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Times
5 days ago
- Times
18 of the most beautiful places in England
William Blake arguably did England a disservice by describing it as 'green and pleasant' in his poem Jerusalem. Yes, it is a land of gently rolling hills and lush pastures, but England's beauty is far more diverse than its diminutive size suggests. Among its many alluring habitats, natural or otherwise, this country has fields presided over by farmhouses trailing roses, misty moorlands, oak woods scented by bluebells and chalk streams where otters grow fat on excellent trout. And that doesn't even include the coast. With Devon's red cliffs, Dover's white ones and more than 100 inhabited islands to choose from, there is something for everyone along the shoreline. Here's our selection of the most beautiful places to visit in England. This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue Crossing the Lake District's steep Honister Pass is a bit like going through the back of the Narnia wardrobe. You leave the busy eastern Lakes and enter a more peaceful, traditional world. With three lakes in a row — Buttermere, Crummock Water and Loweswater — it's little wonder that this was the favourite destination of Alfred Wainwright, the fellwalker and writer who is remembered by a plaque in the tiny Buttermere church. His favourite mountain, Haystacks, looms over Buttermere, and a path up from Gatesgarth through ankle-snapping rocks opens up magnificent views. Stay at Kirkstile Inn, a typical Lakeland inn by Loweswater. • Read our full guide to the Lake District• Best places to visit in the Lake District The Thames Valley is at its best at Cookham, formerly home to the artist Stanley Spencer, a village that is all flint and brick and wisteria and grassy churchyards, with snatches of cricket commentary wafting over garden walls. Cliveden House is hidden in woodland downriver, while a grassy riverside walk around Cock Marsh upriver passes magnificent mansions, summer bathing places and an eccentric pub, the Bounty, which has no road access. Four miles further on is handsome Marlow, whose grade I listed bridge was so admired by Count Istvan Szechenyi of Hungary that he had a far larger version built across the Danube. Stay in Cookham's Bel & the Dragon, a 15th-century inn with properly wonky floors. • More great hotels in Berkshire• The best of England The Northumberland coastline is a string of blemish-free, sandy beaches interrupted by dramatic castles and old fishing villages. Sitting just offshore is the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, a mystical place reachable by a causeway that is only driveable (or walkable) at certain stages of the tide. On the island there's a ruined priory, a 16th-century castle on a rock, and a real sense of peace amid birdsong and woodsmoke. The island's name dates back to the time when this was an early outpost of Christianity and whether you're a believer or not, it remains a place of serenity and contemplation, which puts daily life into perspective. It's possible to stay on the island. Try Manor House Hotel, which is just a short walk from Holy Island Sands. • Discover our full guide to the UK The Derbyshire river valley of Dovedale may be picture perfect, but its close neighbour Wyedale, which runs down to Bakewell, has both good looks and history. The chortling Wye was the power source for cotton mills in the gloriously named Water-cum-Jolly valley, where limestone bluffs make a natural amphitheatre for birdsong. The former railway line that served them has become the Monsal Trail for cyclists and walkers, who linger on the viaduct at Monsal Head, savouring the views. Former stations repurposed as tea rooms include Hassop Station Café, now a serious foodie destination, and the dale ends in pretty Bakewell, famous for its tart and a good place to stay — try the Rutland Arms. • Discover our full guide to the Peak District• Best places to visit in the Peak District A maze of intersecting country lanes and the gin-clear, chalk stream waters of the Test meander from the village of Hurstbourne Priors down to Romsey. This is a place to spot lazy trout and is where the writer and comedian Paul Whitehouse learned to fish. It's a place to fossick out iconic pubs like the Mayfly near Stockbridge and historical buildings such as the National Trust's Mottisfont Abbey, with its celebrated rose garden. Stay at the Greyhound, which has fishing packages, in Stockbridge, the hub of the Test Valley. • More great hotels in Hampshire This ancient Roman city, encircled by its original walls, has a history that stretches back nearly 2,000 years. Its magnificent cathedral (aka 'minster') has a fascinating story of restoration from a huge fire in 1984. Downtown, the city's almost traffic-free centre is a lacework of cobbled medieval alleyways — the Shambles — where overhanging ancient mansions seem to whisper sweet nothings to each other. Wonky beams and sloping floors characterise most interiors, with tea and cake around every corner, particularly at the much-loved Bettys Café Tea Rooms. York is the home of Rowntree's, the confectionery manufacturer, and there's a chocolate museum and independent chocolatiers all over town. Close to York Minster, the Judge's Lodging is a lovely boutique hotel housed in a grade I listed building. • Best hotels in York• Best restaurants in York The grass-topped wave of hills of the Sussex Weald form the backbone of the South Downs National Park. Up here are rollercoaster, sheep-grazed grasslands mixed with oak coppice and wildlife-rich heathland. These are chalk hills, although they only really show their colours where the downlands meet the sea, at the searingly