Distance: 5 miles                          Time: 2 hours                         Type: Round trip

Circling Buttermere is an easy but classic walk in the Lake District and a popular outing for visitors to the area. The lake is very peaceful and the path offers great views across to Fleetwith Pike and Hay Stacks.

 

Route:

There is free parking in the small village of Buttermere, from where it is easy to locate the path to the north edge of the lake. If you follow the path in an anti-clockwise direction you first walk along the bottom of the hillside through Burtness Wood. It is possible to leave the path here to climb up to Bleaberry Tarn and Red Pike, or further on, to the top of Hay Stacks. I took a detour up the hillside to photograph some waterfalls, from where there were even better views across to Fleetwith Pike. After reaching the south edge of the lake the path then passes through a farm before joining the main road (the B5289). You have to walk along the road for a short distance before the path drops back to the water's edge, where it continues until reaching the path to the village back at the north end of the lake.