Staveley

Staveley sits about 4 miles north-west of Kendal, where the River Kent is joined by the Gowan, and Wikipedia places it at the mouth of the Kentmere valley. Its station opened on 20 April 1847, and Wikipedia notes that it is one of only a few places in the National Park with a station, although in the nineteenth century most tourists stayed on the train to the railhead at Windermere. The village name means a field of staffs, and bobbin turning was the main trade in the valley by 1850.

Why base here

Staveley is a base for people who want a railway station and a village to themselves rather than a hill on the doorstep. Wikipedia describes the Kentmere Round, a horseshoe of high fells around the valley head, as 12 miles or 19km in Wainwright’s full circuit, and says Kentmere can only be reached by road through Staveley.

On foot versus by car

Orrest Head, 5.7km away in a straight line, starts three minutes from Windermere station according to the National Park Authority, so the way there is the branch line. Ambleside is the town where Wansfell Pike, 9.7km away in a straight line, and Stock Ghyll Force, 10.7km, both start, and the Fairfield Horseshoe, 11.5km, starts at the Rydal Road car park there. Wikipedia lists the 555 and 599 among the Stagecoach routes serving Staveley, and both serve Ambleside too, so the town is a bus ride away and none of these walks needs a car.

Practicalities

Staveley has one platform and no step-free access, since the only entrance is a staircase from Station Road, as Wikipedia records. Northern Trains runs the Windermere branch from Oxenholme, with some services continuing to Manchester Airport. At Windermere station, Stagecoach buses link onward to Grasmere, Coniston and Keswick. For anyone driving, the A591 bypass takes the main road past the village.

Who this base does not suit

Staveley does not suit anyone who wants a summit within a short walk of the door. It does not suit a walker without a plan for the first leg either. Windermere is on the same railway line and puts Orrest Head three minutes from the station, and Ambleside starts two climbs from its own streets.