Is Cumbria one of the best places in England to enjoy an autumn walk?
She may be biased, but award-winning guidebook writer and photographer Vivienne Crow thinks it is.
To prove the point, she’s come up with 10 walks - all of them accessible by Stagecoach bus – that give walkers an opportunity to experience the season at its very best.
It’s a good time for spotting wildlife too, with mammals such as red squirrels busy storing up food for the coming winter, and migrant bird species arriving.
The walks range from just over three miles to just over 10 miles. Before setting off, make sure you’ve got a map and are equipped for the terrain and the weather.
If you’re thinking of tackling one of the two fell walks listed, check out the Adventure Smart website for advice.
Pensioners travel free with an English Concessionary travel card while everyone else pays a maximum £2 per single ticket under the national fare-cap scheme.
Walk 1: Crummock Water
Bus route: 77/77A/77C to Buttermere* (up until 3rd November only)
Length/difficulty: 7 miles; easy/moderate; approximately 3½ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL4, English Lakes NW
They’re missing out, particularly at this time of the year. Lace up your boots for this half-day walk when high pressure is dominating and you’ll be treated to a fine spectacle.
The rusty backdrop provided by the dying bracken on the fells and the scattered pockets of woodland add splashes of vivid colour.
After skirting the base of densely wooded slopes, the route crosses fields grazed by Herdwick sheep before returning to the village where a choice of pubs and cafes awaits.
Bus route: 505 to Coniston
Length/difficulty: 5½ miles; hard; approximately 4½ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL6, English Lakes SW
The Old Man of Coniston is one of Lakeland’s most popular summits.
From Coniston, head up towards the Coppermines Valley and then climb the so-called ‘tourist’ route to the summit. On the way up, you’ll pass the beautifully located tarn of Low Water as well as old quarry workings.
It’s unlikely that you’ll have the summit to yourself but if you’re feeling a little adventurous, it’s possible to enjoy a more solitary experience on the descent by heading down to the Walna Scar Road via the southern ‘Breast’ route and Little Arrow Moor.
Bus route: 508 to Glenridding
Length/difficulty: 4 miles; easy/moderate; approximately 2 hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL5, English Lakes NE
By catching the 508 bus to Glenridding, you can enjoy a range of walks: from tough hikes on the high fells to gentle lakeside strolls.
Sitting near the foot of this hill are the slightly murkier waters of Lanty’s Tarn.
It may be considerably smaller and less dramatic than Ullswater but, fringed by trees, this pool provides an atmospheric spot for a picnic.
The next part of the walk drops into glorious Grisedale, the valley cutting between the fells of the Helvellyn range and the Fairfield group.
Walk 4: Dovedale and Brothers Water
Bus route: 508 to Hartsop
Length/difficulty: 5½ miles; moderate; approximately 2½ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL5, English Lakes NE
Until early November, the 508 bus route extends beyond Patterdale to Hartsop, Kirkstone Pass, Troutbeck and, eventually, Windermere.
Ask the driver to drop you at Hartsop to explore a Lakeland dale that’s at its eye-catching best in autumn – Dovedale.
The first part of the walk climbs just above the treeline into the wild, rocky terrain at the foot of the fells. As you reach a high point of about 1,120ft (342m), the imposing face of Dove Crag lies straight ahead – looming over the dalehead.
Turning your back on this forbidding scene, you descend past waterfalls into a more pastoral landscape where sheep and cattle graze beside the meandering beck.
The second, easier part of the walk crosses to the eastern side of Brothers Water for a gentle, lakeside amble.
This being a figure-of-eight, it’s possible to cut the walk short about two-thirds of the way through.
However, not only would that mean missing out on the eastern side of beautiful Brothers Water, you’d also have to forfeit a chance to call in at the Brotherswater Inn for refreshments.
Walk 5: Staveley’s woods
Bus route: 555 to Staveley plus Service 6
Length/difficulty: 5½ miles; moderate; approximately 2½ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL7, English Lakes SE
Where’s the best place to go to in the Lake District to see the autumn colours? Ask Google that question and it’s likely to come up with the usual suspects: Borrowdale, Grasmere, Tarn Hows… Of course, Google’s not wrong; these places are magnificent at this time of the year. But an area that tends to get forgotten is Staveley.
Catch the 555 bus to this lively village, part way between Windermere and Kendal, and walk east to meander through a huge variety of woodland types, each adding to an amazingly diverse palette.
There’s the oak and birch of Dorothy Farrer’s Spring Wood, the ancient woodland of Beckmickle Ings and the massive beech trees in Craggy Wood.
But it’s not only the trees that make this a walk full of variety; it’s the landscapes and terrain experienced along the way, the route taking in a short section of the River Kent, paying a visit to a small waterfall and climbing briefly for views of the Far Eastern Fells.
Walk 6: Grasmere and its woods
Bus route: 555/599 to White Moss Common
Length/difficulty: 3⅓ miles; easy; approximately 1¾ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL7, English Lakes SE
What could be more beguiling than the reflection of the woods and fells in the calm waters of Grasmere on a clear, frosty autumn morning?
