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.

Ravenglass and Eskdale Steam Railway

The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway in Cumbria is a narrow gauge steam railway, running 7 miles from Ravenglass to Dalegarth. See the official website.

ADDRESS
Railway Station, Ravenglass CA18 1SW, UK
Phone: +44 1229 717171
( Ravenglass, 1hr 41min from Carlisle)

Route map

The only rail access to Ravenglass is from the north on the Northern Railway.

Carlisle to Ravenglass

Other Walks in Britain

Snowdonia
Stay Snowdonia

The village of Llanberis is the closest to Snowdon. (Nearest station - Bangor)

Groeslon Ty Mawr B&B, Route A4244, Llanddeiniolen, Caernarfon LL55 3AW Wales. Ph. +44 (0)1248 352791

Groeslon Ty Mawr B&B

Pant Teg B&B, Tregarth, Bangor LL57 4AU Wales Ph. +44 (0)1248 602248

Pant Teg B&B

Caer Menai Guest House B&B, 15 Church Street, Caernarfon LL55 1SW Wales Ph. +44 (0)1286 672612

Caer Menai Guest House B&B

The accommodations below are on the other side of Snowdon from Llanddeiniolen and Caernarfon and are not as accessible without some roadway transport. The above accommodations have shorter road access (except, of course, for Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel below which is the closest accommodation to Snowdon).

Ty Gwyn Coaching Inn, A5 Road, Snowdonia National Park, Betws-y-Coed LL24 0SG Wales. Ph. +44 (0)1690 710383 (£86) Well reviewed on TripAdvisor. ( Betws-y-Coed) map

Ty Gwyn Coaching Inn

Y Pengwern, Church Square, Llan Ffestiniog LL41 4PB. +44 (0)1766 762200. Relaxed inn with free breakfast, a cosy lounge bar & event space, plus casual rooms. (Note: closed until 2025) 3-star hotel ( Bangor) map

Y Pengwern

Gwesty Seren Hotel, Bryn Llewelyn, Llan Ffestiniog LL41 4NS +44 (0)1766 513133 (£100 off peak, £140 peak) 3-star hotel ( Betws-y-Coed) map

Gwesty Seren Hotel

THE hotel which is closest to Snowdon is Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel in Nant Gwynant, Gwynedd, North Wales, LL55 4NT. +44 (0)1286 870211. Telephone bookings only! Quaint, eccentric cottage inn. "After a day spent walking in Snowdonia, come home to a sauna in the garden followed by a dip in the natural pool, then a hearty dinner announced by a gong and a night in one of the plain, spotless bedrooms, with no frills except fluffy towels, monogrammed linen and a decent bar of Imperial Leather soap." £112B&B, £128B&B plus ensuite, for 2024. (They also have a two bedroom cottage.) ( Bangor) map

Pen-y-Gwryd

Ben Nevis
All serviced by Fort William's rail station ( Fort William)
Google - Ben Nevis accommodations

B&Bs
The Brevins Guest House, Glen Nevis, Fort William PH33 6PF. Ph. +44 (0)1397 701412

The Bevins Guest House

Tigh na Drochaid, Nevis Bridge, Glen Nevis, Fort William PH33 6PF. +44 (0)1397 704177

Tigh na Drochaid

MacIntosh house, 9 Claggan Road, Telford Pl, Fort William PH33 6QG. +44 (0)7867 782551

Ben Nevis Guest House, Nevis Bridge, Glen Nevis, Fort William PH33 6PF. +44 (0)1397 708817

Ben Nevis Guest House

St Anthony's Bed and Breakfast, Argyll Rd, Fort William PH33 6LF. +44 (0)1397 705184 (£65 2019). 3-star

St. Anthony's Bed and Breakfast

Hostel
Fort William Backpackers, Charlecote, Alma Rd, Fort William PH33 6HB. +44 (0)1397 700711 ($55CDN 2019).

Hotels
Travel Lodge, Fort William (£85 2019). 3-star.

Lake District Accommodations

Keswick ( Penrith, X5 bus to Keswick)

AirBnB - Keswick

I stayed at Lindisfarne House, 21 Church Street, Keswick. Alison and claire were excellent hosts and very reasonable price - book directly with them and request a single room.

