Lake District easy hikes?

I did the Derwentwater boat trip and thought it was just so-so. I walked up to Castlerigg and was blown away by the circle and the views. Wow. I would choose this one if you have any interest in neolithic sites.

I was there in 2015 before the big flood in December of that year so my walking route which included walking on the decommissioned rail path might be different today.

Before (and during) our own trip to the Lakes last year I previewed a number of easy day hikes on the All Trails website. I think they have an app for smart phones as well.
We generally found the descriptions of the hikes and their relative degrees of difficulty to be very helpful, as were the user reviews. It helped me to narrow things down in a hurry - might help you too.

I am going to be really unpopular here. Catbells or Buttermere or any fell (hill) walk I can't say you should do in trainers, as they do not provide enough ankle support. I know that many people do, but Murphy's Law says that you are the one who will go over on your ankle and potentially have to be rescued by the volunteer mountain rescue services/even airlifted by helicopter.

I will say that I am one of the many stupid ones who do, because of a blood dis-order I cannot wear footwear that covers the ankles. But I know what I am doing and am willing to turn if I am, in my opinion, at too much risk. Lecture over.

Aira Force- unless something unexpected when the timetables come out you would have to go to Penrith (on the even hour from Keswick) then change at Penrith on to the #508 to Windermere (or of course the 555 to Windermere, then the #508 every odd hour towards Penrith). I don't expect the extra (even hours) 508 Open Top Buses Penrith to Patterdale to be running on weekdays in June.

That one is fine in trainers, You could then go down to Aira Force pier for the boat to Glenridding.

Castlerigg is fine in trainers. At the Penrith Road/Chestnut Hill junction you can join the K2T rail path in either direction (Threlkeld or Keswick Station). The K2T is now fully re-open after being destroyed in two major storm events since 2015. It had to be totally rebuilt. As "urban/suburban" hikers that would meet all your criteria except the lake views- and meet them in bucket loads. To me it is far and away the best short (3.5 miles) all abilities walk in the area. There is a bus stop at the trail end at Threlkeld, or wander into the village for the splendid tearoom in the Village Hall.

If you wanted to do the Lodore Falls take the open top bus one way and the launch the other way. That one, is short enough to do it in trainers.

You can get down to either Buttermere or Crummock lake at Buttermere village- I am just not happy with going round the lake. Then go the farm ice cream parlour afterward.

The other lake walk would be the 554 or X4 to Mirehouse (Hall)/Dodd Wood (for the Ospreys) then the walk down to the idyllically situated old St Bega's Church (by Bassenthwaite), maybe even visit Mirehouse. There is a theme here- with a good tea rooms at Dodd Wood car park.
You can extend the St Bega's walk on the back road through Scarness to Bassenthwaite Village for bus home.

In the other direction from Dodd Wood there is a woodland path, which takes you to the quiet byway through Milllbeck and Applethwaite back into Keswick- about 4 miles. That's the sort of walk you want.

The walk around Buttermere should be OK as it is on a well used and reasonable footpath. It's also a very 'gentle' walk. I was wearing boots but others in the group were wearing trainers. Have a look at this website which has lots of pictures showing what the footpath is like.

Tarn Hows is another possibility. Park at the car park up near the tarn rather than the one on the shore at the northern end of Coniston Water. It saves the climb up through the woods where the path is pretty rough in places. One at the tarn there is a well made track round the tarn.

We walked most of the way around Lake Derwentwater, then caught the boat back. The castelrigg circle is easy to get to and worth visiting. Since we visited it en route to someplace else, we drove to it.

