Lake District has always been one of my favourite spots for wild camping! Picturesque landscape, challenging hikes, and as crazy as it sounds, often really nice weather too! When planning a hike my main focus is always on finding good wild camping spots, which Lake District is full of! There’s nothing better than waking up on top of the mountain with a view of the whole valley; fresh breeze in your face…. The sun is lazily making its way up, whilst you’re stirring your hot coffee and enjoying the view at the same time! Yes, that’s probably my favourite part of wild camping.
In total I’ve planned 3 wild camping hikes in Lake District. They’re between 26km and 42km long and each of them is very unique. It would be hard to recommend one over the others so I’d suggest you choose them based on the length. They’re all similarly challenging in terms of the terrain but the length just makes it more tiring.
We’ve done all the hike in 3 days / 2 nights. The shortest one takes you to over 10 peaks of Lake District and has some of the best wild camping spots with a view of Scafell Pike! Some of the peaks you’ll visit are Bessyboot, Glaramara, Allen Crags, Great End, Scafell Pike, Lingmell, Great Gable or Green Gable. This 28km long route can be found here.
The 39km long hike that sits in the middle length-wise starts in Patterdale and offers a great deal of solitude! We didn’t meet almost anyone during the 3 day trek. Here’s some of the peaks you’ll defend: Helvellyn, Seat Sandal, Fairfield, Red Screes, Stony Cove or High Street.
The longest wild camping hike I’ve done in Lake District is 42.5km long and takes you to the second highest peak – Sca Fell. Again, it’s a great hike but especially the second day is really tiring because of its challenging profile. Some of the peaks you’ll visit are Kirk Fell, Pillar, Haycock, Seatallan, Middle Fell, Whin Rigg, Illgill Head, Sca Fell or Symond’s Knott.
Each hike above offers a lot of fun, stunning views at almost every step, really good wild camping spots and solitude! Do yourself a favour – pack your backpack, take your friend or partner and enjoy a long weekend of challenging hiking! Wild camping in Lake District is truly a unique experience!
