Elter Water

Can you "walk around" Elter Water? (the honest answer)

This is the top search, so let's be straight about it: you don't walk right round the lake's shore — much of it is marshy reedbed and private, with no continuous shoreline path. What people actually do (and what's lovely) is the Elterwater–Skelwith Bridge circuit: a roughly 1.5-mile, stile-free, pram- and wheelchair-friendly path along the River Brathay from Elterwater village, passing the lake's edge and the Langdale Pikes view, down to Skelwith Bridge and the waterfall, then back. So when the searches ask "can you walk around Elterwater?", the honest answer is: you do the village–Skelwith circuit, not a true loop of the water. It's one of the best easy, family-and-buggy-friendly walks in the Lakes — see our Elterwater & Skelwith Force route.

Skelwith Force & the Langdale Pikes

Two highlights make the walk: the Langdale Pikes reflection — on a still day the spiky skyline of Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle mirrored in the lake is one of Lakeland's iconic views — and Skelwith Force, a short but powerful waterfall on the River Brathay near Skelwith Bridge (not high, but a thunderous volume of water after rain). The path passes both, on good level ground.

"Lake of the swans"

Elter Water's name comes from the Old Norse for "swan lake," and it lives up to it: whooper swans migrate here to winter on the lake, alongside the resident waterfowl among the reeds. It's a quiet, wildlife-rich little water — the reedbeds that stop you walking the shore are exactly what make it such good bird habitat.

The fells & the valley

Elter Water sits at the mouth of Great Langdale, gateway to some of the most dramatic fells in the District. Loughrigg Fell rises just to the east (its terraces link through to Grasmere and Rydal), and the Langdale Pikes themselves — Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle, Pavey Ark — fill the head of the valley a few miles up the B5343. The village is also handy for the old slate-quarry sights (Cathedral Cavern). Check the live conditions; the Fells & walks nearby box below lists the closest summits.

Getting there & parking

Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Windermere (10 km away) and Staveley (15 km away); the 516 stops at Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, 0.8 km from here; the last bus back is 19:52 towards Dungeon Ghyll Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel Monday to Friday (Saturday and Sunday differ), signed off against the operator’s timetable on 7 September. The bus map has every stop we hold.

Elterwater village is on the B5343 Great Langdale road, a few miles west of Ambleside (turn off the A593 near Skelwith Bridge). Park in the National Trust car park in Elterwater village — it's small and fills early on fine days, so arrive in good time or come by the seasonal 516 Langdale Rambler bus from Ambleside. The Britannia Inn in the village is the obvious refreshment stop; note its own parking is for patrons, so use the NT car park for the walk.

Where to stay & practical

Stay in Elterwater or nearby Chapel Stile (inns, B&Bs, a YHA and campsites in the Langdale valley) or base in Ambleside a short drive east. Elter Water is the perfect gentle, accessible walk to pair with a bigger Langdale Pikes day — or simply an easy riverside stroll to a waterfall, with the finest mountain view in the valley thrown in. Just remember: it's the village–Skelwith circuit, not a lap of the lake.