Magnificent fells, lakes and valleys around Borrowdale

We stay at the Glaramara Hotel in Borrowdale. Glaramara is a privately owned hotel which is run by an experienced and professional team whose aim is to make your visit a memorable and rewarding one.

The serene setting of Glaramara offers you the most perfect Lakeland retreat. The location of the hotel is particularly striking with commanding views of the Borrowdale Fells and the hotel is nestled into the hillside. The hotel is set in over 5 acres of private ground with stunning views from all aspects and nearly all of the hotel’s elegant rooms provide magnificent views of the surrounding Cumbrian Fells.

The hotel facilities include a spacious lounge and bar each with log fires, a wrap around sun terrace to soak up the views, a drying room and free Wi Fi throughout.

Meals

Dinner is a feature of our holiday with a three course evening meal and a changing daily menu complimenting our walking and is part of our social atmosphere.

Lunch is either a hearty packed lunch or we aim to call at local pubs where appropriate.

It really is a very tranquil retreat.

The hotel bedrooms are equipped to a very high standard and have very recently  been renovated. The bedrooms we have been allocted are single rooms – should you wish to guarantee a twin, or double room for sole occupation then please request this.  However there is an additional charge per night for these rooms.

Flexibility

We offer you the opportunity to stay additional nights, and many people extend their weekend as they wish. Just reserve what nights you need.

Directions

Getting to Borrowdale

By car – follow your SatNav instructions.

M6 – junction 38 for Keswick then follow signs for Borrowdale and Seatoller once you reach Keswick

By Train – Penrith is the nearest station. See National Rail

There is a regular  bus service to Keswick from Penrith and from Keswick to Seatoller. Taxis are also available.

Our Magnificent Fells, Lakes and Valleys of Borrowdale holiday is based from the most stunning Lakeland retreat Hotel in Borrowdale which is situated 8 miles south of Keswick in the picturesque hamlet of Seatoller in the very beautiful Borrowdale Valley. Our hotel location offers us a great variety of walks straight from the hotel door and offers us either low level valley walks or the opportunity to ascend fantastic mid level fells and peaks.

Our location opens up the options of visiting the following valleys of  Honister, Buttermere, Crummock Water, Langstrath and walking through the pretty hamlets of Rosthwaite, Seathwaite, Grange and Watendlath. We will also be able to visit some very well known landmarks such as Ashness Bridge, castle crag, Honister slate mine and Borrowdale Bowder Stone and walk some parts of the Coast to Coast and Cumbria Way path networks. Our options are endless and we will match our walks to the weather and to the needs of the group.

We start walking on the first day – the start date of the holiday- at 2.30pm, with a lovely introductory walk of about 2.5 hours- get to know us, and each other on the holiday.

We walk on days 2, 3 and 4 and on day 5 we finish about 2.30pm.

Sample Walks

We will discuss each day’s walk during dinner on the previous evening. Our walk selection each day will be based upon the ability of the group assembled and importantly, the expected weather conditions.

Day One

A short walk over Thornthwaite Fell to stretch our ‘hill legs’.  We head towards the cairn at 574m.  Taking time to enjoy the fabulous views and see some of the routes for the following week.

The following are a selection of the walks we use on this holiday.  Your guide will use them according to weather and conditions.  There is a good bus service in the Borrowdale valley which we use to facilitate linear walks. 

Watendlath

A 10 mile, 16K route over Brund Fell, 350m.   The pretty Watendlath valley has a pretty tarn hamlet, and with luck the tea room may be open.  Our return may include, Ladore Falls, Ashness Bridge and surprise view. 

Catbells

One of the most walked Wainwrights.  We walk from the door through the Borrowdale valley.  Catbells summit is 451m and gives a wonderful view of Derwent and the Borrowdale Valley.  We return by Derwent shore and take the bus to the hotel. 

Castle Crag

A relatively small hill which can be seen from throughout the area.  It’s a mere 290m but  its slippery slate means we only go to the top in dry weather. 

Seathwaite and Sprinkling Tarn

This route takes us in to the heart of the fells.  A steady ascent to around 450m.  We follow Grains Gill with tumbling waterfalls.  There will be time to stop and appreciate the remote fells and see the track up to Sca Fell Pike and Wasdale to the west.   15.5K

Walla Crag

This is one of the most accessible Wainwright hills.  The eastern side of Derwent with fabulous views over to Catbells on the far shore.  376m.  There are several routes we can take to incorporate this hill.

Haystacks

This route starts from the picturesque village of Buttermere, we go by bus.  We walk along the lake shore and then head up Scarth Gap to Hay stacks, 579m.  After savouring the magnificent views we drop down over Fleetwith and the slate mine at Honister, then back to our accommodation.

Other options for routes:

Keswick to Threkeld railway.

Keswick Stone Circle.

A circuit of Buttermere

A circuit of Derwent

A circuit of Crummock water.

PLEASE NOTE 

Although our leaders are well trained and experienced in dealing with different capabilities of our walking clients, if they have any concerns about any client’s ability or suitability to undertake safely any walking activity we plan or feel that participation of an individual may affect the groups safety and cohesion, then they have full permission to exclude that client from an activity.

They will always try to provide and alternative suggested activity, though this may involve the client in additional local cost.

We rarely have to enforce this above recommendation, but it is a sensible and necessary protection for the individual client, the group, and the leaders.

Grades and Difficulty

The walks on this trip vary between Moderate and Challenging levels and each day involves a fair amount of ascent and descent. The trip requires a reasonable amount of fitness, ideally with previous hill walking experience.

The Northern Lake District offers a wide variety of terrains and walking opportunities. We will describe each walk the night before and what it entails. We walk at a steady pace, we don’t rush – we want you to enjoy our lovely scenery. These fells are a walker’s paradise with good, mainly well marked paths and an ever changing landscape.

 This is a land of ever changing vistas – on any walk we get four or five different landscapes to enjoy. Don’t forget your camera.

We walk between 9 and 10 miles per day. 

Paths on this Lake District holiday are mostly well marked and walked but can have rough and uneven with stony parts to them. The terrain and path types vary but many can be rocky and steep.

These we take carefully, bearing in mind your safety at all times.

You need good walking footwear, preferably waterproof walking boots with good soles for protection. You may find that walking poles will aid your enjoyment of this land.

Whilst we do not ascend the high fells- we will ascend and descend on our walks – up to a total in a day of 750 metres. So, there will be some short, sharp ascents and descents.

The Northern region of the English Lake District National Park is an area of outstanding natural beauty. There are lakes, mountains, delightful small towns, villages and hamlets set amongst magnificent landscape. This is somewhere to escape from the pressures of modern living. Visitors to this area come for many different reasons, some simply enjoy looking at the scenery, some will paint or use cameras to capture the views, while others will walk the valleys and climb the fells.

It is hard to believe that the Borrowdale valley, now part of the National Park, was once a hive of industrial activity with iron smelting, charcoal burning, and mining for copper and graphite. Scattered hamlets reflect the Nordic influence in their names, while stone walls and vernacular buildings chronicle centuries of farming. Today, farming struggles to make a living and visitors play an important role in sustaining the local community.

Leading south from Derwent water, Borrowdale is surrounded by rugged crags, inviting fells, old mine workings and wooded valleys with clean rivers. The fine sessile oak woodlands are of particular ecological interest, and the damp, western climate supports internationally important lichens, mosses and insects.
Keswick, situated between the huge bulk of Skiddaw and the gentle beauty of Derwentwater, has become the major centre for tourism in the northern Lake District. This pretty market town offer a wide range of attractions for visitors, from shops and restaurants to museums with a difference, and boating trips around lake Derwentwater.