Cumberland Way
73 miles through the valleys of this old Lakeland county
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The ancient county of Cumberland may have been lost to the county boundary changes of 1974 but this 73 mile trail explores and celebrates its delights, meandering from the coast at Ravenglass, across the Lake District, to Eamont Bridge on the old eastern boundary of Cumberland, now the edge of the National Park, and can continue to Appleby-in-Westmorland.

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Holiday Packages

All our Standard Itineraries include:

  • Hand-picked accommodation in B&Bs / guest houses / inns / small hotels
  • En-suite facilities where available
  • Breakfast
  • Daily baggage transfers from our own team of local drivers
  • All booking fees

We will also endeavour to include all these in any custom itinerary you wish to build for this walk.

Itin A:   7D / 8N       £1080 pp *

Day 1: Ravenglass to Nether Wasdale (8.5m)
Day 2: Nether Wasdale to Buttermere (12.9m)
Day 3: Buttermere to Keswick (8.9m)
Day 4: Keswick to Dockray (11.5m)
Day 5: Dockray to Stainton (11.3m)
Day 6: Stainton to Cliburn, transport to Great Strickland (9.6m)
Day 7: taxi to Cliburn, walk to Appleby (9.5m)

£1080 per person (based on two sharing)

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Itin B:   4D / 5N       £690 pp *

Day 1: Ravenglass to Wasdale Head (14.6m)
Day 2: Wasdale Head to Keswick (15.7m)
Day 3: Keswick to Stainton (22.8m)
Day 4: Stainton to Appleby (19.1m)

£690 per person (based on two sharing)

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Itin C:   5D / 6N       £840 pp *

Day 1: Ravenglass to Wasdale Head (14.5m)
Day 2: Wasdale Head to Keswick (15.7m)
Day 3: Keswick to Dockray (11.5m)
Day 4: Dockray to Eamont Bridge (14.4m)
Day 5: Eamont Bridge to Appleby (16m)

£840 per person (based on two sharing)

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Itin D:   8D / 9N       £1210 pp *

Day 1: Ravenglass to Nether Wasdale (8.5m)
Day 2: Nether Wasdale to Wasdale Head (6.3m)
Day 3: Wasdale Head to Buttermere (6.8m)
Day 4: Buttermere to Keswick (8.9m)
Day 5: Keswick to Dockray (11.5m)
Day 6: Dockray to Stainton (11.3m)
Day 7: Stainton to Cliburn, transport to Great Strickland (9.6m)
Day 8: transport to Cliburn, walk to Appleby (9.5m)

£1,210 per person (based on two sharing)

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* All headline holiday prices are shown per person, based on two people sharing.

** Prices may vary depending on availability, time of year, number of travellers and room type. Please enquire for a personalised quote. 

Baggage Transfer

Baggage Transfer is automatically included in the price of all our Walking Holiday packages.

These prices are for anyone planning their own holiday and just need bags moving from one stop to the next.

BAGGAGE ONLY

1 bag: £38 per bag per day
2 bags: £22 per bag per day
3+ bags: £17 per bag per day

*Prices may vary depending on route, mileage and direct road access. Please complete the enquiry form for a personalised quote.

Max 17kg per bag

Click here for a quote

Note: If you are booking accommodation in an Airbnb, you must ensure that there will either be someone available to take collection/delivery of your bags or that they have appropriate, secure storage in the event that the proprietor is absent.

Walk Information

Rest Days
Rest days can be incorporated into any walking holiday package.

Solo Travellers
Solo travellers please contact us or use the booking form to send your proposed itinerary including dates, and we will price accordingly. Where possible, we take advantage of existing bookings from other clients to ensure you receive a cost effective service.

Alternative Itineraries
For alternative itineraries to those provided for this route, please contact us, or use the Booking Form to submit your proposed itinerary and number of participants and we will quote accordingly.

Walking Season Dates
Prices are based on the walk starting after 1st April and ending before 30th September.

Walk Information
The ancient county of Cumberland may have been lost to the county boundary changes of 1974 but this trail explores and celebrates its delights, meandering from the coast at Ravenglass, across the Lake District, to Eamont Bridge on the old eastern boundary of Cumberland, now the edge of the National Park, and can continue to Appleby-in-Westmorland.

