Family Friendly Lake District Walks

Walking

By TheHelpfulHiker on 08/09/2016 • ( 25 Comments )

The last time we went to the Lake District I was pregnant, so we’d been eager to return with Finn for ages. We finally managed to fit in a family camping trip last week and, despite the fact we couldn’t do everything we would have done pre-parenthood,  we all had a fantastic time!

In the past we would have headed for the hills and planned a few full day hikes. This time, however, we set our sights a little lower. Since we’re both busy working full time (and I work weekends), our opportunities for walking, and keeping fit in general, have been few and far between this year. Add in the fact that Luke also has to carry Finn, we really didn’t feel up to any long, challenging hikes.

Before we left I downloaded the full Lake District OS map onto my viewranger account, so that I could access it on my phone and tablet. I also downloaded a couple of routes, however these turned out to be a little beyond our capabilities, so I planned a couple of easy walks. It can sometimes be difficult to find family friendly walks in hilly areas, however the Lakes also provide plenty of flat, accessible outings suitable for little legs and pushchairs.

Walk 1: Derwent Water, pushchair friendly 

For this easy 1.3 mile walk, we parked in the lakeside car park in Keswick (CA12 5DJ) and headed towards Derwent Water. There are toilets and a National Trust shop and information point here. We followed the signposted path to the viewpoint of Friars Crag.

It was a cloudy day, but thankfully the rain held off

The view across Derwent Water from Friars Crag.

The shores of Derwent, with the distinctive ridge of Catbells in the background

Once we reached the shores of the Lake, we turned left and headed up through Cockshot Wood and back to the car park.

Walk 2: Derwent Water Family Friendly Walk

For our second walk, we headed to the other side of the lake. We parked in the small car park on the road towards Skelgill (it gets busy so I advise you get there early!) in the shadow of Catbells. In the past we may well have headed up to the summit towering over us, but these days we prefer gentler strolls. We headed down towards the water, and flatter terrain, for a gentle 3 mile circular stroll.

Here is the route of our family friendly walk as uploaded to Viewranger

It had rained all morning, so I set out with my big backpack with waterproofs and spare clothes for us all. I needn’t have bothered, the sun came out and it was a glorious day!

Gorgeous views across Derwent

Luke and Finn enjoying the vista

We walked through Brandelhow woods down to the water’s edge. Here we had a quick break, took some photos and enjoyed the views all around us. We then walked along the lake and back to our starting point.

We were videoed by Viewranger during this walk as part of a series showing people using their app, so here’s a little peek at how we plan our walks.

We may have only done a quick circuit, but there are so many options for longer, and hillier, walks if you fancy something more challenging!

 

Categories: Walking

Tagged as: baby, Days out, lake district, national trust, walking