Route: Circuit of Crummock Water
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 12th November 2015
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 9.3 miles
Ascent: 1,000 feet
Weather: Cloudy, some bright spells, rain at end, very windy
We parked in the National Trust car park at Lanthwaite Wood and walked along the track to the foot of Crummock Water. The weather had been horrendous over the last few days and it was no surprise that the level of the lake was very high, and the footpath to the fish ladder was completely submerged
We’d anticipated this and since we were walking round the lake clockwise this didn’t cause us a problem. We followed the lakeshore path as far as Cinderdale Common and then walked along the road into Buttermere village (the road section can be avoided by climbing up Rannerdale valley but we didn’t have time for that today)
After leaving Buttermere we took the path between the two lakes to Scale Bridge. The footpath here was under 2 or 3 feet of water, but we managed to teeter along some stepping stones without incident, before following the soggy path along the western shore of Crummock Water
Storm Abigail (the first storm to be officially named by the Met Office) was forecast to arrive in the afternoon and as we neared the foot of the lake it began to rain – we made it back to the car in time to avoid the worst of it
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)
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A quick dawn visit to Crummock Water before we set off on our walk today…
A couple of hours later, the start of the walk - a swollen River Cocker seen from the car park
The track through Lanthwaite Wood to the foot of Crummock Water
Looking along Crummock Water to Rannerdale Knotts and the High Stile Range
The path to the western shore - impassable today
We follow the path along the eastern shore
The boathouse, and the foot of Mellbreak on the far side of the lake
The High Stile Range
The path disappears, and some wading is needed to get round this section
Rannerdale Knotts
Walking towards Rannerdale Knotts
Further along the road section - not a chore when the scenery is like this
We pass by the spot where I’d taken the dawn photos
Looking back to High Ling Crag at the foot of Mellbreak
Passing through Great Wood, just before Buttermere village
Fleetwith Pike
Cragg House Farm
Fleetwith Pike again, as we cross the fields between the foot of Buttermere and the head of Crummock Water
The path on the right is completely submerged, but luckily there are some stepping stones which provide a way across
A very full Buttermere Dubs flowing under Scale Bridge
Flooded fields, looking towards Mellbreak
Looking back across to Buttermere village
…and now looking back to Fleetwith Pike
Scale Island
High Ling Crag, and below it the small promontory of Low Ling Crag
Low Ling Crag
Darkening skies as we look back
The rain overtakes us as we look across to Whiteside and Grasmoor
On the home straight, approaching Muncaster House
We cross over the River Cocker via Scalehill Bridge to return to the car park, just beyond the bridge