I've been thinking of a few other all ability walks-
1. Bus 555 to Ambleside then 516 to Chapel Stile- walk down Elterwater and Chapel Stile past Skelwith Force (waterfall) to Skelwith Bridge for the 505 and 516 buses, or extend the walk back into Ambleside past Brathay;
2. Bus 555 down to Windermere, then Open top bus to Bowness- there are various launches from there or Waterhead (Ambleside) to the west side of the lake. There is now an easy lakeshore path all the way from Wray Castle to Newby Bridge with a couple of places as break points. The most obvious is come back over on the Windermere car ferry;
3. Bus to Ambleside then the 505 to Hawkshead, walk the west side of Esthwaite Water down to Hill Top (Beatrix Potter) then new off road paths down the hill to Claife Heights and the Windermere car ferry back across the lake;
4. Bus 555 to Thirlspot Kings Head Inn, then walk the road the west side of Thirlmere- now fully reopened after storm damage to walkers/cyclists, still closed to cars, down the full length of the lake/reservoir to Armboth/Wythburn and visit Wythburn Church, then the bus home;
5. Bus 555 to Armboth/Wythburn then walk the new path/cycle route and the back roads on the west side of the A591 to Grasmere Village. This walk can then be extended over the quiet road to Elterwater for the 516 bus.

Wow, fantastic feedback once again from the group. Thank you all so very much! I’ve put these notes into my planning notebook for reference as we get closer to the journey.
Thank you everyone!

As a follow up to Stuart’s (isn31c) selection of hikes, it occurs to me that you can walk from Elterwater towards the head of the Great Langdale valley catching the bus at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel back down the valley to Elterwater and beyond.

It’s maybe, in its final stages, a bit rougher than might be required and a touch ‘uphill - down dale’ latterly, but the scenery is spectacular!

If considering, do check the most up to date bus times as they are infrequent, but I have caught the bus back to Elterwater following a ‘livener’ in the ODG after a day’s walk to get there from Coniston (Cumbria Way route) if memory serves.

Ian

I'm glad Ian has answered this, as I struggle to find threads again. The Thirlspot to Armboth walk above was given to you in good faith from a County Council news release about the re-opening a few weeks ago.
However it has since come to light that the road has re-opened to horse riders (certainly) and cyclists (probably). However it has not re-opened to walkers, on pain of prosecution. There is a road traffic order in force forbidding walkers.
It seems that there is a perceived risk difference between horse riders, cyclists and walkers.

There are apparently representations being made by various organisations to the county, but for now I apologise for the wrong information, given in good faith.

PS- Yes buses down the Langdale Valley are broadly every 2 hours. Last summer there was a new early evening bus back at 7pm, which went all the way to Kendal. Hopefully that will be repeated this year. Coniston also got a new early evening service.

Haven’t walked in the Lake District yet, but will suggest you consider trainers marketed as “trail runners”. They tend to be a bit more stable side to side and have soles made for trails rather than sidewalks—a bit more tread and grip. We hiked the Cotswold Way in that type of shoe last year and were fine. Never felt like we should have brought our hiking boots.

It might depend on where you’re staying, and whether or not you have a car.

If you’re staying in Keswick, the walk to/from Castelrigg stone circle is not hard, and (if I remember right) mostly on pavement, so perfect if you’re only wearing trainers. Bonus: You will end up high enough to get a beautiful view of the surrounding fells. The round trip walk sounds doable for you. And the stone circle is really beautiful, too.

Walking around Derwentwater is nice and flat, but you’ll see mostly trees and glimpses of the lake, rather than views from the fells.

We hiked Catbells 20 years ago, with only trainers but we got lucky and had sunny weather. The views from up there were amazing. If you have dry weather, I think that’s an option for you too.

The nice thing about all 3 above is that you can start from Keswick.

Any suggestions for hikes around Bowland's Bridge or Cartmell?

We will be there in May and have hired a car so we can get about.

Regards,
Dennis And Elinore

All round about 3 to 4 miles or a bit more as requested by PM.

