The Lake District has a crowd problem in its honeypots. Windermere, Ambleside and Bowness can feel like a slow-moving car park in summer, and the most famous walks have queues at the stiles. But the national park is bigger and emptier than its reputation suggests, and a short drive from the crowds takes you to valleys where you can walk all day and meet almost no one.
Where the quiet is
Head west and the numbers thin dramatically. Wasdale, home to England's deepest lake and highest mountain, is remote enough to stay peaceful, a place of serious fells and a famously tiny church. Ennerdale, the only valley without a road through it, is quieter still, given over to forest and water and walkers willing to make the effort. Eskdale and the Duddon valley offer the same trade: a longer drive for far fewer people.
Making it work
- Go early or stay over; the day-trippers arrive late and leave by tea, so mornings and evenings are yours.
- The western valleys are reached by narrow, slow roads, including the famous Hardknott Pass, so allow more time than the map suggests.
- Pick a pub with rooms in a quiet valley as a base, and walk from the door rather than driving to a trailhead.
The walking
The fells here are as good as anywhere in England, with the bonus of solitude. Routes from Wasdale climb to the high central peaks, while gentler valley and lakeshore walks suit those who would rather amble. Whatever you choose, the scenery, deep valleys, dark water and bare rock, is the real Lake District without the postcard crush.
Bring proper kit and check the forecast, because the western fells are exposed and the weather turns fast. But for anyone who has been put off the Lakes by the crowds, the quiet valleys are the answer. The mountains the Victorians fell in love with are still here, and out west you can have them very nearly to yourself.