The Most Popular Hikes & Walks in The Lake District

The Lake District is a beautiful sprawling national park in Cumbria, filled with lakes and fell mountains making it a much-loved destination for avid walkers or those looking to take a short weekend break in the Lake District, like those offered at Daffodil Hotel. The Lake District is also a wonderful place for admirers of romantic-era poetry to visit, as William Wordsworth, Robert Southey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge all lived in the area, being dubbed the “Lake Poets”.

So, for those looking to enjoy the best walks around Grasmere and other popular areas of the Lake District, look no further. We have compiled Google search data and Instagram data to determine the most popular lake and fell walks across this astounding national park.

THE MOST POPULAR LAKE DISTRICT FELL WALKS

1 – SCAFELL PIKE

Instagram Posts: 88,473 | Annual Google Searches: 513,200

Scafell Pike is our most popular fell walk in the Lake District, known as the highest mountain in Britain at 978 metres. It was gifted to the National Trust after WW1 in memoriam of those who died and as a symbol that people would have the freedom to enjoy these mountains.

2 – CATBELLS

Instagram Posts: 55,982 | Annual Google Searches: 319,300

The Catbells stand 451 metres above sea level and have a rather distinct shape. This fell is located on the western shore of Derwentwater with Friar’s Crag sitting opposite, around three miles from the popular tourist town of Keswick.

3 – HAYSTACKS

Instagram Posts: 45,108 | Annual Google Searches: 241,700

Haystacks is a fell measuring 597 metres above sea level and according to fell-walker Alfred Wainwright, the name comes from the Icelandic “stack”, meaning “a columnar rock”. This was also the place Wainwright chose to have his ashes scattered.

THE MOST POPULAR LAKE WALKS IN THE LAKE DISTRICT

1 – WINDERMERE

Instagram Posts: 882,276 | Annual Google Searches: 779,200

Windermere ranks as the most popular lake for walks in the Lake District. At 10.5 miles long and 220 feet deep, it is the largest natural lake in England and has numerous lakes that branch from it. The nearby village, Bowness-on-Windermere has an attraction for children’s writer Beatrix Potter.

2 – ULLSWATER

Instagram Posts: 159,360 | Annual Google Searches: 997,500

Ullswater is the second largest lake in The Lake District, being 7 miles long and having a depth of just under 200 feet. William Wordsworth was inspired to write his poem “Daffodils” upon witnessing the flower growing along Ullswater’s bank.

3 – DERWENT WATER

Instagram Posts: 150,970 | Annual Google Searches: 84,300

Derwent Water lies within the borough of Allerdale, in Cumbria. It is fed and drained by the River Derwent and has multiple islands within its waters. Along with Catbells, it is relatively close to Keswick. The river measures 3 miles long, 1 mile wide and is approximately 70 metres deep.

METHODOLOGY

Google search data was sourced using Google Ads’ Keyword Planner and refers to the number of global searches made in the last twelve months (March 2021 to February 2022).

Instagram hashtags refer to the number of posts on Instagram which mention the fell or lake using hashtags.

Starting off with a list of over 350 fells, marilyns, lakes, tarns and more, we then combined the search volume and number of hashtag mentions to reach our top 50.