white Seven Sisters cliffs. Striding along the cliff edge here — from Eastbourne to Seaford via Beachy Head and the beach at Cuckmere Haven — is one of England's favourite coastal walks. Why not stay at the Belle Tout Lighthouse? There are a few rooms at this decommissioned lighthouse turned B&B, and the views are unmatched. • Best luxury hotels in Sussex This national park with a coastline comes with all the credentials: Yorkshire's wild and wonderful rolling hills, infiltrated by pastoral valleys such as that at Rosedale, complete with old mine workings on the valley sides. A heritage steam railway clambers over the hills from Pickering to Grosmont, wheezing and blowing as it goes. Whitby is a lively coastal resort, renowned for its fish and chips, Dracula connections and ruined abbey. And then there's the coastal path that struggles from sheltered bays to wild headlands, with spectacular views. Lastingham Grange country house hotel is well located for walks across the moors, and there are ten acres of gardens to explore. • More great hotels in Yorkshire These two towns encapsulate so much that is great about the Lake District. Grasmere, with its bijou spangle of water, is all genteel sumptuousness, with boutique shopping, elegant eating and literary visits to Wordsworth's cottage. More businesslike Ambleside, with its adventure outfitters, sits at the north end of boat-rich Windermere, the busiest and biggest of the English lakes. A short, steep climb through rocky knolls to Loughrigg Fell grants an eyeful of everything, with stunning views of the serpentine length of Windermere and the Langdale Pikes. Victorian House is a characterful B&B in Grasmere with a shepherd's hut by the river at the back. • Best spa hotels in the Lake District• Best dog-friendly hotels in the Lake District England's aristocratic country houses cover a kaleidoscope of styles and periods. The Duke of Devonshire's Chatsworth House, for example, dominating its own river valley within the Peak District, is a sumptuous, family-owned property making the most of its mainly 18th-century assets with tours, trails and events. Meanwhile, a couple of valleys away, you can step back a few centuries into 13th-century Haddon Hall (pictured), one of the most perfectly preserved medieval properties in the UK, with its banqueting hall, Tudor painted ceilings and Elizabethan walled gardens. Nearby, the Peacock at Rowsley, part of the Haddon estate, is one of the finest country hotels in the area. • Best hotels in the Peak District A place of Roman baths and Georgian crescents, Bath sits cupped in hills in its own little world, one redolent of ballgowns and gossiping aristocracy, as observed by Jane Austen. The creamy-gold Bath stone and honeycomb of Palladian-influenced terracing, rising in curving ripples up the hillsides, is what makes the city so visually appealing. Somehow a river and a canal thread through, and at the heart of the city is the original thermal bath built by the Romans around AD70, with steam still rising from the hot spring. Away from the city centre, the Bath Priory is a Relais & Chateaux property with one of the finest gardens around. • Best things to do in Bath• Great hotels in Bath Manor houses, babbling brooks and hamlets of honey-coloured stone. Tearooms galore, artisan delicatessens, ancient churches and Bibury (pictured), the village that the artist William Morris described as 'the most beautiful in England'. This is the Cotswolds. Mind you, Bourton-on-the-Water must be a challenger for the 'most beautiful' title, too. Here the River Windrush flows across a generous green, spanned by footbridges and surrounded by handsome inns. Weeping willows trail their tresses in the water, ducks wait for chips and there's a toasted teacake around every corner. You've got plenty of lovely options in this part of the country, but why not try the Swan Hotel in Bibury, which sits on the banks of the River Coln. • More great hotels in the Cotswolds• Discover our full guide to the Cotswolds This Unesco-recognised stretch of southern coastline starts at the eastern end, at the quirky resort of Swanage in Dorset, where the pillars of Old Harry Rocks overlook Poole Harbour. From here it reaches westwards, rounding wild St Aldhelms Head, stomping through fossil-rich Kimmeridge, to the almost perfect circle that is Lulworth Cove and the arch of Durdle Door. Then, from Weymouth, the Chesil shingle scythes westwards towards the cliffs of Charmouth and West Bay, renowned for their crumbliness and their fossil dinosaurs. The Regency resort of Lyme Regis, beyond, is where The French Lieutenant's Woman was filmed. In Lyme Regis, Rock Point Inn puts you right on the busy waterfront. • Best hotels in Dorset• Best hotels in Devon You don't travel to Cornwall for the towns — unless they're wedged up a creek or spilling into a bay. It's the coast that counts, either the north for the wild and dramatic, or the south for the creeks and headlands. Both sides have beaches to be proud of, but for shelter and history seek out the south's Helford River, the inspiration for Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek. East of Helford, the Roseland Peninsula begins at the posh fishing village of St Mawes. In this part of Cornwall, the spring gardens of Trelissick and Caerhays are ablaze with magnolias and camellias well before the rest of the country. Facing the water with just 19 individually designed rooms, the Idle Rocks in St Mawes is a property that'll make you want to linger. • Best beaches in Cornwall• More great hotels in Cornwall North Norfolk is like a watercolour painting, where land, sea and sky seem to merge seamlessly into one another. Migrating wildfowl add their stitch