From Bowland Bridge-
Drive to Brigsteer Church and park up there. There is very fine walking on the limestone escarpment. You could do a circular to Sizergh Castle and Levens Village for instance.
Drive down to Fell Foot Country Park, walk via Staveley in Cartmel to Newby Bridge, up the hill at the back of the Swan Hotel to the Napoleonic Tower, down the other side to Finsthwaite, round to Stott Park Bobbin Mill, then Lakeside Pier. From there take the little launch back across the lake to Fell Foot (if it's running) or the Lake Steamer to Bowness and bus 6 back to Fell Foot. That is a great day out.
Drive round to Lakeside, walk up the lake shore to the Windermere car ferry (6 miles), cross on the Ferry, short walk round Cockshott Point to Bowness Pier and 'steamer' back to Lakeside.
Drive to Staveley, and follow the Dales Way along the river to Burneside, train back to Staveley. Visit Staveley Church and Mill Yard.
Drive to Staveley, the last 6 miles of the Dales Way to Bowness Pier, launch/'steamer to Ambleside (Waterhead), bus 555 back to Staveley.
From Cartmel-
Drive down to Grange and take the Cumbria Coastal Way (via Meathop to Witherslack, visit the Church, and catch the hourly X6 bus back on the main road.
Go the other way from Grange along the CCW to Kents Bank, circular walk to Humphrey Head (where the last wolf in the UK is reputed to have been killed), back to Kents Bank for train every hour to Grange.
Take the last part of the Cistercian Way diverting to Hampsfell Hospice , down into Grange through the woods and back up the road past the Library to Grange Fell Church and the Cemetery, or divert over the top to Allithwaite
A round trip from Cartmel would be the Cistercian Way west bound past Cartmel Cemetery to Holker Hall and Cark, returning on the 'low path' which crosses the racecourse.

Just a few examples of what is possible.

Great, the hikes from Keswick are perfect since we won’t have a car. (I’ve considered a day tour with Mountain Goat, but they only depart from Ambleside, so a bus ride to Ambleside to catch the tour, and lunch wd be in Keswick where we are staying, then additional sites. Maybe not the right fit for our short Keswick stay. See more via Van vs spend time exploring more in foot.)

I’ve narrowed down a few options from your vast suggestions. I’d love to catch at least one great waterfall during 1 of the 2 long days we’re in town. Lodore? Or worth a bus to Ambleside for the short walk to falls? Thanks y’all!

Mountain Goat is curious. They always have picked up in Keswick, and list it on their website as a "principal pick up point", but no tours are listed as picking up there.
But they are picking up at all manner of places in the Furness area, half of which are not really touristy places. I wonder if it's a winter thing- perhaps worth an e mail to them to check.

If you have to go down to Ambleside for MG there are the early buses from Keswick at 0710 and 0830, and the later buses back. The two early ones don't attract the tourists, so are lightly laden with just a few locals and early bird walkers. Likewise the late ones back after about 6pm are blissfully quiet with mainly locals and all day fellwalkers.

On those quiet workings you might even get a table seat on the new buses- yes they are high enough spec to have some round table seating. They also have USB charging, but the on board WiFi is very spotty due to the terrain.

Especially if you do have to go down to Ambleside yes Stock Ghyll will be good- it is surprising how very fast you leave the tourist hub bub behind, but get a guide leaflet and you learn why Ambleside actually exists- it did so long before tourism, as in fact did lake navigation on both Windermere and Ullswater- which was originally for mining, mill and timber traffic.

A visit to the Armitt Museum in Ambleside might also be interesting in that regard,

Another possible and good waterfall from Ambleside is Skelwith Force- hop on a 516 to Elterwater and Dungeon Ghyll..
Walk east from Elterwater village on the well used path.

After the falls you reach Skelwith Bridge. From there it's worth continuing down Bog Lane and following the south bank of the River Brathay past Brathay Church back into Ambleside. That's a nice, super easy walk on back roads with little traffic.
If you get tired cross the bridge to the north bank at Brathay Church and hail a 505 or 516 bus down- from memory I don't think there is a marked stop there, if not just stick your hand out and it'll stop.

Thinking about waterfalls another easy one to reach is Sour Milk Ghyll at Grasmere. Take the minor road out of the centre of Grasmere signed for Easedale Tarn. That dead end road eventually becomes a good path. It should take you about 30 minutes or so to reach the falls. Especially after heavy rain they are spectacular. That path is a well trodden route into the high fells. Continue the short distance on to Easedale Tarn, but that's as far as you need to go- https://www.thelakedistrict.org/things-to-do/walks/easedale-tarn/

Thank you so much, everyone, esp isn31c for your thoughtful suggestions! We can’t wait to visit 🤩

The road round the west side of Thirlmere which re-opened in January closed again last Friday, 5 April due to further rockfalls after recent heavy rainfall.

Buses along the Langdale Valley are hourly this year. The best ever service.