Back in Summer 2023, Jenni (my Coast to Coast and West Highland Way hiking buddy) and I, walked the Cumbria Way. Well, the Cumbria Way-ish. We used this 73-mile waymarked long-distance trail in the Lake District as inspiration for a week hiking in this beautiful part of the country.
We used the first three full days of the Cumbria Way to hike from Ulverston to Keswick, before deviating from the official route in order to have some time in the mountains.
The Cumbria Way is reasonably low-level, and we wanted to get up high if we could. So, on day four, we left the Cumbria Way proper and did a two-day mountainous loop instead. We hiked from Keswick over Skiddaw, stayed in the wonderful Skiddaw House overnight (which is itself on the Cumbria Way), and hiked over Blencathra and back to Keswick the following day.
On our final day – day six, we drove over to Glenridding for a very important rematch with Helvellyn after the weather got in the way on our coast to coast hike in 2021.
In this short adventure journal series, then, I’ll be sharing my experience of hiking the Cumbria Way – the first 45-ish miles that we did of it, anyway. And after that, I’ll follow with articles about our add-on overnight at Skiddaw House, and our glorious hike over Helvellyn.
The Cumbria Way
The Cumbria Way (not to be confused with the Cambrian Way, which is in Wales), is a reasonably low-level traverse of Cumbria, taking hikers from south to north, crossing the whole Lake District National Park. It is not a National Trail, but rather was created by the local Ramblers Association group in the 1970s. The route is waymarked thanks to volunteers, and denoted with green diamonds on the OS Map.
The 73-mile route goes right through the Lake District via Coniston Water, Great Langdale, Borrowdale, Derwent Water, Skiddaw Forest and Caldbeck. Primarily a low-level route, there are just two significant climbs – Stake Pass, just after Langdale, and High Pike, if you choose the higher of the two route options after Skiddaw House.
Generally, hikers do the route in five more-or-less equal days in terms of mileage, overnighting in Ulverston, Coniston, Great Langdale, Keswick, Caldbeck and finally Carlisle. It’s a picturesque route, normally walked from south to north, with a real mix of terrain and scenery – farmland, villages, fells, forest and woodland, lakes and rivers, waterfalls, wide valleys, and of course, mountain views.
The trail appealed to Jenni and I because it would mean a week walking with purpose in the beautiful wilds of Cumbria. And we certainly got that.
Our Version of the Cumbria Way
This week-long adventure took place for us in the first full week of June 2023, during which, if you remember, we experienced something of a heatwave here in England. Temperatures reached 30+ Celsius, which is quite unusual and something we’re not used to.
Unlike my other adventure journal series’, the weather talk in this one will therefore be much more about how we coped in that heat rather than the rain. But more on that a little later. First, I want to talk about why we only planned to hike two-thirds of this particular long-distance trail. Which had nothing to do with the weather.
Hiking your own hike is something banded around a lot. It’s important that hikers choose for themselves the where’s, how’s and everything else’s of hiking – it’s your time, your energy, and your choice. And this was the case for Jenni and I here. We specifically devised a version of this hike based on what would fill us with the most joy, in terms of stopping short of the official end point in Carlisle, and in not camping along the way.
The Pull of the Mountains
For the longest time we thought we’d do this – the whole Cumbria Way – as a multi-day camping trip, carrying our own gear, with a combination of staying at campsites and wild camping each night.
Once the idea of bolting on a mountain or two as part of the hike was set in our minds, we decided that staying indoors would be much more sensible. We just don’t have – and don’t have the means or desire to purchase – ultralight gear to keep the size and weight of backpacks to a level which would still allow comfortable ascents and traverses of Lake District mountains. And that felt right for us for this trip.
Even without the pull of the mountains, we had no real desire to do the last day into Carlisle. Something about it felt like a bit of an anti-climax, especially due to the diversion (the official path is open again now) that would involve a very long road walk. Instead, we decided to still do six days out on trail, but made the last three of them an opportunity to bag a few mountain summits rather than stick to a specific footpath.
Bucket List Accommodation
Our week was therefore very much ‘inspired by’ the Cumbria Way, rather than being dictated by it. We gave ourselves permission to play around and have fun with our plans, which was such a good feeling.
Back in my bucket list reset post, I mentioned one of my hopes for 2023 was to stay in some kind of walk-in only accommodation. Skiddaw House – the country’s highest hostel, which is located 3.5 miles from the nearest road – is right on the Cumbria Way. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to have an adventure within an adventure and grab that bucket list tick.
Honestly, if you have never stayed at Skiddaw House YHA, you really must, it is quite the stunning place to spend the night. More on that a bit later in this adventure journal series.
