Introduction
The Lakeland Way is a long-distance walk traversing for 144 miles through picturesque valleys and over mountain passes in the English Lake District. Starting and finishing at the small coastal village of Ravenglass, the twelve-day walk will take you through some of the finest of Lakeland scenery. The walk follows old coach and drove roads, corpse routes, and tracks used by early traders travelling between the valleys by packhorse. Many paths on the Lakeland Way were once used by miners and quarrymen, who walked from the neighbouring hamlets to reach their workplaces in the depths of the fells. On some sections you will follow in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, as they marched along the valleys and high over the fells between strategically located forts. You will pass close to many important historical sites and immerse yourself in the beauty of the surroundings. The Lakeland Way has been devised to take in the scenery, nature and history, rather than being a rush to bag summits along the way. It is not an “official route” or waymarked, but is my own personal walk dedicated to the people that have worked and shaped this wonderful landscape.
This is my thank you to Lakeland.
Richard Jennings
“These paths that cross our lands take human energy and imprint it on the earth connecting us to it, leaving both the land and the human changed by that connection. Thousands of feet over thousands of years have trodden many of the same trails we have, tracing their passage on to the landscape, imprinting their memories into the soil. What remains are not just paths, they’re precious landlines that connect us to the earth, to our past and to each other.”
From the book: Landlines, by Raynor Winn