Ask your bus driver to tell you when you’ve reached White Moss Common and from here, kick your way through the leaves of the gorgeous oak woods adorning the banks of the River Rothay.
After walking beside the lake and enjoying the views across to Seat Sandal, Great Rigg and Heron Pike, climb easily into Redbank Wood, home to roe deer and red squirrels.
The route then heads out on to Loughrigg Terrace, more famous for its bluebells in early spring. Here, as you emerge from the trees, you’re able to look down on the lake and the myriad hues of the woodland canopy.
It’s one of the most captivating scenes in the region – one to be savoured, and there are plenty of handy benches beside the path to enable walkers to do just that before descending back through the trees to White Moss Common.
Walk 7: Little Langdale
Bus route: 516 to Elterwater
Length/difficulty: 4½ miles; easy/moderate; approximately 2¼ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL7, English Lakes SE
The 516 bus, from Ambleside to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Great Langdale, opens up a wealth of hiking opportunities.
Climb the famous Langdale Pikes, take a riverside stroll along the valley bottom or explore the wilder reaches of the dalehead.
A walk visiting both Great and Little Langdale takes in some of the best that autumn offers. When you’re not walking under the colourful canopy provided by the area’s deciduous trees or staring down at the amazing display of fungi, you’re able to look out over the valleys to the open fells which are taking on a range of earthy hues as the bracken dies back and the grasses lose their many shades of green.
Start from Elterwater, head upstream beside the tree-lined banks of Great Langdale Beck and then climb through Sawrey’s Wood.
Crossing into Little Langdale, the route passes close to Little Langdale Tarn before reaching picturesque Slater Bridge.
If you’ve come equipped with a torch, consider a short detour to Cathedral Cave, a gaping quarry cavern reached via an exciting, unlit tunnel.
Walk 8: Derwentwater shore (linear valley walk)
Bus route: walk out from Keswick and then catch the 78 bus back from the Lodore Falls Hotel
Length/difficulty: 5¼ miles; easy; approximately 2¾ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL4, English Lakes NW
No autumn visit to the Lake District would be complete without sampling Borrowdale where ancient woods cling to steep fellsides and spill over the shores of Derwentwater.
These are the precious remnants of an immense oakwood that once cloaked Europe’s Atlantic coast – part of our temperate rainforest.
The sessile oak is one of the most common species, but other native trees can be found, including birch, holly, hazel and alder, all adding their own unique contribution to the valley’s amazing variety of autumn colours.
Set out from Keswick and walk through Portinscale to pick up a path through the woods near Nichol End Marine.
Refuel at Lingholm Kitchen before continuing to Brandelhow Park and along the lake shore.
Passing around the southern end of Derwentwater, enjoy views across to the tree-shrouded slopes of Walla Crag and back to Skiddaw before crossing the footbridge over the River Derwent and following a roadside path to the bus stop outside the Lodore Falls Hotel.
The 78, between Keswick and Seatoller, runs regularly throughout the year.
Walk 9: The Dodds (linear fell walk)
Bus route: Both ends of this walk are served by the 555 bus
Length/difficulty: 10¼ miles; hard; approximately 7 hours
Map: Ordnance Survey OL5, English Lakes NE
There’s something quite magical about ridges that are broad enough for you to really stride out along: they have a sense of airy spaciousness that can’t be beaten and, even as the nights begin to draw in, allow walkers to cover a surprising amount of ground.
The northern end of the Helvellyn range is made up of just such a roller-coaster landscape: rounded, grassy summits linked by whaleback lines of high ground.
They are the Dodds: Stybarrow Dodd, Watson’s Dodd and Great Dodd, the highest of the three at 2,812ft (856m).
This route climbs the Dodds from the 555 bus stop at Stanah and ascends via Sticks Pass.
Heading north, hikers then have almost four miles of high-level ridge walking all the way to Clough Head beyond Great Dodd.
Descend to the Old Coach Road via White Pike and, after crossing the B5322, join paths along the base of High Rigg to return to the A591 near Dale Bottom.
The 555 bus stops near the entrance to Causeway Foot Farm.
Walk 10: Brampton Ridge
Bus route: 685 to Brampton
Length/difficulty: 4½ miles; easy/moderate; approximately 2¼ hours
Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 315, Carlisle
Brampton Ridge, just a short walk uphill from the Cumbrian market town, is cloaked in a beautiful beech wood.
On a clear day, the views glimpsed through the trees are tremendous, reaching some way into southern Scotland.
Kick your way through the golden-brown leaves that fall towards the end of the autumn and then drop towards Lanercost.
The red sandstone ruins of the twelfth-century Lanercost Priory are well worth a short detour – as are the coffee and cakes on offer at the neighbouring Lanercost Tearoom.
(Fascinating fact… at the beginning of the fourteenth century, a dying King Edward I ruled his kingdoms from this area, having summoned Parliament to Carlisle and moved the seals of the Crown to Lanercost.)
The second leg of the walk follows Quarry Beck, hidden away in a peaceful, wooded valley just to the south of Lanercost.
The trail isn’t marked on Ordnance Survey maps but is popular with local walkers.
A roadside path then leads back to Brampton, which is served by the 685 bus from Carlisle or Hexham seven days a week.
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