10 sublime lakeside trail runs in the Lake District National Park

Imagine running around a stunning lake with soaring mountains as your backdrop. Underfoot, gravel trails offer fast, flowy running, but rocks, steps and roots keep you focused and engaged. The location is wild and remote, but navigation is easy and the run finishes at a café serving homemade ice-cream or local gingerbread. Sounds good? We’ve picked ten of our favourite trail running loops of the meres and waters of the Lake District National Park.

It’s hard to pick our favourite moments from running in the Lakes, but highlights include getting up early to catch the sun rising over the Old Man of Coniston from Tarn Hows; jumping aboard an Ullswater steamer to run the wild eastern shore back to the tent at Side Farm campsite; swimming from the southern beach at Grasmere, warming up with a run around Rydal Water and finishing with a drink in Tweedies bar; and having rugged and remote Ennerdale to ourselves on a perfect spring day, running a full loop without seeing another soul.

The long, ribbon-like glacial lakes were formed around 15,000 years ago during the last ice age, when advancing and retreating glaciers carved the deep depressions that the lakes now fill. Humans have also left their mark on the region, both physically and culturally. Expect Iron Age hillforts, fairy-tale castles, copper and slate mines, and the landscape that has inspired, and continues to inspire, books, paintings, poetry and speed records.

The Lake District was designated a National Park in 1951 and extended in 2016 to become England’s largest. It gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 2017, highlighting and protecting its natural, historical and cultural importance. This area is also a mecca for fell running and trail running. Numerous races tackle the steep-sided fells, while the Bob Graham Round – a 66-mile (106-km) iconic fell running challenge made famous by Richard Askwith’s great book, Feet in the Clouds – sets out from the Moot Hall in Keswick. You can see the full route and learn more about the Bob Graham in this Collection komoot.com/collection/1045880

The Lake District is well known for its gnarly races and fell running challenges, but there’s also plenty to inspire those seeking a gentler kind of adventure. The lakes themselves offer a wonderful variety of easy-to-navigate loops, with all the scenery but far less ascent. A celebration of these enjoyable lakeside trails, the Tours that follow range from 1.9 miles (3 km) with just 98 ft (30 m) of ascent to 10.4 miles (16.8 km) with 951 ft (290 m) of ascent. These routes are a fantastic introduction to running in the Lakes, offering more accessible and less intimidating challenges than the fells. There’s nothing stopping you racing as hard as you want, but there is less vert, easier navigation and lower objective danger than runs of equivalent length higher up.

Following lakeside trails makes navigation easy, just keep the lake to one side. Underfoot, the trails are predominantly well-maintained, but some sections are rocky, rooty and twisty, and can get muddy and slippery in wet weather. In all cases, we’d recommend wearing trail running shoes with plenty of off-road grip. Even when you’re not heading up into the fells, we’d always suggest taking a small first aid kit and spare warm layer, plus food and water as many of the routes are in remote areas and the Cumbrian weather is notoriously changeable.

This Collection is a grand tour of the lakes and meres of the Lake District, visiting many of the more popular areas alongside some of the quieter ones. A busy and popular destination for outdoor adventure seekers, the main towns, including Ambleside and Keswick, are well stocked with outdoor shops, cafes and accommodation where muddy shoes won’t be frowned at.

Trains run via Penrith for Keswick and Ullswater, Windermere for Ambleside and the Southern Lakes, or Workington/Whitehaven for the Buttermere area. Many of the Tours are accessible by bus, with services linking the main train stations. Search for the Stagecoach bus timetable to check the routes and times. Some buses are seasonal, and the Western Lakes are the hardest to reach by public transport. All of these Tours start and finish at a car park – please park responsibly and remember that paying for parking in National Park or National Trust car parks helps to fund these organisations’ essential work caring for these precious places.