Once we’d decided our route, we had no problem finding the rest of our accommodation to fit. Cumbria is full of accommodation options, from the very basic to the top end. On the other nights, arguably less interesting in their setting but only because they had a lot to live up to, we stayed in an Airbnb, another two youth hostels (these two were gifted stays thanks to my friends at YHA), a hotel, and a guest house.
I’ll cover our various accommodation choices as I work my way through these articles, as they all deserve a mention.
Planning and Preparation
I always want a guidebook when planning long-distance hikes. They are just so useful for getting a detailed overview of the route, working out where to spend the night, preparing for the hard bits (I like to know when they are coming!), and learning about the history and features along the way.
We used the Cicerone guidebook to plan the Cumbria Way portion of our week-long hike (a gift from Cicerone). This lightweight book by John Gillham describes the route in five sections, including variants for those wanting to get up high and for when bad weather strikes. The first three sections exactly matched our plans, which was incredibly handy.
Unlike on the Cotswold Way, I chose to carry the guidebook this time, and that made all the difference. It perhaps helped that this one is a fifth of the size of the Cotswold Way one, but even if it had been the same size, I’d have made the sacrifice and carried it anyway.
We also made use of a number of websites to help guide our preparations, including The Cumbria Way Walk, Becky the Traveller’s Ultimate Guide to the Cumbria Way, and The Cumbria Way. These are useful resources should you be planning your own Cumbria Way hike. We also joined a Cumbria Way Walk group on Facebook, which was full of hints and tips, and via which we’ve since been able to help offer others advice.
In My Pack
Our planned logistics for the Cumbria Way meant we were effectively able to split our hike into two three-day stints on trail – with access to Jenni’s car when we were in Keswick. More on the travel fun in a bit, though.
As such, I packed up my trusty black Osprey Tempest 40l pack, the one I use for multi-day hikes when I don’t need a tent, with everything I needed to get me from Ulverston to Keswick.
I also packed up a box of things I wanted for our three mountain days – the second half of our adventure. I posted this to Jenni in advance, who had it sat in the boot of her car for when we reached Keswick. That really is luxury for this kind of adventure.
The psychology of doing two lots of three-days meant I was more inclined to pack very light in some ways, and not in others. While I didn’t go overboard, I definitely had items some would consider luxury for multi-day hikes, especially in that box I sent to Jenni. But my pack wasn’t overly heavy, and I was happy with my choices.
Naturally, I made sure I had all my usual day hiking kit. I won’t take you through those contents here, as you can see a rundown of all my day hiking gear in this post.
In addition, I had a bunch of overnight necessities. This included a complete change of clothes and light pair of shoes for the evenings, spare underwear and socks, some comfortable pyjamas, a (probably could have been smaller) wash kit plus my old faithful microfibre towel, my sleeping bag liner, the guidebook and maps printed from OS Maps, my puffy coat, and phone charging facilities.
Swapping Gear
In that box I sent to Jenni, I included a full set of hiking clothes, a clean set of clothes for the evenings, underwear and socks, extra wash kit supplies, the printed maps for the second half of the trip, and food for our night at Skiddaw House. It wasn’t a big or heavy box, but it was just what I needed to feel clean and refreshed after 45-miles and before attempting to do three mountain summits in three days. A most excellent idea.
As for what I wore, that was quite simply my favourite hiking kit – tried and tested layers that would mean I was comfortable enough to not give any thought to what I was wearing. Trousers, tee, mid layer (when needed!), decent socks, microfibre pants, sports bra, buff, baseball cap… no surprises in that list.
On my feet, my Meindl Bhutan boots were the natural choice given the terrain we’d be hiking over. I’ll share some thoughts on how those heavy boots fared in the heatwave towards the end of this journal series.
I also made sure I had a full set of waterproofs as well as my walking poles, and while the latter were well used, especially on the second half of the hike, the former stayed stuffed in my bag acting as padding the entire week.
Keeping Hydrated
The forecast was clear – it was going to be hot. I had my 2l hydration bladder plus an additional flask which I would use for tea or extra water as the mood took me. It wasn’t quite enough, as I will share later. I didn’t carry my stove to make tea on the go, that wasn’t needed on this hike, and that saved some bulk in my pack.
For food, I had a bunch of my favourite snacks in a little dry bag, and my metal tin in which to carry packed lunches. Oh, and one Firepot meal (and a long spoon) as my just-in-case dinner – I definitely pack my fears when it comes to food!
It was easy to top up on supplies at the various shops, pubs and cafes we passed along the route. We were rural quite a lot of the time, but we did pass through places that had services. Honestly, I drank more lemonade and ate more ice cream on this hike than I think I’ve ever done, both were very much needed!
If you have any questions about my kit to help you work out what to carry on your own week-long hike, feel free to put them in the comments box below.
Cumbria Way Day 0 | Getting to Cumbria
The first challenge of my Cumbria Way adventure was to get to Ulverston. And as I was relying on public transport, my journey involved five legs… a bus, two trains, and two more buses.
