Route: Long How
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 9th December 2022
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.9 miles
Ascent: 300 feet
Weather: Sunny, very cold
In January this year we realised that a circular walk could be plotted using some of the little known paths in the area and linking the foot of Buttermere with the head of Crummock Water. It proved to be a wonderful short outing and we decided to repeat it today
Buttermere and Crummock Water were once connected, but after the last ice age the erosion of the fells built up the tract of land that now separates them. This flat land between the two lakes is where Buttermere village now sits
We parked in the National Trust car park at Long How and walked into Buttermere village, leaving it at Wilkinsyke Farm. The path through the farm is one we’ve followed on numerous occasions as part of the classic Buttermere circuit
On reaching the foot of Buttermere we turned right to walk along the stony beach. The views to the head of the lake were spectacular and were shown at their best thanks to perfect reflections in the lake and a low winter sun. At the end of the beach we headed back into the village. At the Buttermere Court Hotel (formerly The Fish Inn) we joined a path beside Mill Beck which leads to a small hillock named Nether How at the head of Crummock Water. This is a lovely spot and all the better for being unfrequented. We walked along the head of the lake, crossing Mill Beck via a small footbridge, and then turned inland to walk through the woodland at Long How. This brought us to the car park at Long How and to the end of a short but sweet 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)
The start of the walk as we pass by the Old School, now Buttermere Village Hall
Looking up to St James's Church as we leave the Buttermere road
We pass through the farmyard at Wilkinsyke Farm
Path to the foot of Buttermere
Herdwick sheep
A pair of swans flying across the foot of Buttermere
We walk along the stony beach
Heavenly views to the head of Buttermere as we walked along the shore...
All too soon we arrived at the path leading back into Buttermere village
Views back to Fleetwith Pike and the head of Buttermere...
Having arrived back in Buttermere we follow a path beside Mill Beck in the direction of Crummock Water
We walk around a small wood known as Nether How
We arrive at the head of Crummock Water
We follow a path by the lakeshore
Mellbreak
We cross the footbridge over Mill Beck
Fleetwith Pike again
We enter Long How wood and the path takes us directly back to the National Trust car park
A return visit to Crummock Water on the following day, and some magical misty conditions...
Red Pike in the centre of the picture
Woodhouse Islands
The head of Crummock Water, where we'd walked yesterday...