to the skies overhead and seal colonies loll around on sandbanks like rolls of discarded carpet. Towns such as Burnham Market, with its art galleries and fine dining, are surprisingly posh — but then maybe that shouldn't be a surprise, given that Holkham Hall, the residence of the Earl of Leicester, and Sandringham, the royal country retreat, are not far away. A pub with rooms in Hunstanton, the Lifeboat Inn is just a short stroll from the Norfolk Coast Path. • Best hotels in Norfolk• Read our full guide to Norfolk Some say British tourism started back in 1745 on the languid, calm river at Ross-on-Wye, when the local rector took paying guests out for boat trips. Today a lot of the waterborne activity has dropped southwards to Symonds Yat, a mecca for kayakers and for those who enjoy walking its steep, forested banks. Meanwhile, in Ross, the venerable half-timbered frontages of the town stand back slightly uphill of the river, and it is mostly cyclists who follow the water, particularly its loveliest stretch up past Hole-in-the-Wall, burrowing through back roads towards Hereford. Flanesford Priory is a 14th-century monastery turned self-catering accommodation, right in the heart of the Wye Valley. • Best luxury places to stay in Herefordshire The flat fens of Cambridgeshire seem an unlikely setting for a seat of learning, but the colleges and chapels of Cambridge inhabit their own mystical world, clustered along the banks of the somnolent River Cam. Unlike Oxford, which can be brash and busy, Cambridge is a place of robed figures emerging from ancient doorways and bumping away over cobbles on bicycles. To hire a punt and to float gently down the so-called Backs (the backs of many colleges) is to get a glimpse into a refined, timeless world. Check into Gonville Hotel, a boutique property in the heart of the city that overlooks Parker's Piece. • Best hotels in Cambridge• Best things to do in Cambridge The medieval town of Rye in East Sussex was once one of the Cinque Ports — five defensive ports on the southeast coast mentioned in Magna Carta — and it seems to have barely changed, although the sea has since retreated. The town is a lacework of galleries, patisseries, wisteria and leaded windows. It stands proud above Romney's former marshlands, now drained and striped with wheatfields. Beyond are the glorious beaches of Camber Sands and the surreal shingle shore of Dungeness, with its unique fishing fleet. Just steps from the beach is the Gallivant, which has daily yoga classes in its own studio. • Read our full review of the Gallivant• Best hotels in East Sussex Additional reporting by Imogen Lepere and Qin Xie
Spectator
16-06-2025
- Spectator
Is the Lake District still as Wainwright described it?
The Lake District isn't really meant to be about eating. It's about walking and climbing and gawping. The guide one carries is not that by Michelin but Alfred Wainwright, whose seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells turns 70 this year. Food is mainly to be consumed from a Thermos rather than a bowl, and eaten atop a precariously balanced upturned log rather than a restaurant table. The culinary highlight should be Kendal mint cake, gratefully retrieved from the pocket of your cagoule. And so I was as surprised as anyone to find real gastronomic delights on a recent trip. Not from Little Chef, though that was where Wainwright religiously went for his favourite meal: fish and chips, a gooseberry pancake and cup of tea. While the fells may stand immutable, the culinary landscape of the Lakes is unrecognisable from Wainwright's day. Thus, in this polite slice of England, I found an operatic dollop of Italian gusto in Villa Positano, tucked off the high street in Bowness-on-Windermere. As with San Pietro nearby, it's all family-run charm with the odd culinary mishap waved away as trattoria rusticism in a way only an Italian can get away with. Together with a trendy sourdough pizza joint just up the road (Base Pizza), it appears a small group of Italians have decided they've had it with Lake Como and are making Lake Windermere home instead. Though no amount of tiramisu can surpass a sticky toffee pudding from Cartmel. Then there is the famed Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread. Spicy and sweet, it is like the ginger nut of one's dreams. Wordsworth's grave is just around the corner, in the shadow of St Oswald's Church, and I wander lonely as a cloud through the wild daffodil garden planted in his honour. There is nothing wrong with cliché when it is this idyllic. In Ambleside there is lots to enjoy. The venerable Great North Pie Co (choose between chicken and Stornoway black pudding or 14-hour braised beef, Manchester union lager and Henderson's Relish). Serious fine dining is to be found at Lake Road Kitchen and Old Stamp House, both with Michelin stars. To enjoy a roast loin of the region's iconic Herdwick lamb, there is the beautiful restaurant at Rothay Manor. Or for ales brewed on-site and hunks of sourdough dipped into fir oil and stout vinegar, drop into the Drunken Duck Inn. You can munch on fish and chips at the Waterhead, overlooking Windermere. Though a sign advertises that the chips are fried in oil, not beef dripping, and the fish batter made without beer. That is nothing to show off about. What else? You can sit outside at the Windermere Jetty Museum's cafe, spotting fast jets on low-flying training manoeuvres from nearby RAF Spadeadam. In Grasmere, stop for coffee at Mathilde's, or on the little terrace of the Tea Gardens by the stream. Lunch at Lingholm Kitchen, walking off your meal in the walled garden as Beatrix Potter used to do. Dinner could be at Fellpack House in Keswick, The Schelly in