Allerdale House, 1 Eskin St., Keswick. Ph. +44 (0)1768 77389
Avondale Guest House 20 Southey St., Keswick. Ph. +44 (0)17687 72735
Portland House, 19 Leonard St., Keswick. Ph. +44 (0)17687 74230
Sevenoaks Guest House, 7 Acorn St., Keswick. Ph. +44 (0)17687 72088

Here are a few B&Bs I found walking around Keswick:
Melbreak House, 29 Church Street
Avondale Guest House, 20 Southey Street
Lyndhurst Guest House, 22 Southey Street
The Edwardene, 26 Southey Street
Goodwin House, 29 Southey Street
The Portland House, 19 Leonard Street
Harvington House, 19 Church Street
Number 10 Bed & Breakfast, 10 Southey Street
Bluestones Guest House, 7 Southey Street
Keswick Park Hotel & Restaurant, 33 Station Road
Inn on the Square, Market Square*
Skiddaw Hotel, 31 Main Street*

* - Advertised last minute booking

Longer term "self-catering" rentals:
Lakes Cottage Holidays
Cambrian Cottages

Newby Bridge Hotel, Windermere

Travelodge Kendal, Kendal

Scafell Pike

The Wasdale Head Inn, £65 for single. Closest walk to the Pike. 019467 26229 or reception@wasdale.com.

Restaurants & Pubs

The New Union pub in Kendal was awarded the "Best Cider and Perry Pub" in Britain in 2019 by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA). (See my post on the organization.)

From their website: "The 2019 Cider Pub of the Year award went to the New Union pub in Kendal for its wide array of real ciders and perries.
Nestled on the fringe of the Lake District, this ‘no-nonsense’ pub is a popular community hub hosting a weekly quiz, fortnightly music nights, carol singing, live music and whisky tastings." 

The New Union also won the West Pennines region (CAMRA) Cider Pub of the Year in 2020.

The New Union, 159 Stricklandgate, Kendal LA9 4RF ( Kendal)

Fell walking DVDs

The videos that started my interest in fell walking in the Lake District, and has probably increased general interest, are the series of DVDs by Julia Bradbury produced in 2007 and 2008. These presented a selection of 10 walks taken from Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides of the Lake District. They are high quality BBC productions which include aerial shots to give an overview of the walks. Julia Bradbury's enthusiasm for Wainwright and the fells is infectious.
She also did a program of the Coast to Coast in 2009 which is equally enjoyable. (For walks elsewhere in Britain she has a series on Canal Walks and one on Railway Walks - i.e., abandoned railway routes.)
And one of the most experienced Lakeland walkers, David Powell-Thompson, is featured in a number of DVDs on various fells. The DVDs available are, Lakeland Walks with David Powell-Thompson: Castle Crag, Helvellyn, Scafell and High Street; The Lake District, Great Langdale with David Powell-Thompson and The Lake District, Upper Eskdale with David Powell-Thompson.

Some of the videos noted above are available from the Acorn TV streaming service.

Some recommended DVDs I have yet to see are:
Wainwright's Lakeland & England's North Country by Alfred Wainwright and Eric Robson
Wainwright's Coast to Coast by Alfred Wainwright and Eric Robson
Wainwright's Highlands and Islands of Scotland by Alfred Wainwright and Eric Robson
Life of a Mountain: Scafell Pike, Life of a Mountain: Blencathra and The Lake District - Helvellyn with Mark Richards by Terry Abraham
(All of the above DVDs are available from AmazonUK).

Fell walking books and guides

The premier fell walking books for the Lake District are, of course, Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, published by Frances Lincoln Press. I have the boxed set of the Lakeland fells including the outlying fells, 2nd edition updated by Chris Jesty.
Wainwright also wrote guides for the Coast to Coast walk, the Pennine Way, and Scotland, as well as walks in Limestone country in Yorkshire. Most of these are now available in the updated 3rd edition by Clive Hutchby, reflecting changes in paths and landmarks throughout the walks. There are many other Wainwright books available including notebooks and memoirs.
Another handy guide for the Coast to Coast walker is the Bed and Breakfast Accommodation Guide by Doreen Whitehead (known popularly as the Queen of the Coast to Coast Walk), now in its 15th edition.
Another necessity for the fell walker is the OS (Ordnance Survey) maps which provide the needed detail and scope not available in Wainwright's guides. OS maps OL4, OL5, OL6 & OL7 cover the Lake District walks in Wainwright's guides.

Castle Crag

Climbed up to Castle Crag after taking bus from Keswick to Grange.


On the road to Rosthwaite