Walk · Cumbria

Waterhead, Borrans Park and Galava Roman fort

Ambleside · LA22 0EN

1.2MILES

35mON FOOT

10mCLIMB

CircularSHAPE

Off-road 82% 18% shares tarmac with cars

Field & moor path 70%Lane & track 12%Road with traffic 18%

Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at

Waterhead pay-and-display car park, Borrans Road, Ambleside LA22 0EN

Parking

Waterhead pay-and-display on Borrans Road, roughly 200 spaces, charged all year. Full by 10am in July and August because it is the steamer pier car park as well.

Directions to the start →

A flat mile at the head of Windermere, useful when the fells are in cloud or the dog is old. From the Waterhead pay-and-display the promenade runs past the steamer piers, then Borrans Park opens out as mown grass down to a shingle shore where dogs can get in the water away from the boat landings. The far end of the field is Galava, the earthwork platform of the Roman fort, from which a path carries on to the mouth of the Rothay and Brathay. Note that the promenade itself is a dogs-on-leads area under the council's order, while the park grass behind it is not.

THE SMALL PRINTSchedule 2 of the Westmorland and Furness Council Public Spaces Protection Order 2024 No.002 (Dogs) lists "Ambleside Waterhead Promenade" as a dogs-on-leads area, so a lead is required for the length of the promenade and the pier frontage. No lead requirement applies to Borrans Park or the Roman fort field. Clause 2.1.1.5 bans walking more than six dogs at once. Breach is an offence carrying a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale.

House rules, decoded

Off-lead allowed

REGION · CUMBRIA

GRID · 54.4197, -2.9668

SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.WESTMORLANDANDFURNESS.GOV.UK/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/2025-07/PSPO%20NO.%20002%20-%20DOGS_15.11.24.PDF

Waterhead, Borrans Park and Galava Roman fort

House rules, decoded

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