Ambleside or Brackenrigg Inn in Ullswater, or more upmarket at Heft in High Newton, or The Cedar Tree at Farlam Hall near Brampton. Come morning, we report to a retro 1950s dining room, frozen in aspic. What follows is one of the best cooked breakfasts in the land The Lakes may boast the (three Michelin) starry heights of Simon Rogan's L'Enclume, but there are simpler culinary pleasures to be found from a rucksack. A picnic at Friars Crag in Keswick, or at Haystacks, Wainwright's favourite. A hunk of ewe's milk cheese nibbled under a tree near Cockshot Point. The contents of your hip flask while watching the sunset at Fleetwith Pike. Arriving in the driving rain to the Old Rectory near Coniston, there is complimentary hot tea and moist cake served from bone china. The lemon and poppy seed is homemade by Ann who runs the B&B assisted − or impeded − by her other half, Michael (half Falstaff half Manuel from Fawlty Towers). We fill out complicated forms for our breakfast order (I half expect a Farrow & Ball colour chart to pick my preferred tea strength) and, come morning, report to a retro 1950s dining room, frozen in aspic. A Japanese couple inspect the golden syrup with close fascination while a colossal Hyacinth Bucket holds a fan in one hand and skewers kiwi with the other. What follows is one of the best cooked breakfasts in the land – the Cumberland sausage dense, the Cumbrian back bacon just the right amount of crisp. Not even reading over breakfast of the sewage discharges into Windermere can ruin it. Ann troops out from the kitchen concerned my boiled eggs are too hard. They aren't; they are what all eggs should aspire to be. The eating options in the Lake District may be better now than in Wainwright's day, but the Lakes also differ in a way that would not have pleased him: the crowds. Alfred would go out of his way to avoid fellow hikers, seeking seclusion. 'There are boulders you can get behind,' he told Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs. One can still find escape here thankfully (tip: the North Lakes are less crowded than the South) but nowadays, in peak season and good weather, to dodge other walkers you might have to hide behind your boulder for rather a long time before the coast is clear. Good food is good. But a soggy sandwich and a Kendal mint cake isn't bad, so long as it's consumed in the bliss of solitude.
Telegraph
04-05-2025
- Telegraph
The 10 best Wainwright walks in the Lake District
In 1955, Alfred Wainwright's debut Lake District walking guidebook was published. Few realised the moment's significance or that it was the first step towards Wainwright's improbable rise to God-like status in Lakeland. Born into poverty in Blackburn in 1907, Wainwright's world turned on a dime in 1930. Aged 23, he climbed his first Lakeland fell – and the experience 'cast a spell that changed my life'. He spent the next few decades meticulously climbing, drawing and writing about the Lakeland fells. By 1966 his masterpiece was finished. Part guidebook, part love letter to the mountains, the seven-book series of Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells eulogised 214 peaks with poetic descriptions and beautiful landscape drawings. The series became the bible of Lake District fellwalking – a definitive work of unparalleled cultural influence. But, how many Wainwright walks are there? Seventy years later, climbing all 214 remains a popular peak-bagging challenge. I've completed four rounds of Alfred's list and each journey has been life-affirming. Thousands of other walkers feel the same. But which are the best Wainwright walks? From iconic peaks to family-friendly hills, here are 10 unmissable routes: 1. Haystacks In Wainwright's words: 'For a man trying to get a persistent worry out of his mind, the top of Haystacks is a wonderful cure.' Haystacks is Wainwright's eternal resting place. After his death in 1991, his ashes were scattered on the shores of Innominate Tarn, a small body of water to the south-east of the summit, nestled on wonderfully rugged ground between the valleys of Buttermere and Ennerdale. With his characteristic humour and stoicism, Wainwright joked in his book Fellwanderer: 'And if you, dear reader, should get a bit of grit in your boot as you are crossing Haystacks in the years to come, please treat it with respect. It might be me.' Grieved to not include Haystacks in his list of the best six fells, by virtue of its inferior height, Wainwright wrote that 'for sheer fascination and unique individuality' Haystacks is the 'best fell-top of all – a place of great charm and fairytale attractiveness'. This classic route climbs from Gatesgarth to the summit via Scarth Gap col and returning via Innominate Tarn and Warnscale Beck. Stay nearby Kirkstile Inn (01900 85219) in Loweswater has double rooms from £145, including breakfast. 2. Dove Crag In Wainwright's words: 'Here, in small compass, is a tangle of rough country, a maze of steep cliffs, gloomy hollows and curious foothills gnarled like the knuckles of a clenched fist, with the charming valley of Dovedale below and the main crag frowning down over all.' In May 1955, Wainwright's first walking guidebook – A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells: Book One, The Eastern Fells – was published. He described it as 'one man's way of expressing his devotion to Lakeland's friendly hills', adding 'it is, in very truth, a love letter'. Dove Crag was the first chapter Wainwright wrote for this book, and the first tentative step in what would become a seven-book labour of love lasting over a decade. Famed for its rock climbing routes and much-photographed Priest's Hole cave, Dove Crag is commonly ticked off as part of the classic Fairfield Horseshoe route from Ambleside. But that is to miss the mountain's best aspect. Start from the Patterdale side, near Brothers Water, and you'll get 'a much more interesting and intimate approach, the sharp transition from the soft loveliness of the valley to the desolation above being very impressive', as Wainwright put it. Stay nearby Another Place The Lake (017684 86442) has double rooms from £250, including breakfast. 