Walks in Westmorland by train

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: 5h30 (4h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).

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: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).

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: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Some sections may lack way-marks; a map is recommended.

Walk details: Community Rail Cumbria (PDF).

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: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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).

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: 4h (2h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

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).