Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill.
A short, steep ridge walk out of Buttermere village that buys an enormous view for very little distance. The path leaves the National Trust car park, crosses the road to a stile and climbs the grassy spine of Low Bank to the 355m cairn on Rannerdale Knotts, looking down on Buttermere, Crummock Water and the Secret Valley of Rannerdale at once. The descent to the road at Hause Point is narrow, winding and finishes on a stone-pitched section that turns greasy in the wet, so it is not one for a dog that pulls. The return is along the Crummock shore and through Nether How wood, where there is easy shingle for a swim before the footbridge back to the village.
The old Fish Inn in the middle of Buttermere village, between Buttermere and Crummock Water and at the start of the lake circuit, the Rannerdale ridge and the Scale Force path. The hotel lists dog friendly as one of its headline features, gives a reserved parking space with each room and will lay on a private breakfast at no charge, which is the practical fix for a hotel that does not want dogs in a full dining room. There is a large beer garden and the bar and all-day dining are open to non-residents as well.
A mile and a half from the free roadside car park at Cinderdale on Crummock Water, out along the fellside below Grasmoor and back along the lake shore. The high leg passes a post-medieval sheepfold rebuilt by the National Trust in the 1990s and a wall stone said to have been used to sharpen iron age swords. The drop to the shore is steep and slippery when wet. On the lakeside leg the path darkens almost to black where it crosses a medieval bloomery, and lumps of iron slag still show on the beach.
A farm cafe in Buttermere village with its own paid car park, a few yards from the start of the lake circuit and the Rannerdale path. Its own site says the cafe is dog friendly, and there is a dog seating area indoors rather than a bench outside the door, which is the difference between a usable stop and a wet one in this valley. The parking charge includes use of the toilets, and the car park is a useful backup when the National Trust one is full.
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