|
|
|
Distance: | 70 miles |
| Difficulty: | Moderate to Strenuous |
| Way-marking: | First and last day are a bit tricky, but the middle is excellent. |
| Trails: | Good.
| | Lodging Styles: | English B&Bs |
| Best Season: | Spring and early summer.
|
Highlights:
| Fabulous scenery between Coniston and Keswick
|
|
England's Lake District is a land of fells, becks, and rocky ridges that dominate over the gentle, green valleys below.  The lakes, for which the area is noted, aren't simply called "lakes". Their names, Ullwater, ELterwater, Buttermere, and Windemere, to name a few, are distinctly English in character.
This is not the backcountry. Instead the mountains here evoke a romantic sense of history, art, and poetry. However, if you interpret this to mean the hiking is easy with little paths and ponds, you're highly mistaken. Make sure your boots are sturdy, your rain gear truly waterproof, and your map and compass skills in order.
The Cumbria Way passes through 70 miles of this glorious countryside. From the town of Ulverston, on the shores of Morecambe Bay, through the heart of the Lake District, and onto the historic city of Carlisle, this "unofficial" long-distance trail has much to offer.
The route has three distinctive sections. The first is like an introduction which takes you from the non-touristy town of Ulverston into the Lake District. From here the next several days are quintessential Lakeland and if you're lucky enough to have very un-English clear and sunny skies, you'll see some of the best scenery in the world. North of Keswick things begin to change as there's a gradual leaving of Lakeland for the more wide-open hill-country of northern Cumbria.
The middle section from Coniston to Keswick is by far the easiest to follow and well-marked. The beginning and end of the route may test your patience and map reading skills. But, as always in the countryside, help is just a question away. So don't be deterred. It's been said that there is a "very definite achievement in transferring yourself from one place to another my means of locomotion no more elaborate than a pair of feet." I heartily agree.
|
|
