High water levels at Hassness
Just beyond this point the path is flooded and we climb back up to the road
Looking back towards Haystacks
We leave the road at Bowderbeck to rejoin the footpath
Sourmilk Gill again
Herdy welcoming us back to Buttermere village
Later that day, red squirrel in the garden
