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A delightful lakeside walk around one of the Lake District's most Westerly lakes. The walk itself is reasonably straight forward and provides stunning scenery along the way with the surrounding mountains providing a superb backdrop to Buttermere.
This Buttermere circular walk in the Lake District must be one of the best lake walks in the Lake District National Park, if not in the UK. The views are stunning from the very start, and the mainly flat paths make it accessible for most.
Before we start, let's have a look at where we're walking today. We initially head down to Buttermere's north shoreline to reveal this view down the full length of the lake, down to Fleetwith Pike. Then, on to the close by Sourmilk Gill before heading down the west shore of Buttermere, which also affords delightful views back across to the mountains rising from the eastern shore of Buttermere.
As we round the southern shore, it provides views up to Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike. The return leg, up the eastern side of Buttermere, is a little rougher underfoot in places and more undulating, but still provides magnificent views back across the Fleetwith pike and Haystacks and then round to High Crag, High Stile and Red Pike, all rising from the Western shore.
Stay watching until the end to see where you can eat and drink after the walk.
We are starting today's walk from the Buttermere Court Hotel (previously The Fish Inn). There is a pay-and-display car park to the right of the Buttermere Court Hotel, and also a National Trust car park at Buttermere, with further parking available halfway around the walk at Gatesgarth.
If you are eating and drinking at the pubs, they also have additional parking, which you may be able to use, but it's best to check with them first. We initially head down the side of the Buttermere Court Hotel and pass through the kissing gate and then along the gravel track.
Over to the left, you can see the mountains encircling Buttermere Lake. It's minus four today and not far off the shortest day of the year, so the sun isn't going to rise a great deal more. Keep on the gravel track as it bends around to the left, and then at a footpath sign, follow the Buttermere quarter of a mile sign to follow the gravel track through a gate.
Pass through the next gate by the National Trust Buttermere sign to head straight on to soon arrive at the north shore of Buttermere. The lake today is very still, giving these wonderful reflections here, looking down the lake to Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks to the right.
This walk is one you can do over and over again, as the views through the trees, with and without leaves and at different times of day and throughout the seasons vary greatly. Head along the shoreline and then around to the right and over the wooden bridge.
There are not really a lot of detailed directions needed today, so we'll keep stopping in a little more often than normal for the views. Keep walking straight on and then, for a very short detour, head around to the right and through the gate to head a few yards up to have a look at the bottom of Sourmilk Gill from the wooden bridge.
The water coming down Sourmilk Gill is the outflow from Bleaberry tarn about a kilometre up the hill. Looking around away from Buttermere, here you can see, in the sun on the left-hand side, Mellbreak, which is on the western side of Crummock Water.
If you took this short detour, head down to and pass through the wooden gate and then on to rejoin the main path, then turn right and head over the wooden bridge to then pass through the next gate.
The path up into the trees on the right here heads up to Bleaberry Tarn and then on to Red Pike. We will just continue on, though, along the lakeside's mainly flat gravelled path.
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Keep stopping from time to time to take in the ever-changing vista. A photographer's dream on a day like this, with the reflections in the water you can see across the High Snockrigg and then around in the direction of Grasmoor and Rannerdale Knotts.
Buttermere, the lake, is one and a quarter mile long, a quarter of a mile wide at its widest and 75 feet deep. There are two trains of thought on its name derivation, the first is that Buttermere comes from Old English and literally means the lake by the dairy pastures.
The second is that it dates back to an 11th-century Norse chief called Buthar. Many Lake District land features do actually derive their names from Norse words from when the Vikings settled here in the ninth century.
On our website, the route of today's Buttermere Walk is set out on an Ordnance Survey map, along with a GPS download for your phone or GPS device. The link to our Walks4all website is in the description below.
At one point, the path splits. You can take either path, but the lakeside one, although a little rougher, affords better views. They rejoin each other in a short while. This lakeside path presents a more open panorama down to Fleetwith Pike and all the way around to Mellbreak on the western side of the water.
Continuing on, the alternative path joins us from the right. On exiting the trees of Bertness Wood, pass through the wooden gate and then continue along the gravel path.
Out of the trees, the panorama is a 360 one. Up to the right, you can see High Crag over Comb Beck waterfall and then around to High Stile. You can see down the length of Buttermere towards Grasmoor and then around towards Robinson, and then finally, Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks.
On the next wooden footbridge, you get a better view of Comb Beck flanked by High Crag and High Stile. Continue on along the path. Ahead with the ridge running up the front of it is Fleetwith Pike, and around to the right of that is Haystacks.
Haystacks, with its all-round stunning views, was a favourite of Alfred Wainwright, and his ashes are scattered up there on the top by Innominate tarn.
Alfred Wainwright, born in Blackburn, was a fell walker, and meticulously wrote and illustrated seven pictorial guides to the Lakeland Fells, which were probably responsible for the much-increased tourism and popularity of the Lake District, which in a way is a little ironic, as Wainwright himself is mainly known as being reclusive, enjoyed his own time and space, and was said to be a little antisocial.