3. Orrest Head In Wainwright's words: 'Orrest Head, for many of us, is 'where we came in' – our first ascent in Lakeland, our first sight of mountains in tumultuous array across glittering water, our awakening to beauty ... here the promised land is seen in all its glory.' In a Sliding Doors moment of life-altering significance, a 23-year-old Wainwright travelled by bus from Blackburn to Windermere in 1930. He climbed Orrest Head, a dinky 781ft hill above the town, but the experience proved monumental. 'It was a moment of magic, a revelation so unexpected that I stood transfixed, unable to believe my eyes. I had seen landscapes of rural beauty pictured in the local art gallery, but here was no painted canvas; this was real.' Confusingly, Orrest Head isn't one of the official 214 Wainwrights. Instead, it's included in Alfred's lesser-known list of 116 Lake District 'infants'. In The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, Wainwright documents 'the foothills of Lakeland, the minor eminences around the perimeter, the little bumps we never bothered about before'. This makes Orrest Head a quick and easy bimble for the whole family, accessible from Windermere train station. Stay nearby Lindeth Fell Country House (015394 43286) in Bowness-on-Windermere has double rooms from £199, including breakfast. 4. Helm Crag In Wainwright's words: 'It gives an exhilarating little climb, a brief essay in real mountaineering, and, in a region where all is beautiful, it makes a notable contribution to the natural charms and attractions of Grasmere.' Helm Crag is undoubtedly one of the Lake District's best small fells. It's a delightful out-and-back climb from the chocolate box village of Grasmere – the best of Lakeland distilled into a few hours of hiking hedonism. Sprightly grandparents and intrepid toddlers can get involved too, so it's an outing for the whole family, ideally with a pack of Grasmere Gingerbread – a moreish delicacy baked to a secret recipe in the village since 1854. But you'll be forgiven for not quite making it to the true summit, not least because Wainwright himself allegedly wimped out of it. Soaring with ferocity from Helm Crag's grassy crest is a fear-inducing slab of angled rock known as The Howitzer, a craggy pinnacle marking the official highest point. It's a perilous scramble to the top. Some courageous walkers will overcome the climb; but, like Alfred, it's more than acceptable to give it a miss – you can still say you've conquered Helm Crag. Stay nearby The Forest Side (015394 35250) in Grasmere has double rooms from £319, including breakfast. 5. Great Gable In Wainwright's words: 'Great Gable is a favourite of all fellwalkers, and first favourite with many. Right from the start of one's apprenticeship in the hills, the name appeals magically. It is a good name for a mountain, strong, challenging, compelling, starkly descriptive.' This ancient pile of lava and volcanic ash is a mountain that means many different things to many different people. To some Great Gable is the birthplace of British rock climbing, where in 1886 tweed-wearing WP Haskett Smith first conquered Napes Needle, a teetering 20-metre rocky spike piercing out of Gable's southern flanks. To others, it's the centrepiece of the Great Gift war memorial, a vast tranche of mountainous land endowed to the nation as a permanent shrine to the fallen heroes of the First World War. To many more, it's simply an amazing place to go walking. There are numerous ways to tackle Great Gable, but this route from Borrowdale is one of the best. The ascent via the wonderfully-named Sourmilk Gill, as well as Green Gable and Windy Gap, is a lung-busting climb requiring good hill legs, while the descent by Styhead Tarn and Stockley Bridge is similarly tough yet achingly pretty. Stay nearby Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa (017687 77285) in Borrowdale has double rooms from £203, including breakfast. 6. Pillar In Wainwright's words: 'It dominates the sunset area of Lakeland superbly, springing out of the valleys of Mosedale and Ennerdale, steeply on the one side and dramatically on the other, as befits the overlord of the western scene.' Towering above the head of Ennerdale with a bulky grandeur, Pillar is an imposing sight – the kind that entices and terrifies at the same time. The name, however, is a little misleading. Shaped less like a slender, vertical pillar and more like a broad, sprawling mass, this rugged mountain is none the less not a place for the faint-hearted, particularly if you take on this adrenaline-inducing route. Known as the High Level Route and Shamrock Traverse here the terrain is a halfway house between hiking and scrambling. Sure-footedness, a head for heights and competent navigational skills are essential, in order to avoid the 'difficulties and dangers' all-round, as Wainwright put it. But stick safely to the traverse and you'll get up close and personal with Pillar Rock, a gigantic buttress jutting out of the mountain's north face like a gothic cathedral of crag and cliff – a mesmerising scene of Lakeland brutality. Stay nearby The Woolpack Inn (01946 723230) in Eskdale has double rooms from £110, including breakfast. 