Thirlmere — Attraction in England

YOU CANNOT WALK ALL THE WAY AROUND THIS LAKE. I do not know why people on here have said "it is a nice walk around the lake" as you CANNOT physically or LEGALLY walk around this lake edge. Maybe they are mistaking it for another lake. But I assure you it is IMPOSSIBLE and ILLEGAL to walk around this lake.

So the set up is this... If you enter lower North you can follow the bracken trail all the way down to the giant tree loop and past tottling stone and up to raven crag. If you enter bottom North you can follow the path UP through the pines to the waterfall. If you enter from swirls under the utility bridge you can do the THIRLEMERE LOOP. BUT YOU CANNOT enter FROM swirls and go direct left. There is almost 2 mile of PRIVATE LAND consisting of a mile each way of the pumping Station. ALSO if you wanted to ignore this law and proceed you would be Clambering along a 30% slope on loose stones with a drop leading straight into Thirlmere reservoir. HOWEVER what you ARE ALLOWED to do for this stretch is either cross the A591 OR use the UU SUBWAY and go across to THIRLMERE WOODS until you are allowed entry again to the Reservoir which is clearly signposted and is part of the BLUE trail.

So that said now for a bit about the walk itself.. It is BEAUTIFUL. The Reservoir is beatiful. The woods are beatiful. The scent of the place is beautiful, and the sheer scenery is beautiful. The evergreens here are the biggest I've ever seen, and thanks to no river traffic, the water here is the calmest. The little paths leading off the beaten track all lead to other just as magical things, and the wildlife is plenty. Thirlmere is COLD. 3 mins in there and you're DEAD. Blue /green algae has been found here. From here you can take in some of our best other places like Helvelyn and so on as a photo back drop. This is a very picturesque walk but again NOT A COMPLETE LAKE CIRCULAR and even though the lake is 10 mile round, if you did it all, by the time youde been through the woods etc and rejoined it, its probably more like a 13 mile walk. Though again,...

Thirlmere Dam and Car Park (Last picture ) can be accessed via a small road off the A591 (Not the CAMPSITE one) which has road ahead closed signs don't worry access to car park is authorised. No Toilet facilities.

Towering above the car park is the impressive Raven crag. (See my Raven crag guide for details) with access, through a gate, back up the road on the left opposite a smaller "road side car park" you would have passed.

From here you can walk along the top of the Dam, very romantic in the evenings, with views along the length of Thirlmere with mighty Helvellyn to the left and Loughrigg in the far distance. (Wheel chairs will do fine here too)

Access the shore line through a gate just near the car park, beautiful secluded areas here for picnics and sunbathing or whatever. "No swimming here it is deep cold and very dangerous" got that off one of the signs. The water supplies 1 in every 6 cups of drinking water to the west country:- got that off one of the signs too. :)

The history of the Dam from the 1800's is dotted around which has added interest. You can visit the Dam, Climb Raven Crag and rest on the shore all in one day.

I particularly liked the mixture of trees, rocks, steep sided slopes and the Dam made everything very picturesque. Would have had 5 stars if it...

We arrived around noon on a Friday and there were only a few car parking spaces left so advise to get there earlier the better. £8.50 for 9 hrs parking. Think it was £6.50 for 5 hrs. There is a toilet block which were basic but adequate. Access straight to the ascent of Helvellyn without encountering Striding Edge or any real climbing. It's still quite an intense incline and most of route is laid with rocks to help grip and footing. Met people of all different ages/abilities. Views are beautiful right from the get go and amazing the...