Lake District: base, boots, best hikes, books
 

Will be in Lake District for 3 days in late June-last stop on UK tour before heading home. (Will be coming from Wales by car; then after Lake stay heading to Glasgow for flight home.)

Need a recommendation for a good base that meets the following criteria: close to some moderately challenging hikes, town that would be interesting to older teens, some nice shops in case we want to load up before heading home. I am leaning towards Keswick, but could be talked out of it. Would prefer to minimize time driving around while in Lake District.

Also, everything I read seems to emphasize the need for hiking boots as opposed to sneakers. We will not have a car first part of our trip and I can't imagine lugging our hiking boots (3 pairs of men's boots and size 10 ladies) on and off trains. How do you handle the boot problem?

Any recommendations for fairly challenging hikes (comparable to moderately challenging New Hampshire White Mountain hut hikes or Yosemite trails). Recommendations for trail guidebooks?

Thanks!

I think Keswick is a great choice for a centre. A busy town and lots of great walks nearby. Take a look at http://www.keswickrambles.org.uk/ for some ideas of local walks. (The April & May walks are in the calendar.)

I too believe you MUST have hiking boots to walk in the Lakes. If I haven't got room to pack them, I simply wear mine on travel days.

Mia, the end of June is a great time to visit the lake district. There is no need to bring hiking boots unless you plan serious climbing. We've made it to the top of lesser peaks with regular walking shoes. Any tourist office will have books and pamplets describing walks of various intensities.

Keswick would meet all your criteria and could be a good base for you but it is a little out of the way for the main attractions. Grasmere would be more central and it also has everything you require. You can start walks right from town without having to drive.

You might find my lake district trip report helpful: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34811293

<<< There is no need to bring hiking boots unless you plan serious climbing. We've made it to the top of lesser peaks with regular walking shoes. >>>

And as the local Mountain Rescue teams will tell many people HAVEN'T made it to the top in regular walking shoes

My preference would also be to stay in Keswick - though Grasmere is good too.

Yes, you do need boots. There may be some walks where you could get away with trainers in good weather but many paths can be rough, stoney, slippy or muddy and boots will prevent a twisted ankle or worse. As a previous poster said, wear your boots for travelling to save carrying them.

We like the Pathfinder guides, available for many areas of the UK. The walks range from short afternoon strolls to more challenging walks and include the section of Ordnance survey map for the walk.
http://www.totalwalking.co.uk/pathfinder.cfm

My favourite Lake District book is called "Mainly on the flat" ;-)
Most of the walks are by the sides of lakes,
but I always wear boots. As the previous poster says, there are rocks, mud and tree-roots and shoes would not be comfortable.

Moderately challenging is a subjective term and I'm sure that Ron and Alan are thinking of much more serious treks than I am when they insist on hiking boots. I'd wear hiking boots too for fell walking and for most of the walks on the Keswick website.

Mia, do you usually wear hiking boots when you walk at home? If you do, then you should wear them in the lakes for the same level of walks. But if scenery is more important than difficulty and lugging along heavy boots is undesireable, there are many, many walks that you can take wearing regular walking shoes.

The original poster talks about walking in 'sneakers'. I am not exactly sure what these are. Trainers? If they are trainers then they are most certainly NOT suitable for any sort of Lake District walking. They will be ruined in minutes. The footpaths can be rough and slippery, and 'proper' walking boots are essential. But walking boots don't have to be expensive, and my pair are certainly not heavy.
David Hall has some lovely walks on his website, and was also very helpful when I emailed him with questions about some of the walks.
www.davidhalllakedistrictwalks.co.uk
Keswick would certainly be a good base. Ambleside would be another idea. Some of my favourite Lake walks are from Ambleside and the Grasmere areas.
Windermere is too touristy for my liking.
I would try and get your accommodation sorted as soon as possible. The school summer holidays don't start until mid July but you are still visiting at a popular time and many good palces will be already booked up.
I kow the area well, so once you are settled on where you are staying do let me know and I can recommend restaurants etc (unless you are self catering).

Hi, Mama mia - here's another vote for Keswick.

Try and get hold of A Wainwright's "Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells" no 5 & 6 which cover walks from Keswick.This is a bible for lakeland walkers, and will tell you al lyou need to know. Small enough to carry easily too.

Our favourite is one that starts from Braithwaite and goes up Grisedale Pike, but you could also do Skiddaw or Blencathra from Keswick itself, without a car..

THere are smaller and shorter alternatives if you feel that any in the party are not up to a whole day mountain hike - but your question implies that you are all experienced walkers.

THere may be places in Keswick where you can hire equipment - not sure about boots though.

Good luck!

