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Where to see the Rannerdale bluebells

Updated 16 October 2026

Crummock Water · late April to May

The bluebells fill the lower Rannerdale valley, between the road at Cinderdale Common and the footbridge over Squat Beck. You can see them two ways: from the valley path that runs through them, or from the ridge above. The map shows both, and the five places where walkers stop.

The map

Swipe the map sideways for the lake, the road and the parking at Cinderdale Common.

Bluebell slopes (rough extent)
Valley path
Ridge path, from our GPS track
B5289
Viewpoint

Five places to stand

They follow the loop from Cinderdale Common in order, and many walkers turn back at 2, the footbridge. Walkers’ reports point to two favourites: 1 for standing among the flowers and 4 for seeing the whole valley from above.

On the valley pathAmong them
About 25 minutes from Cinderdale Common the path goes through a gate into the bluebell area and runs up the valley through the flowers. Look ahead: from beside the beck, Whiteless Pike stands up at the head of the valley.
The footbridge over Squat Beck
The footbridge marks the top of the bluebell area. Turn round and look back down the valley towards Crummock Water. Most people cross here and return along the other side, under the crags of Rannerdale Knotts, to the road.
Climbing beside the beck
Above the bridge the path climbs to the col below Whiteless Breast. Stop on the way up and turn round: the flowered floor of the valley is spread out below you.
Low BankFrom above
This grassy ridge runs along the south side of the valley. The bluebell fields lie below you to the north, with Grasmoor rising behind them.
Rannerdale Knotts, 355 m
From the summit you see Crummock Water below, Mellbreak across the lake, and the bluebell hollow below you to the north-east. Come down the rock steps at the western tip to the road at Hause Point.

When they flower

Late April to the end of May. In most years they are at their best in early to mid May. These bluebells grow on open fellside rather than in woodland, and they tend to flower a little later than woodland ones. The timing moves from year to year.

Stay on the path

The National Trust looks after Rannerdale, and it says the bluebells are being “loved to death”. A crushed leaf cannot make the energy the plant needs to grow, and a trampled plant can take years to recover. Rangers have put in oak posts to mark the paths. Keep to them, however good the photograph would be from the middle of the flowers, and keep dogs on a lead.

Getting there

Cinderdale Common: free parking beside the B5289, where the loop starts. Its what3words is ///puncture.thanks.singled. On a fine May day it can be full. There is a verge for about 5 cars just south of it.
A car park at the foot of Rannerdale Knotts, beside the road on the lake shore, and two small free lay-bys at Hause Point (room for about 2 and 3 cars) for the Buttermere end.
By bus: the 77 stops by the Cinderdale car park, at the Lanthwaite Crummock Water car park stop. Check the timetable for that stop before you rely on it.
Our loop, the one the stops follow, is Rannerdale bluebell valley and Rannerdale Knotts: 6.19 km from Cinderdale Common. We have planned it but not yet walked it.
Keswick Tourism describes a walk up the valley, over Low Bank and Rannerdale Knotts and back by the road, of about 4.5 miles and 2.5 to 3 hours. The road back from Hause Point has no pavement for much of the way.

Our own walks here: The Grasmoor Round comes down this ridge, and the Rannerdale Knotts fell page has more on the fell itself. More about the lake on Crummock Water.

Taking photographs

In spring, this is all about the bluebells in the valley below the fell. Compose with dense patches of flowers in the foreground and the enclosing slopes rising behind, keeping your aperture moderately stopped down so the carpet of blue has definition but still feels soft and dreamy. Try shooting along natural paths or lines in the flowers to guide the eye into the image. Overcast or soft light is actually ideal, preventing harsh contrast and keeping colours rich and saturated.

How we drew this map

From our GPS: the ridge path over Whiteless Breast, Low Bank and Rannerdale Knotts, and the road back, are our track from walking The Grasmoor Round on 22 August 2026.
From the map data: the gate (OpenStreetMap), the parking, the bus stop and the heights.
Drawn from a plan: the valley path follows a route we have planned but not yet walked.
Approximate: the bluebell area is drawn from walkers’ descriptions, not a survey; the footbridge’s position is our estimate; the lake shore is traced from the lakeside path. There are no contours: take a proper map.

Sources

Read on 16 October 2026. We re-read them every year.

Where to see the Rannerdale bluebells

The map

Five places to stand

On the valley pathAmong them

The footbridge over Squat Beck

Climbing beside the beck

Low BankFrom above

Rannerdale Knotts, 355 m