Fourteen easy to follow circular walk route maps from the beautiful village of Buttermere in the The Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England

Buttermere is a small village nestled between the lakes of Buttermere and Crummock Water. There are approximately 92 residents of Buttermere (as of 2021).

There are two pubs in Buttermere village, The Bridge Hotel and The Buttermere Court Hotel, both of which offer a fine array of beers and spirits along with accommodation for the night.

The Bridge Hotel has been a licensed Inn since 1735. It operates on a first-come, first-served basis and does not take table reservations. Its public bar is fully dog-friendly and offers a special menu for canine companions.

Although The Buttermere Court Hotel has changed its name from The Fish Inn in 2020, the pub maintains its history, look and feel as a popular spot for walkers and visitors to the area. Its High Stile Kitchen serves excellent food and is open to both hotel guests and visitors.

Syke Farm Camp Site offers basic camping along with two Yurts (which sleep 4 adults each) and a Shepherd's Hut that offers self-catering accommodation for two.

Buttermere is an excellent base from which to explore the North Western Fells and the Western Fells of the Lake District, with lots of local walks from a stroll around Buttermere Lake or Crummock Water to all-day hikes in the high mountains.

 

The Maid of Buttermere

The Fish Inn was the family home of Mary Robinson, the central figure in a local legend called the 'Maid of Buttermere', the supposedly true story of a famously pretty woman whose beauty was 'discovered' by tourists and poets alike, including William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

In 1792, the 15-year-old Mary Robinson became a sensation after Captain Joseph Budworth described her beauty in his articles and guidebooks. In 1802, she was tragically duped into marriage with a con artist named John Hatfield, who posed as the dashing Colonel Hope, a nobleman, to deceive her and her family.

When the real Colonel Hope's family heard about the story, John Hatfield was exposed as a fraud, a bigamist and wanted for forgery. He was tried and hanged in 1803 for his crimes, leaving Mary heartbroken. Fortunately, she later married a local farmer, Richard Harrison, had four children, and lived out her days in Cumbria.

This tragic story has been memorialised in literature and folklore. The poet William Wordsworth wrote about her in 'The Prelude', and she is a central figure in Melvyn Bragg's 1987 historical novel about the 19th-century scandal, 'The Maid of Buttermere'.

 

Walking the Wainwrights from Buttermere

Walkers seeking to Walk the Wainwrights will find no shortage of opportunities to add to your hill bagging tick lists with Wainwrights accessible by foot direct from Buttermere village. These are:-

• Pillar (Wainwright No. 8);
• High Stile (No. 29);
• Red Pike (Buttermere) (No. 62);
• High Crag (Buttermere) (No. 65);
• Robinson (No. 67);
• Fleetwith Pike (No. 116);
• Starling Dodd (No. 122);
• Great Borne (No. 127);
• Hay Stacks (Haystacks) (No. 131) and
• Rannerdale Knotts (No. 210);

And if Wainwright Bagging is your thing, then don't miss our popular Walk All 214 Wainwrights in just 59 Walks feature.

 

When the weather turns in Buttermere

The small but perfectly formed St James' Church in Buttermere was built in 1840 and features a memorial to writer and walker Alfred Wainwright. It is well worth a visit.

 

Getting to Buttermere

There is a car park (fee) in Buttermere village and some roadside parking on the approach roads, but these all fill up early. All the roads to Buttermere, whether you come from Cockermouth, Keswick or Honister Pass, are very winding and narrow, with few passing places.

To reach Buttermere by public transport, use the Stagecoach 16-seater Buttermere Shuttlebus (route 1), which runs daily in the summer months. Alternatively, from Keswick, you can catch the seasonal Honister Rambler bus (route 77/77A) from Easter to October, which travels via Grange, Seatoller, and the Honister Pass before reaching Buttermere. You can purchase tickets on the bus or use contactless payment.

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14 easy to follow circular walks from Buttermere

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