7. Crinkle Crags In Wainwright's words: 'Crinkle Crags is much too good to be missed. For the mountaineer who prefers his mountains rough, who likes to see steep craggy slopes towering before him into the sky, who enjoys an up-and-down ridge walk full of interesting nooks and corners, who has an appreciative eye for magnificent views, this is a climb deserving of high priority.' At the end of his series' final instalment – Book Seven, The Western Fells – Wainwright listed the 'finest half-dozen' mountains in the Lake District, selecting the best of the best based on 'the attributes of mountains; height, a commanding appearance, a good view, steepness and ruggedness'. Alongside Scafell Pike, Bowfell, Pillar, Great Gable and Blencathra, Crinkle Crags made the cut. This may surprise some, but Wainwright was unwavering in his assessment, describing the summit of Crinkle Crags as a 'scene of desolation and rugged grandeur equalled by few others'. From the charming valley of Great Langdale, this route ascends via Great Knott and descends via The Band. In between is a 'crinkly' succession of ups and downs, an undulating spine of craggy towers and rocky depressions. It's superlative walking terrain and the perfect way to earn a post-hike pint (or two) at the much-loved Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. Stay nearby Brimstone Hotel (015394 38014) in Great Langdale has double rooms from £408, including breakfast. 8. Cat Bells In Wainwright's words:'Cat Bells is one of the great favourites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved.' Cat Bells is an incredibly popular fell, attracting hordes of Keswick tourists daily. But somehow the crowds don't detract from the enjoyment. Cat Bells is a place for young, old and everyone in between – all rejoicing in the beauty of Lakeland. Sweeping aesthetically above Derwent Water with a distinctive profile, Cat Bells is a little fell with big features: a taste of scrambling, a domed summit and eye-watering views over Borrowdale. Car parking is a nightmare, so the easiest (and most fun) option is to cruise across the lake from Keswick to Hawse End on a Keswick Launch ferry. The walk's ascent and descent are both steep, but the return along the Cumbria Way shoreline path is almost as delightful as the summit itself. Stay nearby The Cottage in the Wood (017687 78409) in Braithwaite has double rooms from £380, including half board. 9. Place Fell In Wainwright's words: 'It occupies an exceptionally good position in the curve of Ullswater, in the centre of a great bowl of hills; its summit commands a very beautiful and impressive panorama.' Often labelled England's most beautiful lake, Ullswater is not short of first-rate walking routes. Hallin Fell, on the southern shoreline, is an excellent viewpoint. Sheffield Pike, to the west, is blessed with the perfect angle to ogle the lake's sweeping curves, while Gowbarrow Fell, on the northern shore, combines with Aira Force waterfall to make a delightful short outing. Or, if you're feeling more energetic, the 20-mile Ullswater Way loops the lake in a two or three-day journey of Lakeland splendour. But, of all Ullswater's charms, Wainwright believed Place Fell was the cream of the crop. This route from Patterdale, just to the south of Glenridding, climbs easily enough to Boredale Hause before veering north for Place Fell's summit. The return leg via Hare Shaw, the lakeshore path and Side Farm completes a lovely loop. As Wainwright put it: 'One cannot look long at Place Fell without duly setting forth to climb it. The time is very well spent.' Stay nearby The Inn on the Lake (017684 82444) in Glenridding has double rooms from £165, including breakfast. 10. Blencathra In Wainwright's words: 'This is a mountain that compels attention, even from those dull people whose eyes are not habitually lifted to the hills.' The second highest of the northern fells, behind mighty Skiddaw, Blencathra is none the less number one in the hearts and minds of hikers in these parts of Lakeland. Soaring above the village of Threlkeld, to the east of Keswick, Blencathra dominates the skyline, with its five southern buttresses – scarred by four deep gullies – forming a remarkable façade of mountain. Many intrepid walkers will be drawn, however, to the northern side of the fell, where the barbed, razor-like arête of Sharp Edge serves up an iconic grade one scramble. But Wainwright was more enamoured by the southern aspect, describing the Hall's Fell ascent of Blencathra as 'positively the finest way to any mountain-top in the district', with an 'exhilarating' climb that satisfyingly 'scores a bulls-eye by leading unerringly to the summit-cairn'. Suitable only for confident scramblers, this route climbs the craggy spine of Hall's Fell before returning via the gentler ridge of Doddick Fell – one of Lakeland's most adventurous half-day outings. Stay nearby Inn on the Square Hotel (017687 73333) in Keswick has double rooms from £130, including breakfast.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Yahoo
The Five Lake District fells considered the most dangerous to climb
