Walks near Penrith (North Lakes) by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Penrith (North Lakes) and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Penrith (North Lakes).
Kendal Circular via Kendal Castle (Westmorland)
30 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Longer circular through Kendal and along the River Kent, past the 12th-century castle ruins, the line of the old Lancaster Canal and a riverside walk.
Kendal Castle: The ruins of a twelfth-century castle overlooking the town of Kendal.
Time: 4h
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Burneside Circular via Potter Tarn (Westmorland)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Mainly hilly circular up to the dammed Potter Tarn and back along the River Kent on the Dales Way, through walled pastures.
Potter Tarn: A reservoir tarn in the hills above Burneside reached on a Dales Way circular.
Time: 3h
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Staveley Circular via Cowan Head (Westmorland)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Easy, mainly level circular along the River Kent on the Dales Way to the old mill at Cowan Head, through fields and rough pasture.
Time: 2h
Warnings: Some sections may lack way-marks; a map is recommended.
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Windermere Circular via Cockshott Point (Westmorland)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Easy walk to Lake Windermere's shore at Cockshott Point and, via the car ferry, the 18th-century Claife Viewing Station built for the first tourists.
Claife Viewing Station: An 18th-century purpose-built viewing station on the quieter western shore of Windermere, created for the lake's first tourists to admire the landscape through coloured-glass windows.
Time: 2h30
Warnings: The full loop needs the Windermere car ferry (foot passengers, roughly every 20 minutes); the Cockshott Point section can be done without it.
Walk details: Visit Lake District / Lakes Line Rail User Group (PDF).
Haltwhistle Circular via the South Tyne Trail (Northumberland)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
River South Tyne valley, woodland and the South Tyne Trail along a former railway line.
The South Tyne Trail: A 23-mile recreational route along the former South Tyne railway line, following the wooded valley of the River South Tyne.
Time: 2h30
Warnings: Some navigation required; crosses the A69 twice.
Walk details: Northern Railway (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Silverdale Circular via Leighton Moss (Lancashire)
1 hour from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Moderate circular across the RSPB Leighton Moss reedbed reserve, with limestone pastures, woodland and the neo-Gothic Leighton Hall.
Leighton Moss: An RSPB reedbed reserve near Silverdale with a visitor centre and birdwatching hides.
Leighton Hall: A neo-Gothic country house near Silverdale with a tea room and parkland.
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Arnside Circular via Arnside Knott (Westmorland)
1 hour from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Wooded climb to the Arnside Knott summit viewpoint over Morecambe Bay and the southern Lakeland fells, then low cliffs and beach.
Arnside Knott: A wooded limestone hill in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB with a plateau summit giving panoramic views over Morecambe Bay and the southern Lake District fells.
Morecambe Bay: A vast tidal bay of intertidal sands and mudflats overlooked from the cliffs and shore around Arnside.
Time: 2h30
Warnings: Coastal section follows tidal shore; check tide times before walking the beach.
Walk details: Northern Railway (tips, photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Maryport Circular via the Senhouse Roman Museum (Cumberland)
1 hour from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Easy-access town and harbour circular: Maritime Museum, coast aquarium, Georgian Fleming Square and the Senhouse Roman Museum (Britain's best Roman-altar collection).
The Senhouse Roman Museum: A clifftop museum at Maryport holding the best collection of Roman altars in Britain.
The Lake District Coast Aquarium: An aquarium on Maryport harbour devoted to the underwater life of Cumbria's seas and coasts.
Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).
Bare Lane to Carnforth (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Coast, quiet farmland lanes and the lock-free Lancaster Canal towpath into Carnforth, the station of Brief Encounter fame.
Time: 2h
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).
Similar walk: Railwalks.
Carnforth to Silverdale (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Limestone scenery of the Arnside and Silverdale National Landscape: lanes, woodland and outcrops, climbing Warton Crag for sweeping views over Morecambe Bay. Rare butterflies, moths and lizards on the crag.
Time: 2h30
Walk details: Discover Bowland (PDF).
Langwathby to Appleby (Cumberland)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Moorland ridge, high plateau, boulder-filled fell tops, upland hay meadows, disused mine scars, rough pastures and engineered Pennine Way paths.
Time: 8h30
Warnings: Exposed, boggy, foggy. Avoid winter/early spring.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Wennington to Carnforth (Lancashire)
45 minutes from Penrith (North Lakes), with one change.
Fields, lanes and canal towpath through the Lune valley, past Loyn Bridge near Gressingham, then over Kellet along the Lancaster Canal into Carnforth.
Time: 5h30
Warnings: Strenuous full-day walk; can be split into shorter legs.
Walk details: Community Rail Lancashire (PDF).