Peak to Pub Day 1: Keswick to Buttermere

This is the gentle one. Gentle being relative — it’s still a 1,300-metre day over five tops — but of the seven Peak to Pub days, the opener is the one with the best path-to-effort ratio and the friendliest fells. It’s also, for my money, one of the loveliest ridge lines in the Lakes.

We didn’t sleep in Keswick and walk out, the way you would on the proper route. We were doing it our own way, from a base, so we drove round and made a start near the foot of Cat Bells. If you’re doing the real thing, you’d leave town on foot along the west shore of Derwentwater and let the climb of Cat Bells be your warm-up. Either way, Cat Bells is where the day begins in earnest.

Up Cat Bells and along the ridge

Cat Bells is everybody’s first Lakeland fell, and you can see why. It’s a proper little mountain in miniature — a clear pointed top, a bit of easy hands-on rock near the summit, and a view that opens out over Derwentwater the moment you gain height. On a clear day you’ll have plenty of company up here. We did, and that’s fine; it’s a sociable fell.

What people forget is that Cat Bells is only the start of the ridge. The path keeps climbing south, over Maiden Moor and on to High Spy, and the crowds thin out fast once you’re past that first summit. High Spy, at 653m, is the high point of the day, and from up there the whole back half lays itself out in front of you: the drop into the valley, then the pull back up to Dale Head.

Dale Head and Robinson

Dale Head is the one that makes you work. There’s a steady climb to the summit cairn — a big, well-built thing — and a sudden, brilliant view straight down the Newlands valley that’s one of the best reveals in the district. Then it’s round and over to Robinson, the last top of the day, before the long descent west toward Buttermere.

That descent is where a fresh-legged day starts to tell on the knees. I always walk with poles, and ground like this is exactly why. It’s not difficult, just long and grassy and relentlessly downhill, and Buttermere takes its time to arrive.

Into Buttermere

And then it does. Buttermere is a small, quiet village between two lakes, and after a day on the tops it feels like a reward in itself. The official route finishes at the Bridge Hotel, and so did we — though we weren’t staying. We had a lemonade in the bar, got the weight off our feet, and looked back up at the fells we’d just walked. That was the deal we’d made with ourselves for the week: no overnight in the pubs, but a drink in every one. Day 1, deal honoured.

Practical notes

Parking and getting in and out of Buttermere are in the Before you go box above — it’s a small village with not much room, so plan it.

Maps: OS Explorer OL4 covers the whole day. There’s a link to the area on OS Maps online above too.

If you’re doing the continuous route, you’d walk out of Keswick along Derwentwater and finish where you sleep in Buttermere. Doing it from a base like we did means sorting transport at both ends — there’s a limited Buttermere bus to Keswick, but it’s not something to bank on late in the day.

The GPX above is our actual track. Trail’s official figure for the day is 18.3km and 1,372m of ascent; our recording read a touch longer, as they tend to.

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Part of the Lake District Peak to Pub — Trail magazine’s seven-day, 35-peak high route. Next: Day 2, Buttermere to Wasdale.