As Summer is approaching, a hike in the Lake District becomes an appealing prospect to people of all abilities. However, many fells have hikes that can be dangerous if you are not proficient enough, and with common unpredictability, we have highlighted the most dangerous hikes throughout the Lake District. Drone shot of Sharp Edge (Image: Stuart Holmes) Sharp Edge is akin to a knife-edge ridge requiring nerves of steel. It is a fully exposed grade I scramble in the Lake District, not to be undertaken lightly. Alfred Wainwright described the scramble: 'a rising crest of naked rock, of sensational and spectacular appearance, a breaking wave carved in stone.' Although only a couple of hundred meters long, the sharp drop either side of the ridge can feel like it takes a lifetime to navigate. Anywhere We Roam, a travel blog, recommend attempting Sharp Edge if you have some scrambling experience, are comfortable with heights and the conditions are good. Striding Edge is one of the most famous Lake District hikes (Image: Archive) Striding Edge is the famous and renowned ridge that flanks the south eastern passage to Helvellyn. The route should Only be tackled if you are experienced and confident enough in your own abilities to do so as many people have come to grief crossing Striding Edge. An airy ridge walk, the route requires a reasonable head for heights, scrambling skills in both ascent and descent, and experience to make your own judgements as to what is do-able. Despite its dangers, Striding Edge is also a historic route. This ridge was originally used as a trade route by locals, who would travel between the towns of Ambleside and Patterdale, over time, it became a popular spot for walkers and hikers, who were drawn to its breath-taking views and challenging terrain. Mountain surveyors climbing Swirral Edge Occupying the same fell as Striding Edge, Swirral Edge is an exposed scramble that should only be attempted if you're confident in your abilities and have a head for heights. Often used as a descent by walkers attempting Striding Edge, It is steeper but shorter than the aforementioned route. The views, however, are exceptional and the full panorama which you are granted from the third-highest point in England can be described as mind blowing. Both routes are mountaineering territory and crampons and axes are often needed along with the skills to use them, especially in winter. Weatherline service carries daily reports on conditions with advice on whether you need a full winter kit. At any time of year, be wary of strong winds on any narrow ridge. Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England (Image: Callum Liptrot) Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England with an elevation of 978 metres above sea level, and is home to the 'Bad Step' hike. The Scafell Pike Corridor Route from Seathwaite is said to be a challenging route to the summit of Scafell Pike. It's 16 km in length and involves some scrambling on a couple of sections. One of the hardest things about the Scafell Pike Corridor Route is its lack of clear waymarkers. This trail slips in and out of ridges following a wobbling path up to the summit. In addition to this, the summit plateau is mostly absent of any trail markings. Broad Stand is a scramble shortcut onto Scafell, from below it looks like a straightforward way up, but it's more difficult than it first appears and also can be a challenging descent. Consider taking a rope and small rack for protection if you are considering taking on this challenge, and possibly abseiling if you're descending. The poor rock holds lend itself to a high chance of hikers falling, which could create life threatening injuries. 290,000 people climb Scafell Pike each year, many of them taking part in the ' Three Peaks' to raise money for charity. However this mountain is one that gets the most rescue calls each year with over 600 dealing with people underestimating the challenge ahead.
Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Telegraph
How to tackle Britain's greatest walking route
The Pennine Way, a National Trail, is Britain's oldest long-distance footpath. Opened on April 24 1965 with a ceremony on Malham Moor, it paved the way for public access to some of England's wildest landscapes. The route passes through three national parks – the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland – as well as the North Pennines National Landscape (formerly AONB). Approximately half the Way crosses open moorland or through pastures and about a tenth of the trail is forest, woodland or riverbank. Whose idea was it? Tom Stephenson (1893-1987) was brought up in Whalley and championed the creation of national parks and the right to roam. He was secretary of the Ramblers Association and, as a journalist at the Daily Herald, penned a seminal 1935 article about a 'long, green trail' linking the Pennines to Scotland. He campaigned tirelessly for 30 years to create the Pennine Way and authored the first official Pennine Way guidebook, published by HMSO in 1969. Alfred Wainwright's Pennine Way Companion was published by the Westmorland Gazette a year earlier. Where does it go? Despite being a Lancastrian man's vision, the Pennine Way bypasses the county, following England's rocky spine from the hills of the Derbyshire Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales, through the Swaledale Valley, across the North Pennines and over Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland to the Cheviot Hills, ending on the Scottish side of the Borders in Kirk Yetholm. On the official interactive map you'll notice that the route is not arrow-straight, with a major dog-leg close to Barnard Castle and a west-to-east section along Hadrian's Wall near Haltwhistle. Leisure-oriented towns within walking distance of the Way include Hebden Bridge, Haworth, Horton in Ribblesdale and Hawes. When in doubt – or lost – think: letter H. What are the highlights? The literal high points include Kinder Scout, Bleaklow Head, Black Hill, Pen-y-ghent, Black Hill, Great Shunner Fell, Great Dun Fell, Cross Fell, Windy Gyle and the Schil – ranging in altitude between 1,900 and 2,900 feet. Landmarks are the Kinder plateau, Malham Cove, the Tan Hill Inn (the UK's highest pub), Swaledale, High Force, Cauldron Snout, High Cup, Hadrian's Wall and the border ridge through The Cheviots. How long does it take? The