Parking
Start at Red Nab car park (LA23 1LJ; OS grid SD 386994), reached from the B5286 via the lane signed Wray. Wray Castle has parking and accessible toilets if you start from the opposite end, but this trail is mapped from Red Nab.
Overview
About Red Nab to High Wray Bay
This is a low-level linear route walked as a 5 km / 3.1 mile out-and-back from Red Nab car park to Wray Castle via High Wray Bay. The shore path runs between Windermere and mixed woodland, opening to lake views and a picnic spot at High Wray Bay before the improved continuation climbs to the castle entrance. It is a good short lakeside outing when you want scenery without a fell day, but the final approach has two gradients up to 1:6 and can be difficult for some mobility users. Return the same way; the stored map follows the physical one-way corridor.
Why go
- Quiet lakeshore walking through mixed woodland
- Open Windermere views toward the northern fells and Brockhole
- High Wray Bay gives the walk a natural picnic stop
- Improved track continues to Wray Castle
Heads up
- Linear route means the return repeats the same path
- Two gradients up to 1:6 on the continuation to Wray Castle
- Some mobility users may find the steeper sections difficult
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation39–74 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
8 active Lake District alerts
- ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
- ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake District Tour Guide
Your drive to Red Nab to High Wray Bay, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Red Nab: A Walk to High Wray Bay0:00 / 0:51
“Red Nab is coming up, the starting point for a quiet woodland walk beside Windermere to High Wray Bay.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Brockhole: Lakeshore, Gardens and Play
- Wray Castle: Grounds and Blelham Tarn
- Windermere Jetty: Boats and Boatbuilders
- Orrest Head: A Short Climb for the View
- 298 audio storiesacross Lake District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Eurasian Otter, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 265 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake District
81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
