Walks in Westmorland by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations in Westmorland and plan your next day of green.
Kendal Circular via Kendal Castle
4 minutes direct from Oxenholme Lake District.
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
8 minutes direct from Oxenholme Lake District.
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
15 minutes direct from Oxenholme Lake District.
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
15 minutes direct from Oxenholme Lake District.
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).
Arnside Circular via Arnside Knott
45 minutes from Oxenholme Lake District, 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).