Lake District

View other editions of Lake District.
View books by Brian Conduit, Neil Coates.

Great walks, clear directions, good maps! - Rated
I really like this guide - A good range of clearly graded walks. The directions for the walks I've completed so far are clear and backed up with the inclusion of sections from Ordnance Survey maps. It's very hard to go wrong.

I'm neither an expert walker/hiker nor particularly knowledgeable about the Lake District; so I find the guide great for giving me ideas for places to go and see. Have enjoyed every walk I've chosen. (Just got back from a trip where I did the Coniston Old Man/Water route. It was excellent; varied terrain and a good length to make sure I burnt off the calories from the pub meal of the previous night!!)

Good guide, but a little sketchy occasionally - Rated
When I first decided to go to the Lake District and do some walking, this was the book I bought, and I haven't regreted it, and have since bought the second in the series. The walks themselves are well thought out and described, often with information on the area you are passing over. One or two walks have seen or are about to see changes due to path erosion, so it may be time for an updated version.

There are occasionally good suggestions for alternative ways of starting the walks (eg getting the boat from Keswick for the Cat Bells walk) which can be useful, but especially on some of the climbs it doesn't quite make it clear how far up you're going and how quickly; the aforementioned Cat Bells walk has a very stiff (if not that long) climb with some scrambling up rocks at the end that isn't mentioned for example.

Nevertheless, an interesting and generally reliable book with a good selection of walks, info about things you may see on the walk, and backed up with a section of OS Map that means you'd have to go very wrong to get completely lost.

One of the best guides, with particularly clear maps - Rated
A solid collection of circular walks around the broad area of the Lake District, ranging from hour-long strolls to strenuous hikes.

The key advantage of this book over similar titles is that the (already clear) route descriptions are backed up by colour extracts from Ordnance Survey Landranger maps - a definite improvement over the crude line drawings often found in guides.

The routes are graded into three ability groups, but this classification is rough and there's no indication of other factors such as height climbed; so when choosing a route, a good read of the description and an intelligent look at the map are wise. Instructions on how to get to, and park at, the start point are sometimes sketchy too.

Despite these niggles, this is an excellent guide offering unusually good value. Consider also the companion title "More Lake District Walks", which contains a complementary collection of routes.