Ravenglass, on the Irish Sea, is the western terminus of L’aal Ratty, the Ravenglass and Eskdale steam railway line. From there the first day’s walk to Nether Wasdale passes Roman remains by the coast, the 13th century (haunted!) Muncaster Castle, and a working water mill, Muncaster Mill. The route onward to Buttermere includes views across Wastwater to the spectacular 2000ft screes and ahead to peaks which include Great Gable and Scafell Pike – some of the most impressive scenery in the Lake District – before threading its way via the packhorse trail over Black Sail Pass to upper Ennerdale and Scarth Gap to the lake shore at Buttermere.

The next day’s walk passes through the Derwent Fells, emerging into the Newlands Valley, immortalised by Beatrix Potter in The Tale of Mrs Tiggywinkle, and on via lakeside and woodland paths to the attractive market town of Keswick with its outdoor shops and little lakeside theatre. Leaving Keswick the route includes the Castlehead viewpoint and passes the atmospheric Castlerigg stone circle before joining the old “coach road” around the lower slopes of the Helvellyn range across to the enchanting Aira Force, close to Ullswater and the hamlet of Dockray. From Dockray the walk meanders around Gowbarrow Fell, enjoying breathtaking views over Ullswater, via the village of Dacre, to Stainton.

The next leg,to Morland, passes Yanwath Hall with its ancient pele tower, Eamont Bridge ( where you could finish your walk), the imposing ruins of Brougham Castle and continues into the Eden District, skirting Whinfell Forest, home of Centre Parks, and continues via Wetheriggs and Clinton to Morland. On a path which begins with panoramic views of the Pennines, Appleby, burial place of Lady Anne Clifford, whose influence on the town still remains, is the final day’s destination.

OS Explorer Maps
OL4 – English Lakes – North-western area
OL5 – English Lakes – North-eastern area
OL6 – English Lakes – South-western area
OL19 – Howgill Fells & Upper Eden Valley

Guide Books
“The Cumberland Way” by Paul Hannon – is now very difficult to obtain, even second hand.

Mobile Digital Mapping
Digital maps can be viewed on most modern smartphones using an appropriate app, downloaded from the app store associated with your device. Brigantes recommend that whichever app you use, it should support Ordnance Survey 1:25k or 1:50k scale maps. There are many apps to choose from, but the two main providers are Ordnance Survey and Memory Map.

Each provider’s app has its own benefits, but both provide all-important offline navigation, meaning your device does not need a mobile signal to work effectively on the trail.

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Walkers' Testimonials

Have you walked this route? Please leave a review and let others know what you think.

Use the comments form below to submit your testimonial for this walk. Rest assured, we won’t display or disclose your email address! It is only required to prevent spam – and to enable you to receive notifications of any responses to your review should you select the option to do so.

One Reply to “Cumberland Way”

  1. We did this walk over 7 days from 9 to 15 June 2024. Experienced walkers, but never use a company for accommodation and baggage transfers in the past. Can’t praise Brigantes highly enough. From our initial enquiry they have been fantastic. We had 8 nights accommodation and the standard throughout was superb and all were happy to welcome sometimes bedraggled walkers. Baggage transfers 100% efficient, on the one occasion we arrived at our hotel before our bags the courier had rang ahead to give a time of arrival and was spot on. I’ve walked in the Lake District for over 50 yrs but this route took me to parts I’d never before visited. I would say day two from Nether Wasdale to Buttermere is a good bit longer than the 12.9 miles suggested on our itinerary, it wouldn’t be a problem for experienced fell walkers. On most days our OS route recorder, recorded slightly higher than the given itinerary. The only bits of the walk we didn’t like were firstly on day 6 the last 3.5 miles into Cliburn are along a fairly busy and fast road, not always with verges to walk on. Day 7 the last mile into Appleby the clearly marked bridle way was completely overgrown, we had to pick our way through waist high undergrowth and ankle deep mud and at one point a gate with a public right of way sign on it had been fastened closed. Very small irritations and the sort of thing experienced walkers will be all too familiar with. Overall an amazing walk and all praise to Brigantes

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