I know lots of people do their outdoor adventures using public transport, and that’s great, but it really is a pain in the proverbial to organise – and very costly. Honestly, as I said in my final coast to coast adventure journal, using public transport in this country really does require a degree in logistics! The last stage of my journey north, for example, would take the same amount of time whether by train or by bus… but while the bus costs £2 for a single, the train was nearly £15!!
Anyway, I’d done all the hard thinking to work out how I was going to get to Ulverston a bit before my travel day, and so on the day itself all I had to do was follow the various instructions I’d noted for myself. I expect you don’t really want to hear about my marathon journey north, maybe if I just tell you that it was very hot, very long, and not very comfortable, is that enough detail?
Travelling North
Actually, I will mention the first leg of my journey at least, which was a bus ride to the train station, taking a little under an hour. This didn’t go entirely to plan as a car hit the bus while we were waiting at a stop, so we had to wait while the driver phoned it in. The car didn’t stop, of course. We’re not sure if they even noticed, but it was quite the thud as he didn’t quite clear the bus as he overtook. Thankfully not enough damage done to the bus to force us to wait more than about ten minutes for head office to give the driver the okay to continue, but still. Not the best start.
From Cheltenham, I took the train to Birmingham New Street, where I had a short wait (enough to use the loo and refill my water bottle at the free refill tap), before catching my next train to Oxenholme Lake District. And as mentioned above, instead of getting the train from Oxenholme Lake District over to Kendal, I caught the 41A from just outside the station entrance which took me directly to Kendal Bus Station in 15 minutes.
The Final Leg
Meanwhile, Jenni had driven from her home over in Yorkshire to Keswick, parked her car up near the Guest House we’d booked for our last two nights, and caught a bus to Kendal.
Once together, we made more use of the £2 single bus journey price cap by catching the X6 from Kendal to Ulverston. The bus was packed, it was incredibly hot, and the driver was really grumpy. Like really grumpy, back chatty grumpy, telling people off grumpy, flinging the bus along the winding route in a rush grumpy. I hope when he clocked off he was able to relax a bit away from people for a while!
Town House Airbnb
We were picked up from the bus stop by our Airbnb host in his brightly coloured shirt. He pointed out the good pubs to us as we drove to our digs for the night, which would be very handy later.
I was just so glad the journey was over. It was very late afternoon by this point, and I’d been travelling since 8am. The heat was energy sapping, but at least everything went according to my planned itinerary. Unlike on the way home, which is a story for later in this series.
Our Airbnb was two rooms on the top floor of the owners’ house, up in the attic. There was a bedroom with bed, en suite shower room, and a lounge with a futon and a few kitchen bits including a fridge and microwave. Jenni was very generous and offered me the king size bed to sleep in – I would repay her later in the hike with first dibs in our bunk rooms.
It was a very comfortable place to spend the night. We paid £65 between us including all fees, which made it much more affordable than the Premier Inn down the road.
An Evening Out in Ulverston
Despite being completely shattered, we made an effort to head into town for a wander, a drink, and some dinner. After a short rest, we walked the ten minutes or so into the town centre, which had exactly the vibe you might imagine on a warm and sunny Saturday evening in June. Ulverston was busy with people enjoying beer gardens, outdoor seating was prime real estate.
We wandered around this lovely town for a bit before getting a drink (and a coveted seat outdoors) at The Farmers. We sat and watched the world go by, played ‘spot the Cumbria Way hiker’, and studied the guidebook. The pub was rammed so we headed over to The Rose and Crown for dinner, recommended by our host, where we had an excellent meal in comfort.
Given we’d already been in two of Ulverston’s pubs, we walked up to another to make it a hattrick. That one turned out to be far too much of a sports bar for our liking, so we continued along the road and back to our Airbnb to relax and get an early night. Probably a good idea.
Sleeping to the Sound of Storms
And then all hell broke loose. We sat by the bedroom window and watched a storm rage outside. It was quite impressive, with pouring rain moving overhead and off into the distance. It wasn’t a surprise, we knew it was coming – the weather had been building for a few days and broke right on cue for us that evening.
I say it broke, and it did, but it didn’t actually cool things down much. The forecast had the temperature rising even more across the week, and it was quite a concern of ours. As I drifted off to sleep, with the heavy rain as my white noise, I wondered if I ought to be more worried about the heat or the hills over the next few days. Only time would tell!
Come back next time, when I’ll actually get to talking about hiking the Cumbria Way…
I wasn’t actually planning to write a whole day zero post as part of my Cumbria Way journal series, but it turns out I had more words in me than I realised. I’ll therefore end this post here, and invite you to subscribe to Splodz Blogz so you get a notification when I post part two – put your email address in the box on the right.
If anything in this journal article has planted a question in your mind, please feel free to ask it in the comments below.
