Walking: Three Hidden Gems In The Lake District. -

Three Hidden Gems In The Lake District.

Walking:

First a note of safety for the un-initiated.
The Lake District's location is on the north west coast of England, coupled with its mountainous natural features, apart from making it the dampest part of England. The Lake District can also be bracing, and at certain times of the year very bad cloud and snow, close some of it down. Nature then gets its chance, to recouperate and make amends once again.

This is something you should be aware of when trekking out onto the fells and my recemendation is to take a light backpack stashed with a spare pair of socks, sugar loaded goodies, or sandwiches and of course a drink, preferabley water or a warm drink. Make sure you bring back your own rubbish as well! Mobile phones do not work well, so caution should be taken at all times.

However saying this, most people of all ages do have a wonderful time here and before you know it, its time to packup and go, so make the most of your time.

There are many places in the Lake District that a tourist can visit by car, but if you want to do some local, short walks without to much driving and miss out the tourist infested towns like Windemere for instance. Then a great place to walk to is Watendlath.

Watendlath is situated adjacent the Derwent Lake near Keswick. From here you can take a short drive up to the car parks, which are hidden amongst the trees and cliffs. Your first gasp will be of the view back across the Derwent Lake and across to the mountain range that includes Cat Bells and High Rise.

The walk from here is approxiamatly 2 to 3 miles at the most and can be made either via the road, but even better, across the national trust paths along the babbling riverbank to the farm tea shop and the wonderful views across the tarn, which sparkles in the midday sunlight.

In the height of summer this is simply a wonderful place to visit, and if you're feeling adventurous you could always take on the extra walk to Dock Tarn, which is about a mile away and hidden in the hills. Here you will find outstanding views and unbelievable peace and quiet. A great place to have picnic and just sit and watch the clouds go by, over the Borrowdale valley.

Seathwaite is my next little gem, why?, well for one it is situated in the wonderfull Borrowdale Valley and only a short distance away from most of the major towns. From here you can start your walk alongside the impressive mountain Glaramara. Follow the footpath right up to Sprinkling Tarn and look back across Keswick and the impresive mountain range that includes Skiddaw and Blencathra. Turn around again and you then see Great Gable, further up the track is Scafell Pike. Though I would not try this climb unless you have set out to do so, its steep and rocky and will take up most of your day to climb, however well worth the effort for its outstanding view across the sea to Scotland.

One of my very favourite walks starts from the tiny sleepy village of Mungrisdale, just south of the Carrack Fells, and slightly north east of Keswick. Depending on the direction your walk takes, it can be relativley easy to navigate to either Blencathra or up onto the Carrack Fells. The views back across the valley floor are nothing short of stunning, again wonderfull places to have picnics and on your return pop in to The Mill pub for a quick pint of Jennings before home.

This is just three examples of some of my favourite short walks that like me, many other people also return to as well. The Lake District National Park is stunning all year round and as each season passes onto the next, a lot of work is undertaken to keep it this way. So please support The National Trust by making a donation to them whenever you can.