Parking
Use the Grizedale Forest Visitor Centre car park. Approach on the signed minor road between Hawkshead (B5285) and Newby Bridge (A590); the numbered route starts at the adjacent visitor-centre access.
Overview
About Silurian Way
The Silurian Way is a Forestry England walking trail graded hard, with an official length of 11 miles (18 km) and a typical time of 6 hours. It is a numbered-post loop that begins and ends at Grizedale Forest Visitor Centre.
Why go
- Sculptures spaced through a long forest circuit
- Open viewpoints break up the woodland
- Numbered posts mark the route
Heads up
- 11 miles with repeated climbs and descents
- Long stretches on forest roads
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation72–298 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 Silurian Way, 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
Grizedale Forest: Sculptures and Carron Crag0:00 / 1:07
“You're nearing Grizedale Forest's visitor centre, where you can head into the woods to discover sculptures tucked among the trees.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Bogle Crag: The Rusland Valley Outlook
- Esthwaite Water: Ospreys and a Lakeside Pause
- Brantwood: Ruskin’s House and Gardens
- Blind Lane: Woodland and Rusland Heritage
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Silurian Way
What the walking is likeThe way follows a mix of forest roads and narrower paths, with a series of climbs and descents.
The way follows a mix of forest roads and narrower paths, with a series of climbs and descents. Sections through woodland alternate with open viewpoints, so the character of the walk changes as you move around the loop.
Difficulty and commitmentThis is a long day on foot rather than a short outing.
This is a long day on foot rather than a short outing. The hard grading reflects both the distance and the repeated ascent and descent, and 6 hours is the guide time for completing the full circuit.
The forest road tradeoffBecause much of the route uses forest roads, the walking surface is often wide and…
Because much of the route uses forest roads, the walking surface is often wide and straightforward, which makes navigation between numbered posts simpler. The flip side is that these stretches feel less intimate than the narrower paths, and the woodland can be enclosed until the route opens out at a viewpoint.
Sculptures along the waySculptures are distributed along the route, so there are things to look for at intervals rather…
Sculptures are distributed along the route, so there are things to look for at intervals rather than a single focal point.
Name and geologyThe name refers to the Silurian period and to the characteristic grey slate and shale of the…
The name refers to the Silurian period and to the characteristic grey slate and shale of the area.
Getting there and dogsStart from the visitor centre car park and access point, where the numbered posts for the loop…
Start from the visitor centre car park and access point, where the numbered posts for the loop begin. Dogs are allowed under the normal forest code and should be kept under control.
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.
