Exploring Borrowdale Without a Car on Foot

Why Borrowdale suits the car-free walker

Borrowdale has a problem that is also its charm: the road up the valley is narrow, walled, single-track in places, and on a bright August morning the car parks at Rosthwaite, Seatoller and the Bowder Stone are full before the mist has lifted off Glaramara. The alternative is not a compromise. A seasonal bus runs from Keswick up through Grange, Rosthwaite and Seatoller, another service crosses Honister Pass to Buttermere, and the Derwentwater launches link Keswick's shore with Hawes End, Nichol End and Lodore. Put those together and you can walk the best ground in Borrowdale as a series of linear days, never retracing a step, with a bus or a boat waiting at the far end.

The buses and boats that make it work

Keswick is the hub, and almost every car-free day in Borrowdale begins at the bus station or the launch pier. The valley service is the workhorse: it climbs the Borrowdale road and calls at Grange, Rosthwaite and Seatoller, giving you trailheads for Castle Crag, the Bowder Stone, Seathwaite and the paths up to Glaramara and Great Gable. The Honister service is the more ambitious option, lifting you over the pass and dropping down to Buttermere, which opens up genuine point-to-point crossings rather than there-and-back plods.

Both are seasonal, generally running from spring to late autumn, and frequency drops sharply outside the school holidays. Sunday services are thinner still. Check the current timetable before you commit to a route, and photograph the return times at the stop as a backup to whatever is on your phone. Signal in the valley is patchy, which is worth remembering.

Reading a timetable like a walker

The rhythm of a bus-based day is different from a car-based one, and the planning is where the day is won or lost.

• Work backwards from the last bus, not forwards from breakfast. Fix your final departure, subtract your walking time, then add the slack. Everything else falls out of that.
• Use Naismith's rule and then ignore it. Allow an hour for every three miles plus an hour for every 2,000 feet of ascent, then add time for rough ground, stiles, bogs and photography. On Borrowdale's fell paths, the additions matter more than the computation.
• Add an hour of slack for a group, two for a group with children. Someone will want to look at the slate, someone will need a layer change.
• Note which way the bus runs. It is easy to plan a route that ends at a stop served only in the morning.
• Have a Plan B stop. Know the next settlement down the valley, so a slow day becomes a shorter walk rather than a missed bus.

Three linear walks worth the planning

Grange to Seatoller by Castle Crag. Take the bus to Grange, cross the packhorse bridge and climb through the oakwoods to Castle Crag, the little fortified knoll that guards the valley mouth. Descend north to Rosthwaite, then either pick up the next bus or continue on the riverside path to Seatoller. It is short enough to leave room for a long lunch and a look at the Bowder Stone on the way.

Seatoller to Buttermere over Honister. Bus to Seatoller, climb to Honister Hause, then follow the old slate tramway down towards Dubs Quarry and into Warnscale Bottom. The view back to Buttermere and Fleetwith Pike is one of the finest in the Lakes, and the descent is gentle. Catch the Honister service back to Keswick from Buttermere. This is a full day with real height gain, so start early.

Rosthwaite to Keswick by Watendlath. From Rosthwaite, climb to Watendlath, drop down past the falls to Lodore, then walk the shore path north to Keswick or take the launch. It links woodland, tarn and lake in one arc, and the launch gives you a bail-out if the day runs long.

Skills, kit and contingency

Bus-based walking rewards a slightly heavier pack. Carry a paper map and compass rather than relying on a phone, a head torch (you may be walking out later than planned if a bus is cancelled), a spare warm layer and a proper waterproof. Know how to read a grid reference well enough to tell someone where you are, and leave your intended route and expected bus with whoever is at the cottage.

Weather in Borrowdale changes quickly, and the valley floor can be calm while the tops are in cloud and driving rain. If the cloud is down, walk low: the riverside paths, the Bowder Stone, the woods around Grange and Manesty are excellent in poor conditions. Save the passes for a clear day.

Choosing a cottage base

Where you stay shapes what you can walk. A cottage in Rosthwaite or Grange puts you a short stroll from a bus stop and the heart of the valley paths. Seatoller suits anyone aiming at Honister, Seathwaite and the high fells. Staying on the outskirts of Keswick means the town's buses, launches and shops are on the doorstep, at the cost of a bus ride before every walk.

Look for a drying room, a boot rack and a decent porch. After a wet day on Glaramara, these matter more than any other feature. Book early for late spring and early autumn, when the buses still run but the crowds have gone, and remember that a well-thumbed timetable is the most useful piece of kit you will pack.