Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite

History

This stage threads through layers of Cumbrian working history. Slate has been won at Honister Pass since at least 1728, when the Fleming family opened the first documented mine; the famous Westmorland green slate roofed buildings across Britain, and the hummocky path the route follows is the dismantled Honister tramway that once hauled slate down to the valley. The ruined Drum House on the skyline housed the winding gear for an incline. Honister closed in 1989 and was reopened in 1997 by local businessman Mark Weir, who turned it into a visitor attraction; it remains the last working slate mine in England. Lower down, Ennerdale was long managed for sheep and forestry, while Black Sail Hut began life as a humble shepherd's bothy in the late nineteenth century before opening as a youth hostel on Good Friday, 14 April 1933. In March 2026 the whole route became an official National Trail, the Coast to Coast Path, now waymarked with the National Trail acorn symbol on signposts, stiles and gates.

Nature & Wildlife

Ennerdale is one of the longest-running rewilding projects in Britain, the Wild Ennerdale partnership, and the valley is one of the wildest corners of the Lake District. The River Liza, whose Old Norse name means 'the shining river', has never been straightened or dredged and braids freely across its gravel bed. The valley shelters around 100 to 150 red squirrels, one of England's last strongholds, and low-density grazing by black Galloway cattle (first introduced in 2006) has helped restore wet pastures where a reintroduced marsh fritillary butterfly colony now thrives on devil's-bit scabious. Over 100,000 native trees, including 10,000 junipers, have been planted. Ennerdale Water is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and home to the rare Arctic char, an Ice Age relict fish that still spawns in the lower River Liza. On the high fells watch for ravens, buzzards, wheatears and the occasional ring ouzel, and for hardy native Herdwick sheep on the lower slopes.

Geology

The stage is a walk across the bones of the Lake District. The lower Ennerdale valley and the smooth, rounded western fells are built on Skiddaw Slate (the Skiddaw Group), among the oldest rocks in England, laid down as marine muds and sands almost 500 million years ago. As you climb past Loft Beck onto the higher ground around Brandreth and Honister you cross onto the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, Ordovician lavas, tuffs and agglomerates erupted around 450 million years ago, which form the craggy, dramatic peaks at the head of Borrowdale, including Great Gable and Scafell Pike. The junction between these two great rock groups can be traced on the slopes of nearby Fleetwith Pike. It is the volcanic rock that yields Honister's prized green slate. Ennerdale Water itself is a glacial lake, gouged and dammed by Ice Age glaciers, up to about 46 m deep.

Scenic Highlights

The scenic crescendo of the early Lake District. The shoreline walk along Ennerdale Water gives reflections of Pillar and the surrounding fells; deep in the valley you are ringed by Great Gable, Green Gable, Haystacks, Pillar and Steeple with barely a building in sight. The climb up Loft Beck opens superb views back down Ennerdale and across to Buttermere and Crummock Water. From the high tramway path the panorama stretches to the head of Borrowdale and the Scafell range. The descent into Borrowdale, one of England's wettest yet greenest valleys, is a classic Lakeland scene of stone walls, oak woods and fellside. Walkers taking the high-level alternative cross High Stile (807 m), the highest summit on the entire Coast to Coast, and pass Innominate Tarn on Haystacks, the spot where Alfred Wainwright's ashes were scattered.

Getting There

Getting to the start: Ennerdale Bridge has no railway; the nearest stations are at Whitehaven and Cleator Moor on the Cumbrian Coast Line (reached via Carlisle or Lancaster), with limited local bus or taxi links onward. The trail end at Rosthwaite is well served: the Borrowdale Bus (Stagecoach 78) runs between Keswick and Seatoller via Rosthwaite, and the seasonal Honister Rambler (77/77A, roughly Easter to autumn) loops from Keswick through Rosthwaite, Seatoller, Honister Pass and Buttermere, useful as a bail-out to or from the high pass. From Keswick there are onward regional and long-distance coach connections. Bail-out options if weather turns: from Honister Pass you can drop to the road and catch a Keswick-bound bus rather than continuing over to Rosthwaite. Check current timetables before relying on any service.

Stay & Eat Nearby

Trail-end at Rosthwaite (and the neighbouring hamlets of Stonethwaite and Longthwaite) has a good cluster of options, but it is small and books up fast in peak season, so reserve well ahead. Hotels and inns include the family-run Royal Oak (an 18th-century farmhouse and former miners' tavern) and the elevated Hazel Bank Country House Hotel; the village's Scafell Hotel closed in 2024 and had not yet reopened under its new owners at the time of writing. B&Bs and farm stays include Gillercombe and Yew Tree Farm. YHA Borrowdale (Longthwaite), passed just before the village, offers beds, camping, a cafe and a small shop. Mid-route, the iconic but tiny Black Sail Hut (YHA) lets you split the stage but must be booked far in advance. Baggage-transfer services (e.g. Sherpa Van) serve every C2C overnight stop, a defining feature of how the route is walked, letting you carry only a daypack.

Water & Facilities

Water is abundant on this stage but concentrated in the wild middle: Ennerdale Water and the River Liza run alongside you for the first half, and Loft Beck is a reliable fill point before the high crossing (treat or filter beck water). The catch is the two ends and the high fell. There is no on-route shop or tap between Ennerdale Bridge and Honister Slate Mine's cafe (about 11 miles / 18 km). Top up at the Gather Cafe in Ennerdale Bridge before you leave, fill bottles from Loft Beck, and plan for a long dry-supplied stretch over the tops in warm weather.

Safety

This is a serious mountain day on remote, exposed high ground; treat it as a fell walk, not a path stroll. The crux risks are exposure and route-finding on the high fell between Loft Beck and the Drum House, where the ground is boggy and the path indistinct in mist, and the steep, rocky Loft Beck climb. The shoreline scramble beneath Anglers' Crag (around Robin Hood's Chair) needs care when wet, where a narrow path and an unexpected drop have caught walkers out; do not be tempted onto the false trodden line that skirts left. Carry map, compass and the skills to use them, plus full waterproofs, spare warm layers and food, as conditions can change fast on the tops. There is no mobile signal for much of the valley and no easy escape between Ennerdale Water and Honister, so leave early, check the mountain weather forecast, and turn back or stay low in poor visibility. The high-level alternative over Red Pike, High Stile and Haystacks is for experienced fell walkers in good conditions only. In an emergency dial 999 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Visitor Tips

Start early: at roughly 14.5 miles with a serious climb and remote middle, this is a long day with no escape between Ennerdale Water and Honister. Decide your route at Ennerdale Bridge: the standard valley route via Black Sail and Loft Beck (around 680 m ascent), or the high-level ridge over Red Pike, High Stile, High Crag and Haystacks (over 1,000 m ascent) in good weather only. The pull up Loft Beck is steep but on a good path; the moment to concentrate is the boggy, pathless-feeling crossing of the high fell to find the Drum House, easy to lose in cloud. Carry plenty of water and food: after Ennerdale Bridge there is nothing until Honister's cafe, roughly 11 miles in. Book accommodation in Rosthwaite well ahead in summer, and consider baggage-transfer so you climb Loft Beck with a light pack.