official length of the Pennine Way is 268 miles, but most walkers hike something closer to 253 miles. The longer length includes both sides of the Bowes Loop, both route options into Kirk Yetholm, the alternative route at High Cup Nick and the detour to the summit of The Cheviot. Full-length walkers typically allow between 16 to 19 days to walk the Way, hiking 13-15 miles each day. It's no mean feat, and some people prefer to break it into three or four separate challenges, or walk only those sections where the landscape and weather are less inclined to be bleak and lonely. The National Trail website breaks the walk into 16 sections. Guidebook publisher Cicerone suggests splitting the Way into 20 one-day walks. How fit do you need to be? The original premise of the path was to be as natural as feasible, containing 'no concrete or asphalt'. Early Pennine Wayfarers faced bothersome stretches of waterlogged terrain, no rare thing along a watershed. There are still morasses and peat bogs – worst after winter and big storms – but, to protect the peat and to prevent the path from growing wider than the M6, slabs have been laid over many of the delicate, erosion-prone areas. The entire Pennine Way involves an ascent of 40,000 feet, more than summiting Everest. But there are very few steep gradients compared with tackling, say, the Lakeland fells or crossing the Pennines via the Coast to Coast. If you can read a map and comfortably walk at least 12 miles in a day, you will be capable of completing the Way. Add rest and recovery days to your schedule if you can afford the time. When to go? The Pennine Way is busiest in the summer months, when people take their big annual holidays. It's the most pleasant time to walk in Northern England, accommodation, pubs, facilities and bus services are up and running, and camping is viable. Long days and reliable(ish) sunshine turn even moorland tramping into a holiday experience. Spring and autumn can be lovely, too, with fine days and flowers or fading foliage. Newborn lambs add their cute baas to the birdsong in mid-spring. Autumn sees blackberries and, if the summer has been dry, solid ground underfoot. Winter is usually harsh in the Pennines, with bitter cold and deep snow getting more probable the further north you go, meaning walkers have to consider extra kit and back-up plans. Is the route waymarked? The Pennine Way is a designated right of way from start to finish. This means it should be open at all times and always be free of obstructions. The route comprises public footpaths, bridleways, byways and highways. Signposts usually include the works 'Pennine Way' and the official National Trail 'acorn' symbol, plus a directional arrow. The Pennine Way intersects with the Pennine Bridleway on a handful of occasions, when it pays to be alert so you don't take a major diversion. What direction is best? Most people walk the Pennine Way from south to north, because southwesterly winds are more common than northerlies or northeasterlies – and it's more pleasant to have the wind on your back than in your face. That said, if you go in the other direction, you can count on days getting warmer as you walk. The southern half also has more towns, villages, pubs, transport options and people. Can I cycle or ride it? Only 30 per cent of the route follows bridle paths, so if you want to cycle rather than walk you'll need to divert onto the equally challenging 205-mile Pennine Bridleway National Trail. It claims to be 'specially designed' for horseriders, but information on stabling and horse-friendly accommodation is thin on the ground. Where can I sleep? The Pennine Way has a range of accommodation options, including hotels, B&Bs, hostels, bunkhouses and campsites, but they tend to be clustered around busy villages and towns and in some places walkers may be limited to a single address. There are four bothies along the route – at Top Withens (aka 'Wuthering Heights'), on the north flank of Cross Fell (the highest peak on the Way), close to Lamb Hill and south of the Schil. Are luggage transfers available? A handful of companies offer accommodation booking and/or baggage transfer along the Pennine Way. Sherpavan and Brigantes – among others – provide luggage transfer services from March 31 to October 19. The idea is to carry what you need for 3-5 days and then swap all your kit. Transfers cost £23.50 to £40 per bag per move. Macs Adventure, Mickledore, and Walkers Britain are among the tour firms selling self-guided holiday packages, which are essentially accommodation bookings plus luggage couriers. Footpath Holidays offers three six-day walks (covering the whole Way) with guides, but its July 2025 departures are already sold out. See a comprehensive list of tour operators here. How do I travel to the start and end points? Most railway lines and bus routes cross the Pennines from east to west and vice-versa, and relatively few routes run parallel to the Pennine Way. Edale is on the Hope Valley line linking Manchester and Sheffield. Kirk Yetholm is served by the 81 bus from Kelso, which has the 67 bus to Berwick-upon-Tweed for the East Coast Main Line. More details here. What kit do I need? Standard backpacking gear is needed, including a rucksack you can comfortably carry, sturdy boots, hat, good waterproofs, a change of dry clothes, flashlight, sun protection and sunglasses. Check the weather and consider the season. Take the relevant OS map(s) – you can buy a weatherproof bundle of seven maps for less than £100 – and don't rely on phones, GPX or digital services. What do you get for completing it? Half a pint and a certificate at the Border Hotel in Kirk Yetholm – which has ensuite bedrooms with baths and showers.
