Lake District Events

Food & Drink and Events in the Lake District

Pub Food and Gastro Pubs in the Lake District

Walking Equipment

The right equipment is essential for successful and comfortable walk. Here are some notes on clothing, boots and other gear.

Clothing

I have an excellent rain jacket made by The North Face. It is lightweight so it packs easily in luggage and has drawstring closures on the waist, cuffs and hood. Waterproof pants are also a necessity. These are readily available in outdoor stores and are usually nylon with elastic cuffs and waist.

Socks: Many experienced walkers praise merino wool socks as the best. Wool has the property of wicking sweat and keeping warm even when wet.

Boots

There are many brands of high quality walking boots but I chose Keen hiking boots. They are sturdy with excellent tread and, importantly, very comfortable.

Walking Poles

 The recommended height for a walking stick is to the top of your hand when you stand straight and have your elbow at your side and arm bent at 90 degrees. For me that would be 120cm (47¼ in).

I met an experienced walker who was traveling with a collapsible pole. Rather than the popular telescoping poles which typically only shorten to about half of their fully extended length, the collapsible ones are much smaller, breaking down like a white cane for the blind. He used a Gabel brand pole that collapsed to 37cm or 16" when packed. They range in price from €43 to €150, made from aluminum or carbon fiber.

A British walking supply company recommends the Leki brand of poles. Available from Leki Canada.

Leki Micro Vario

Black Diamond make high quality and very light carbon fiber poles that are highly rated, but are quite expensive. Their Black Diamond Carbon Z is US$190.

Black Diamond Carbon Z

See reviews on Switch Back Travel. Though they like Black Diamond they note that one problem with carbon fiber is that it doesn't bend—when it fails, it breaks!

European Walks

A guest on Rick Steves' podcast discussed some of her favourite walks around Europe.

1. King Ludwig's Way in Austria
2. Alsace Way in France
3. Glasgow to Fort William in Scotland
4. Levonto to Monterosa in Italy.

She also recommended the Gaia app which has downloadable maps so you have them when you're offline, as can often happen in the countryside and mountainous regions. There is a basic free version and an advanced version for a monthly prescription fee.

Trails around the Amalfi Coast

Greek Hikes

From a Telegraph article on the highlights of Greece:

Legend has it that no human could climb Mount Olympus, mythical home of the 12 Olympian gods – and it wasn’t until 1913 that a team of Swiss climbers finally managed to reach the 9,570 ft-high peak.

It’s still a challenging climb to reach Mytikas peak, but amateur hikers who’d like to experience a taste of adventure can drive to Prionia (Πριόνια) – the highest location that’s accessible by car – then make the strenuous hike to Skala (Σκάλα), one of the lower peaks, to get a glimpse of the spectacular views that once upon a time only the Gods could enjoy.

Trail Path offers small‑group two-day hiking tours, leaving from Thessaloniki, from £102 per person.

Hike Crete’s Samariá Gorge (Φαράγγι Σαμαριάς)
Stretching for 10 miles from high in the Lefka Ori (Λευκά Όρη, i.e, White Mountains) to the pebbles of Agia Roumeli’s (Αγιά Ρούμελη) peaceful beach far below, Samariá Gorge, Europe’s longest canyon, is just a short drive from the harbour of Crete’s second town, Chania (Χανιά).
But be warned – you’ll need to be fairly fit to tackle the five-hour hike through this spectacular boulder-strewn ravine; an easier alternative is to take a boat from Hora Sfakion (Χώρα Σφακίων) to Agia Roumeli and hike through the bottom end of the gorge. Entrance tickets to Samariá Gorge cost from £3.50.

Skiddaw

Walked to the top of Skiddaw (3053ft), July 4, 2022. A long and ultimately steep walk. Weather started out partly cloudy and clouded over near the top third and rain increased. Rain became heavier and wind increased significantly to almost gale force at the top. Half way up the hill, Keswick can be seen but from the top all was clouded in.

View about half way up

View of Keswick from about 2/3 of the way up

View of Keswick from the top

At the top

Plate on top of plinth

The plate on the plinth shows the various villages, fells and notable points of interest from Skiddaw.

Coast to Coast Walk

One of the other great walks is the Coast to Coast. It goes from St.Bees Head on the west coast to Robin Hood's Bay on the east, a walk of 192 miles (309km).

Alfred Wainwright's guide is popular with many walkers.

Julia Bradbury has a very good video on this walk - see the section on DVDs below. A website dedicated to the C-t-C can be found here.

 

Here is a selection from the guide showing the route and the elevations along the way.

Other Walks

Britain is a land of walkers. So besides fell walking there are many interior and coastal walks to be had. Here are a few:

The Coast to Coast - from St.Bees Head on the west coast to Robin Hood's Bay on the east, and is 192 miles long.

The Pennine Way - from Edale in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm, Scotland and is 268 miles long. See the official website here.

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path - though continuous it is usually divided into 3 separate walks. The north from St. David to St Dogmaels (62 miles), the western from Milford Haven to St. Davids (58 miles), and the southern from Amford to Milford Haven (66 miles).

The Ridgeway - West of London, runs from Overton Hill to Ivinghoe Beacon, and is 87 miles long.

Besides his guides to the Lake District, Alfred Wainwright wrote guides to the Coast to Coast and the Pennine Way. A website dedicated to his guides can be found here.

The Walking Englishman is a good reference site for various walks. RamblingMan has information on many walks throughout the UK.

Wanderlust Magazine has a good article on The 7 Best Coastal Walks in Scotland.