Regards

Ann

Please note that the Lake District is very crowded in June.
You seek: -close to some moderately challenging hikes, town that would be interesting to older teens, some nice shops in case we want to load up before heading home
er, Glasgow. (eg Loch Lomond)

We stayed at Linthwaite House Hotel in Windemere last year, which was a great treat, but I think I would try to stay in Grasmere when I go back. I thought Grasmere was lovely. Windemere was a bit touristy, but then that also means more restaurant choices, which we like. However, if you are coming from Wales by car, why not keep your car a couple of extra days? I found a car very convenient for going on different hikes. I thought the most beautiful scenery was Ullswater and Derwent Lake. There is probably a bus that services that area, but I liked the convenience of having my own wheels.
Especially after a long hike.
Regarding shoes: We hiked the Cat Bells and it would have been dangerous to have running or tennis shoes on. For three days I don't see any reason to take more than one pair each. I put mine in a trash bag in my suitcase.

>>>>>
Try and get hold of A Wainwright's "Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells" no 5 & 6 which cover walks from Keswick.This is a bible for lakeland walkers, and will tell you al lyou need to know.
>>>>>

i am a huge fan of alfred wainwright. his books are some of the most elegantly written and illustrated books on any subject.

however, they are not all you need. a good ord survey map is required. in fact, to be honest, i don't usually take wainwright's books with me on walks. i read about the walks in wainwright's books (i have the full set) beforehand and either use just a map or a map and a more recent and detailed guide whilst on the walk. the set of wainwright's books make a great souvenir of the lake district.

glenridding to Helvellyn is a popular walk and of the challenge level that you describe (not sure if you are familiar with welsch dickey trail in the white mountains - but it's comparable). striding edge can be a little challenging in the weather (which is usually the case).

yes, boots are necessary for nearly all walks in the lake district. for one, it's often quite wet and muddy...even if the walk is not challenging. i use gaiters and poles as well. fellwalking in the lake district in june is like climbing mt monadnock (amazing what i remember) in march...you'd probably want to wear boots for that.

i hope you have 3 full days because 3 days including a trip from wales and a flight is really only one full day. everyone's different but i find 'part day' walking very restrictive...as you need time to prepare for the walk, drive to it, then unwind a bit.

Thank you for the suggestions. Ican see Grasmere and Keswick both have their devotees. Grasmere does sound charming--is there enough to do in evenings?

Sneakers are tennis shoes, tenners, trainers--I think it is an eatern US thing? not sure.

Sounds like boots are needed, especialy for possibility of wet hikes, so I will plan on taking those.

Clarification: We will arrive from Wales afternoon of June 28 and will drive up to Glasgow late on June 30 to catch a morning flight out on July 1--so we do have a few days. So we will have about 2-1/2 days combined to hike. I can see it willbe tough deciding on a few hikes--although I am interested in some that start from Cat's Bells as noted above.

Grasmere is lovely but it is a small village. Not sure what you are expecting, but I would struggle to think what teens would do in the evening. There are pubs and restaurants but nothing else!

A lot of Americans use the term "sneakers" to mean what they used to call "tennis shoes", or some do. Sometimes they are trainers (now maybe I don't know all that term means), but often it means even a lighter-weight and flimsier shoe than even a serious running/walking shoe, which most of the folks I know just call athletic shoes or running shoes. Most of the people I know only use the term sneaker for fairly lightweight canvas with rubber sole shoes, like the typical Keds.

Thanks Christina! I can now tell mama-mia not to attmept to walk in sneakers in the Lake District!
It does have one of the heaviest rainfall levels of the entire country, and therefore you will often be walking on wet, slippery and scrabbly rocks.
M

It's tought to get teens into traditional leather hiking boots. But there are now some high-tech lightweight and waterproof "boots" that they might like, like these from REI:

http://tinyurl.com/e6kmy

You might also check the REI outlet page too---some good deals there. I find that our teens (girls) don't need the level of ankle and foot support that my poor old feet do, and they do fine in cross-trainers. But we do our hiking in the Alps where perhaps it is not so wet.

For myself, since I do take boots, I "handle" the boot problem on the airplane by putting them in the bottom of my day-hiking pack, which is my carry-on. Than for train days, I usually end up wearing them, rather than carrying.

Sneakers--I am dating myself, but when I was growing up there were just plain old sneakers. One did not have special mission athletic shoes. I have a tendency to call the shoes I now wear, regardless if they are sold or marketed as tennis shoes, cross trainers, walking shoes,etc., "sneakers".

But I will look for a lightweight, waterproof boot with ankle support for this trip and not rely on just my walking shoes (aka sneakers).

Enzian-thanks for the tip on the REI site.

Also check www.sierratradingpost.com
They have great prices on closeouts! I just bought a pair of Merrill hiking boots there for $60 (originally $150).

These newer "high-tech" boots and shoes incorporate a lot of running-shoe features (light weight but durable, as well as waterproof in some cases). They are less stiff, more comfortable, and do not take as much "breaking-in" as traditional leather boots. All this makes them easier to buy on-line.

Good luck with your hiking---it sounds like a great trip. And don't forget the trip report! I hope to get to the Lake District for some hiking with British friends next year.