The best bluebell walks in the Lakes and Dales
There’s still time this year to get out and admire one of our favourite wildflowers – the beautiful, delicate, bluebell. There are currently great swathes of them all over the woodland, hillsides and verges of the Lakes and Dales!
They pop up all over the place, so keep your eyes peeled when you’re out and about, but here are some of our favourite spots for seeing the vast carpets that make bluebells so special.
1. Oxenber Wood – Austwick, Yorkshire Dales
The little adjoining woods of Oxenber and Wharfe sit just above the village of Austwick, on the western side of the Yorkshire Dales. They are a site of special scientific interest due to the rarity of this type of woodland growing on limestone pavement and the plethora of wildflowers that brings, including a carpet of bluebells in spring.
The most dramatic swathes of bluebells are on the slopes of Oxenber Wood as you head into it from the Austwick side, but the whole area is a joy for lovers of wildflowers – as well as bluebells you are likely to see orchids, primroses and wood sorrell, among many rarer plants that are specifically adapted to the limestone landscape.
The woods are designated access land and several way-marked paths and info boards have been laid out in the wood to make exploration easy. To take in these woods as part of a circular walk, there is a great loop starting from Austwick and taking you along good tracks to the hamlet of Feizor (where you can stop for refreshment at Elaine’s tearoom!) and back through the woods (or vice-versa).
2. Freeholders Wood – Aysgarth Falls, Yorkshire Dales
The wooded path from the Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre to visit the middle and lower cascades of Aysgarth Falls is extremely popular, but fewer people take the smaller paths that lead away from the river up into Freeholders Wood, and it is here that you will find vast swathes of bluebells surrounding you at this time of year.
Details of paths through the wood are available from the visitors’ centre but you are free to explore the paths at will and we recommend heading to the the northern part of the wood (as far away from the river as you can get) for the best bluebell displays. Strolling through the wood can easily be turned into a longer walk by heading towards Castle Bolton or Carperby (or doing the lovely circuit that takes in both).
3. Around Elterwater and Skelwith Bridge, Lake District
The woodland surrounding Skelwith Force (known as ‘Skelwith Meadows’) and the patches of wood that line the popular footpath that runs along the River Brathay from Skelwith Bridge to Elterwater are blanketed in bluebells (and plenty of other wildflowers too) in the spring.
The direct path from Skelwith Bridge to Elterwater is an accessible, ‘miles without stiles’ route, so a great option for people with mobility issues, those with buggies or anyone just wanting a gentle walk. It can also be part of any number of longer loops, including a short circuit that, after following the main path to Elterwater, loops uphill, giving the option to visit Colwith Force, and over surprisingly quiet paths through rocky farmland, offering lovely views for little effort. It ends by winding through the bluebells in Skelwith Meadows.
No visit to Skelwith Bridge would be complete without a visit to Chesters by the River, surely one of the best cafes in the Lakes (and unsurprisingly very popular!).
4. Rannerdale Knotts, Lake District
If you have ever seen a picture of a carpet of bluebells surrounded by classic Lakeland scenery, it is very likely to have been of Rannerdale. With sloping hillsides brim full of bluebells and surrounded by craggy mountain summits and the glistening surface of Crummack Water, it is a difficult scene to beat.
There is a lovely walk that takes in the village of Buttermere, with its fantastic setting squeezed between the lakes of Buttermere and Crummack Water, the summit of Rannerdale Knotts – one of the lowest hills to be categorised as a ‘Wainright’ at 355m, but offering views far surpassing the effort involved, and Rannerdale itself, often referred to as ‘the valley of the bluebells’.
5. Keldas near Ullswater, Lake District
The area around Ullswater is considered by many to be the most beautiful part of the Lake District, and when you get the view down the slopes of the little hill of Keldas covered in bluebells with Ullswater sitting in the valley at the bottom, it is hard to disagree!
Just outside the lakeside village of Glenridding, Keldas can be visited on a lovely, short loop to Lanty’s Tarn or be part of many longer and more challenging walks, such as heading up Grisedale to beautiful Grisedale Tarn or even as a way to end of the classic ascent of Hellvellyn via the edges!
May is a fantastic time to visit both the Lakes and Dales as everything turns green and the bluebells and many other wildflowers burst into life. If you would like any other suggestions of walks in these areas, have a look at the rest of our blog or drop us a line.
If you’d prefer someone to show you the best stops, think about booking a guided walk with us!