Honister Rambler for...

CAT BELLS

Stagecoach 77/77A is more poetically known as the Honister Rambler, and its loop from Keswick down Borrowdale, over Honister Pass, by Buttermere and Whinlatter Forest is glorious. Just 15 minutes on a clockwise circuit will get you to Cat Bells, the much-loved minimount with its toes in Derwent Water (also accessible by ferry – see Walk 16).

CASTLE CRAG

Another bijou peak (951ft) makes a cracking walk from Rosthwaite. Castle Crag* is the littlest of the 214 fells Alfred Wainright featured in his famous books, and he wasn’t the only one to adore it: ‘Professor of Adventure’ Millican Dalton summered in a cave on the crag for years.

Climbing Castle Crag, in what Wainright called ‘the loveliest square mile in Lakeland’.

SCAFELL PIKE

For a big summer day, get off at Seatoller and head just over a mile down the lane to Seathwaite and the start of a 10-mile loop over England’s highest peak (3209ft) by Esk Hause and the magnificent Corridor Route*.

GREAT GABLE

Seathwaite is also a good launch pad for this Lakeland giant, although if you stay on the bus to Honister Hause, it does some of the climb for you. And the bus lets you tackle a striking linear route, descending from Great Gable into Ennerdale and then climbing the High Stile range to finish at Buttermere – see Walk 27. Or for a gentler option, stop at Buttermere for a circuit of the lake.

WHINLATTER FOREST

This mountain forest* is a stronghold for our native red squirrel; look for tufty

TALE OF SQUIRREL NUTKIN

The Honister Rambler visits Derwent Water, setting for Beatrix Potter’s story, and Whinlatter Forest where reds still thrive. ears and twitchy tails as you wind among the pines and pop above the trees at Seat How for panoramic views. And there are so many more walks from this bus – Grizedale Pike, Hay Stacks, Fleetwith Pike – it could keep you busy until it stops running in autumn.