Coniston to Langdale
The first night is spent in the Lakeland village of Coniston on the shores of Coniston Water.
The route follows green lanes and wooded paths to Tarn Hows, one of the celebrated features of the Lakes. More woods and moorland lead to the picturesque village of Elterwater before the path enters the Langdale Valley and continues to the famous Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel for your night's stay. Overshadowed by the dramatic high crags of the Langdale Pikes and Bowfell, the Langdale Valley is perhaps the most famous place in the Lakes.

Langdale to Keswick
A steep climb up Stake Pass at the head of Langdale leads down to the long and remote valley of Langstrath, punctuated through its length by deep pools and waterfalls. This then leads down to Stonethwaite and Rosthwaite, two small villages at the top of Borrowdale.
The route continues through the densely wooded Borrowdale Valley before passing over the slopes of Cat Bells above Derwentwater and on to Keswick, a bustling tourist town and the hub of the Northern Lake District.

Moderate

The Cumbria Way uses well defined and maintained paths and tracks over nearly all of its route. Please bear in mind that the climb over Stake Pass, and the Eastern route around the back of Skiddaw, pass through relatively high and remote mountain terrain, where the paths are rougher. Although some of the route is waymarked, these sections are not, so the ability to navigate is essential. You need some walking experience to do this route.

Terrain: Most of the walk follows valleys and lakeshores, but the climb over Stake Pass and the Eastern route around Skiddaw pass through relatively high and remote mountain terrain, where the paths are rougher.

What’s it like underfoot? On the whole the paths are well defined and maintained, but at times it can be rough underfoot with some muddy paths, so good footwear is essential. The Western route around Skiddaw to Caldbeck can be boggy.

How Much Up & Down? Most days are rolling with gentle ascent and descents. The climb of Stake Pass is about 300m, on a well maintained path. Between Keswick and Caldbeck the Western route has a climb of about 300m, again on good, but sometimes boggy paths. The Eastern route has a further 300m climb taking you up to 658m on High Pike, on less well defined paths.

Signposting: Sporadic. You will need to use your guidebook and map.

Navigation: Pretty straightforward, on the lowland sections, but you may encounter hill fog or low cloud on Stake Pass and between Keswick and Caldbeck – so you need to be able to navigate.

Weather: You may be lucky enough to encounter warm, dry weather over the whole route and enjoy dry paths and tremendous views, but you must be prepared because the weather can change quickly. Good clothing and waterproofs are essential!

One of the great features of our Cumbria Way holidays is the quality of the accommodation, including small country house hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts and farm house accommodation. In selecting the accommodation we look for helpful, friendly hosts with good quality, characterful accommodation close to the trail. We always try to arrange en suite accommodation, i.e. rooms with their own bathrooms for each night of your stay. However, in some of the more remote locations accommodation is limited and occasionally we may have to book rooms with shared bathrooms for one or two nights of your holiday, (especially if the booking is made at short notice), but we will always let you know if this is likely to be the case.

Single Rooms We are happy to book single rooms on this walk but cannot normally book more than 2 for any one group. Single room bookings include a supplement.

Here are a couple of examples of the accommodation we use along the Cumbria Way:

The Langstrath Country Inn

The Langstrath County Hotel is set in the Lakeland village of Stonethwaite. It is a small local family run haven for walkers and lovers of the countryside. It was built around 1590 as a miners cottage and is now a quality hotel offering comfortable bedrooms and excellent service.The restaurant serves excellent, quality Lakeland dishes using the finest local ingredients.

Visit their website at: www.thelangstrath.com

Ravensworth Hotel

Conveniently located at the centre of Keswick, The Ravensworth is a quiet and comfortable hotel that offers a high standard of accommodation and service. Jason and Alison will give you a warm welcome and are used to walkers with muddy feet! You can be sure of an excellent hearty walkers breakfast here.

Visit their website at: www.ravensworth-hotel.co.uk

The Old Dungeon Ghyll

You can guarantee a great service and hospitality at the ODG, as its known locally. It is in an excellent location at the heart of the Langdale Valley, with superb views. The bedrooms are warm and cosy and many walkers appreciate the vast array of beers available in the quirky Walkers Bar.

Visit their website at: www.odg.co.uk

General travel information on the Cumbria Way area will be in your holiday pack including train and bus timetables where available.

Detailed instructions on getting to your first night’s accommodation by car, or on foot from the nearest train or bus station, will also be included in the holiday pack on individual accommodation maps.

To view train times please visit www.qjump.co.uk where you can also purchase tickets in advance. For information on bus timetables please visit www.traveline.info

If you require secure car parking whilst walking this route, please contact us for detailed information - we can usually arrange car parking either at the start or end locations of the route.

Getting There: Coniston
By Air: The nearest international airport is Manchester (MAN) - you then travel by train to Windermere (approx 2.5 hours) followed by a bus to Coniston (50 mins).
By Public Transport: Take the train to Windermere then bus to Coniston.
By Road: Coniston is situated in the south of the Lake District National Park.  The closest motorway to the village is the M6.

Returning from Keswick
By Public Transport: You can catch a bus to either Penrith railway station (approx 30 mins) or Carlisle railway station (approx 1 hour) for onward travel on the west coast mainline.
By Road: A66 to Penrith (18 miles) for the M6 motorway.