Ennerdale Bridge

Ennerdale Bridge is a hamlet of 220 people at the 2011 census, at the meeting of Croasdale Beck and the River Ehen on the western boundary of the Lake District National Park. Wikipedia notes that it appears in many versions of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk, 13 miles from the western end, and that its church, St Mary’s, is Victorian, dated 1858 and Romanesque in style. The community-run Gather café and shop in the village is named by Forestry England as a visitor information centre.

Why base here

Ennerdale Bridge is a base for the valley and the lake more than for any named walk, and Wikipedia’s description of Ennerdale Water as the most westerly lake in the National Park, with no public road up the valley, explains why it stays quiet. Forestry England, the National Trust and United Utilities own the valley between them, and the Wild Ennerdale partnership manages it. That is the whole case: a village with a café, away from the crowds of Buttermere, and the start of the valley.

On foot versus by car

Low Fell and Fellbarrow, 8.1km away in a straight line, starts at Crabtreebeck beside Loweswater, a drive from the village. Haystacks, 12.5km away in a straight line, and the Buttermere lake circuit, 10.5km, both start from Buttermere village on the far side of the fells, which are crossed on foot and not by road. By road the only way is the long way round. What does start from this side is the valley itself: Forestry England names two car parks at the western end, Bleach Green and Bowness Knott, both reached by turning right at Ennerdale Bridge when approaching from the south.

Practicalities

Forestry England says there are no public transport connections to Ennerdale. It gives Whitehaven as the nearest station at 7.5 miles, and Penrith, 40 miles away, with the Stagecoach X4 and X5 to Cockermouth, 12 miles from Ennerdale. The car parks are given above, and parking at Bowness Knott is paid, with Forestry England publishing the charges and a membership scheme.

Who this base does not suit

Anyone without a car will find this a hard base. It does not suit a walker who wants a hill from the door, or the Haystacks day without a long drive. For that, Buttermere starts both Haystacks and the lake circuit on foot, and for the Loweswater fells with a market town and a bus, Cockermouth is the better choice.