That said, his books do show him more as a man who passionately cared for the landscape. Various editions of the Pictorial Guide are said to have sold over 2 million copies and have long been a favourite of mine, so we've included a link in the description below to the updated version.
Over to the left here, you can see the wooden bridge; we will shortly be walking over, with Littledale Edge behind it as it heads up onto Robinson. Head down to and pass through the wooden kissing gate, and then head along the stony track.
From this wooden bridge, named Peggy's Bridge on the map, you can see back down the length of Buttermere. Over to the right, Herdwick sheep are grazing in the field.
The Herdwick are extremely hardy and are native to the Lake District. The name Herdwick is derived from the Old Norse Herdvyck, meaning sheep pasture and is believed to date in this area from the 12th century.
Just before reaching Gatesgarth Farm, we'll take one last look left, down the full length of the lake. Continue on towards Gatesgarth Farm. Pass through the wooden gate and along a fenced footpath to pass out through a further wooden gate.
Here, there is another pay-and-display car park. So if the parking in Buttermere is busy, which it can be in the summer months and at weekends, you can start the walk from here. Turn left now onto the road and then walk along the road for about 500 metres.
Whilst you are meant to face oncoming traffic while road walking and consider crossing on the sharp bends, I did the opposite here though, as I was trying to avoid the sheet ice on the road.
As the road starts to bend around to the left, leave the road on the gravel footpath and follow the Buttermere Village one-and-a-half-mile sign.
The footpath on this side of the lake, whilst still quite good and easy to follow, isn't as flat as the footpath on the far side and gets more uneven as we get nearer to Buttermere.
Pass through the wooden gate. As the path pulls him beside the shoreline, ahead on the other side is Comb Beck again, flanked on the left by High Crag with High Stile to the right, and then, as we swing around to the left, is Haystacks and then around to Fleetwith Pike. Continue along the lakeside path and pass through a metal gate.
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Head on to and pass through the next wooden gate, and then continue on as the path starts to get a little rougher underfoot. Pass through the next gate. Pass through the short tunnel cut into the rock, which allows an easier onward passage.
Pass through the wooden kissing gate. The noise in the background is the tree cutting that is going on, on the far side of the lake. Pass through the next kissing gate.
If you are new to hiking or just want ideas for walking gear to wear and take on the walk, check out our kit list recommendations down in the description below.
Pass through the next wooden gate, then continue on to pass over a wooden footbridge. Pass through the next wooden gate. Just through this gate, you could, if you wanted to, take the left-hand path to head along the northern shore of the lake and, in about 400 metres, meet up with the outward path, where we first arrived at the lake. You can then reverse that part of the outward route.
We are just going to go straight on here. Pass through the wooden kissing gate and then on over the stone flags by the side of the wall, following the path around to the left and then up to the right alongside the fence to pass through the next wooden gate. Continue on along by the side of the fence and then pass through the wooden gate and turn left along the path across the field.
On reaching the farmyard, pass through the two wooden gates. Then on along the track and the little bit of road to quickly reach Syke farm tearoom. As we are almost back to the start, this is the first place you can eat and drink after the walk.
As it was cold, a coffee was needed. I did venture inside, but the coffee did morph into a highly recommended homemade steak pie and gravy. Syke Farm tea room is also dog-friendly.
Just before we head back left, you can make a short detour up to the right to visit the Church of St James, which houses a memorial to Wainwright. At the entrance, there is a wrought iron shepherd's gate. And then on the window ledge on the right is a stone plaque commemorating Wainwright with a view through the window, back up to Haystacks.
Head back down the road. Over to the left, you can see the tearoom we just visited, with the additional outside seating. Follow the road past this, and ahead, you'll reach the Bridge Hotel.
The Bridge Hotel has accommodation, serves food and drink and is also dog friendly. Around the back of it is the Walkers Bar, not named after fellow walkers, but after Reverend Robert Walker, who obtained a beer licence in around 1734 and founded the Bridge Inn. Also, around the back is a beer garden.
Just across from that is the Croft House Farm Cafe. It serves food, cakes, and drinks and is dog friendly in the extension around the back. Across from the Croft House Farm Cafe, we arrive back at the start at the Buttermere Court Hotel.
The bar entrance is down the side, and again it serves food, drink and is dog friendly. If the weather allows, there is also a spacious beer garden around the back with wonderful views.
Just before ending today's walk, we've put together a short fly-through created using the Ordnance Survey app, the link for which is in the description below, to show you where you've been and give the area more perspective.
The walk started from the Buttermere Court Hotel and then headed down to the northern shore of Buttermere. We then took a very short diversion to have a look at Sourmilk Gill before heading down the western side of the lake. We stopped briefly to look up to the right to Comb Beck, High Crag and High Stile before turning left to head over towards Gatesgarth Farm.
We turned left at the farm along the road and then left the road to head along the eastern shore of the lake. After passing through a gate, this is where you could have gone left to follow the northern shoreline and join the outward route. We just kept straight on back into Buttermere.
Upon meeting the road, we had a short diversion up to the church, before returning back to the start. That ends our walk for today.
