Wandering the Wainwrights via bus

The latest blog in our Wander More This Winter series comes from Lewis Jevons, who in May completed a 5-year challenge of bagging all 214 Wainwrights using only public transport. Read on to discover more about Lewis’s big adventure, and a handy walk guide to try yourself.

A new way to explore

Leaving the car at home in West Wales, each trip would begin with a long train journey to either Oxenholme, Penrith or Ravenglass, before using the Stagecoach buses to get around the National Park.

In subsequent conversations with other walkers, I heard why they didn’t consider using public transport: they thought it was impractical, and too expensive. I’m trying to show people that not only is it possible, but also much more fun. And with current prices for a single journey capped at £2, there really is no better time to give it a try!

Benefits for walkers

• It’s more fun: sit back and enjoy the views of the journey while someone else does the driving! There are no worries about finding parking spots on narrow country lanes, or paying for expensive parking tickets upon arrival.
• It opens up route options: admittedly some regions on the far east and west of the park are harder to reach, but most of the park is very well connected. I was able to cover several ranges and valleys in a day, choosing linear routes that finished 15 miles from the starting point, safe in the knowledge that there is a wide network of buses.
• It gives you flexibility: whether I found a sudden burst of energy, or (more frequently) found my legs turning to jelly, I had it gave me the ability to completely alter plans mid-walk. I regularly found myself looking down into the valleys from the top of a fell, drawn towards a set of plunge-pools or woodland. A quick look at the bus timetable let me satisfy my curiosity and catch the bus back from a different location.
• It makes you appreciate the landscape: most bus stops aren’t directly at the bottom of the fells, and walks often start with a mile or two of strolling through valleys, streams and woodlands.

Giving back to the Lake District and its communities

With such broad news coverage of environmental issues, it’s easy to forget the small actions we can take as individuals. The sight of mosses and lichens covering drystone walls is about as iconic as it gets, but these rely upon clean air to survive. With growing traffic along valleys like Borrowdale, Langdale and Patterdale, conservationists are fighting harder than ever to slow the decline in biodiversity. It’s not just plant life: seeing deer is a bucket-list for many fell walkers, yet with increased noise from the valleys below they are harder to spot.

Public transport benefits rural communities, too. The beauty of these villages is in the multiple generations of human history tying people to place, and in many of these communities, public transport is the lifeblood keeping remote villages and individuals connected. The more tourists use the public transport network, the more provision will be laid on and available for local communities to use. This is particularly important during the winter months when visitor numbers are lower!

Walk guides

You can pick up a booklet containing route maps and timetables on Stagecoach buses, in the Booths stores and most tourist attractions/visitor centres. Below is a walk guide for each of the main tourist regions. It includes both a high and a low level walk to cater for varying abilities and weather conditions.

Borrowdale

• High level: A Borrowdale Circuit: Bessyboot, Glaramara and Allen Crags
• Low level: A Borrowdale Walk: Rosthwaite to Keswick

Langdale

• High level: Langdale Horseshoe: Cold Pike and Crinkle Crags (note for safety: at step 9, you can head down to the west and follow the line of the public footpath off the summit of Crinkle Crags. The path to the south east along the ridge takes you down ‘the bad step’, a 2 metre drop that can be tricky, especially when wet).
• Low level: Skelwith Bridge to Great Langdale

Grasmere/central Lakes

• High level: Grasmere - Raise Circle
• Low level: Ambleside to Grasmere

Patterdale

• High level: Patterdale: A High Street Horseshoe
• Low level: Patterdale: An Ullswater Horseshoe

For more walk guides using public transport in the Lakes, visit Lewis's website. 

The Bus Fare Cap Grant scheme has been introduced for most single bus journeys across England from 1 January 2023 until 31 March 2023.