• Alston
• Allonby And Aspatria
• Ambleside And Troutbeck
• Appleby In Westmoreland
• Askam In Furness
• Barrow In Furness
• Bassenthwaite
• Borrowdale
• Bowness On Windermere
• Brough
• Buttermere
• Brampton
• Broughton In Furness
• Carlisle
• Cartmel
• Cleator Moor
• Cockermouth
• Coniston
• Dalston
• Dalton In Furness
• Dent
• Grange Over Sands
• Grasmere
• Greenodd
• Grizedale
• Hawkshead
• Kendal
• Keswick
• Kirkby Lonsdale
• Wasdale And Gosforth
• Kirkby Stephen
• Longtown
• Loweswater
• Maryport
• Melmerby
• Milnthorpe
• Nenthead
• Newby Bridge
• Orton
• Penrith
• Pooley Bridge
• Ravenglass And Eskdale
• Sedbergh
• Seascale
• Shap
• Silloth And Solway
• St Bees
• Skiddaw
• Staveley
• Tebay
• The Duddon Valley
• Threlkeld
• Ulverston
• Vale Of Lorton
• Wasdale
• Wetheral
• Whitehaven
• Wigton
• Windermere
• Workington
• Spa Hotels In Windermere The Lake District
• Hotels With Hot Tubs In Windermere
• Hot Tub Hotels In Windermere And The Lake District
• Romantic Breaks In Windermere And The Lake District
• Themed Hotels In Windermere And The Lake District
• Weekend Breaks In Windermere
• Windermere Attractions And Boat Trips
• Boutique Hotels And Accommodation In Windermere And The Lake District
• Windermere In The Rain
• One Way Ticket To Windermere Por Favor
• Horse Riding In The Lake District
• Walks In The Lake District
• Windermere Boutique Hotel Bedrooms
• Holiday Accommodation Wanted In The Lake District

Walking tips in the Lake District

Walkers should always carry a compass (and know how to use it) and the appropriate Ordnance Surveyor similar map. All the walks are on Land ranger 90 (I:50,000), though this series does not feature the network of field boundaries such as walls which are helpful in determining the precise route to be followed.

Until recently, a walker new to Lakeland would have been advised to purchase a set of the large-scale (I:25,000) Outdoor Leisure maps, those of special interest being the English Lakes: North Western area and English Lakes: North Eastern area. The OS has brought out new I :25,000 maps, under the general title of Explorer OL. They replace the older issues of this size of map and are double sided, including details of land north of Skiddaw, including Carrock Fell. All our selected walks except one appear on either the North Western area or the North Eastern area, and the references in the text are to these maps.

Skiddaw is one of the world's older hills, being much older than the Alps and the Himalayas. Most of Northern Lakeland is dominated by the so-called Skiddaw Slates, which are in reality shale's, with bands of grit. They formed in the Ordovician period some 480 million years ago when material accumulated at the delta of a river that flowed into a shallow sea, attaining a thickness of about 6,000 feet (800m).
The strata were then folded, compressed and lifted above sea level, where later they were exposed to glacial action, to weather, water and other forms of erosion.

Skiddaw, this sprawling mass of tilted slates, which is visible from most of the walks in this book, is old but its surface rocks crumble readily in the freeze thaw conditions of the northern winter or even under the boots of its many visitors. A handy vantage point for geological features is the stone circle of Castlerigg, which stands on a relatively low hill near Keswick (walk II). Visible to the north are the aforementioned smooth sided fells. To the south lies the darker, somewhat younger terrain of the Borrowable Volcanic, consisting of hard lava beds and softer bands of tuff (volcanic fragments and dust). The volcanoes that created this dark, craggy landscape flared over 460 million years ago. They were the great volcanoes of Borrowable and Eycott which erupted violently, throwing out large amounts of debris and lava as two ancient continents collided.

Between its head and the low country around Keswick are both Slates and Volcanic. The former are visible to the north and west, beyond the village of Grange, with Cat Bells  as a prominent feature. The Borrowable Volcanic are evidenced on Walla Crag  and around the head of the dale.Apart from Skiddaw and Blencathra, the Slates are evident on other brooding giants, such as Robinson and Grasmere; they show themselves beside Bassenthwaite Lake  and, over the hill to the west, where Crum mock Water and Lowes water appear to view. Skiddaw Slates meet the volcanic rocks in tumult at Carrock Fell. (An isolated outcrop of the Slates forms part of the bulk of Black Combe, in the southwest of the Lake District).

The differences in landscape terms are conspicuous. The Skiddaw Slates, as mentioned, break down through weathering. The hills have smooth slopes with truncated spurs, caused by glacial ice or water or both. They are not without crags, as you will see on climbing Blencathra by Halls Fell ridge . The overwhelm  ing impression in summer is of greenness, and in autumn the dry ridges in the area 'back 0' Skiddaw' and on the great buttresses of Blencathra have a purple hue from flowering ling.

What is popularly known as the Ice Age, which lasted around one million years, with cold spells and brief warmer periods, made a deep and lasting impression on Lakeland. Ice that formed on Lakeland's central core, around Scafell and Great Gable, moved in all directions, down old river valleys, the pattern of which has been compared with spokes in a gigantic wheel. A series of four glaciations sculpted the landscape. Borrowable was at times brimful of ice that extended over flanking fells such as Maiden Moor and Grange Fell.

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