The best walks and hikes around Windermere

Ambles from Ambleside

The most mountainous hikes around Windermere set out from the outdoor mecca of Ambleside, nestled just beyond the lake’s northern shore. The town is a terrific base for all things hiking related, with cosy tea rooms, hiking themed pubs and more gear shops than you can shake an ice axe at.

Wansfell’s ridge is deservedly popular and easily accessed from the town, offering magnificent views right down Windermere’s throat. Magical Loughrigg Fell is like the centre of a wheel with valleys radiating outwards like spokes. This results in sumptuous panoramas from its modest, 1,099-foot (335 m) perch. For something more epic, the Fairfield Horseshoe is a classic hike with very few technical difficulties. The peak bagger in you will be sated by no less than eight Wainwright summits, so it’s fair to say it is a strenuous outing.

Exceptional panoramic viewpoints

Many of the best hiking trails around Windermere take you to exceptional panoramic viewpoints overlooking both the lake and the fells that beautifully span the horizon. On the eastern shore is the bustling Bowness-on-Windermere which joins to Windermere town itself. Both make great bases for lakeside exploration and have many options for that all important ice cream. It is worth noting that the trails here are some of the busiest in the national park, especially during public holidays and the summer.

The lakeside is richly veined with paths that take you alongside classic Lakeland scenes, like jetties that stretch out over the water with a backdrop of distant ridges. As you leave the population centres, woodland gives way to small but prominent hills, such as Orrest Head where Alfred Wainwright, the legendary guidebook writer, had his first experience of the Lake District. The vista from the 780-foot (238 m) summit was, for him, a life-changing moment.

Castles and tranquil trails

Walks around Windermere’s western shore are wilder, quieter and all the better for it. You can hop on a ferry across the lake and ramble in more solitudinous surroundings. The moderately high woodland paths of Claife are a beguiling place to roam. To the north, the neo-gothic crenelated turrets of Wray Castle make for a splendid objective, with grounds boasting arboreal delights in the form of redwoods and weeping limes.