Parking
Park at Whinlatter Forest Visitor Centre car park on Whinlatter Pass, Keswick CA12 5TW. The trail starts from the visitor centre itself. Car parking charges apply.
Overview
About Wow Trail
The Wonders of Whinlatter, or Wow Trail, is a waymarked loop starting and finishing at Whinlatter Forest Visitor Centre. The official visitor distance is 4.5 miles (7.5 km) for the full circuit, with around 3 hours suggested. Opened in 2023, it was designed as an accessible woodland walk through England's only mountain forest, inside the Lake District World Heritage site.
Why go
- Fully surfaced, wide paths with no stiles, steps or gates
- Wildlife hide, wellbeing area and a viewpoint on one loop
- Views across Bassenthwaite Lake, Skiddaw and Derwent Water
Heads up
- Some slopes are noticeably steeper than the rest of the route
- Car parking charges apply at the visitor centre
- Views can be lost in low cloud or heavy rain
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation256–440 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
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 Wow Trail, 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
Whinlatter: Beck Walk or Summit View0:00 / 1:13
“You're coming up on Whinlatter Forest's visitor centre, where you can choose between a walk beside tumbling water and a climb above the trees.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Noble Knott: Two Short Woodland Loops
- Braithwaite: Coledale Ridge or Mine Walk
- Barf and Lord's Seat from Powter How
- Scawgill: Graystones and Broom Fell
- 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 Wow Trail
RouteFrom the visitor centre the trail climbs gradually into the upper forest, links nine key areas…
From the visitor centre the trail climbs gradually into the upper forest, links nine key areas along the way, and returns on surfaced tracks to the start. Highlights along the circuit include a wildlife hide, a wellbeing area and a viewpoint. Waymarking uses colored arrows on timber signage, so junctions with other Whinlatter routes are straightforward to read if you follow the arrows for this trail.
Payoff and sceneryThe open sections give views over Bassenthwaite Lake, Dodd Wood and Skiddaw, with Keswick and…
The open sections give views over Bassenthwaite Lake, Dodd Wood and Skiddaw, with Keswick and Derwent Water also in the panorama. The rest is forest interest: Whinlatter is a working forest around a hundred years old, and the woodland here supports red squirrels, deer, badgers and foxes, with the hide offering a chance to sit and watch quietly.
Difficulty and footingThis is an easy graded walk with a moderate amount of climbing, roughly 180 m of ascent spread…
This is an easy graded walk with a moderate amount of climbing, roughly 180 m of ascent spread over the loop. Paths are surfaced, at least 2 m wide, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 7 and no stiles, steps or gates. Slopes are mostly gradual with some steeper pitches. The route is buggy friendly and may suit some off-road mobility scooters.
Exposure and conditionsMuch of the walk is sheltered by trees, with more open ground near the viewpoint where weather…
Much of the walk is sheltered by trees, with more open ground near the viewpoint where weather has the biggest effect. Low cloud or rain can remove the Bassenthwaite and Skiddaw views entirely, so allow flexibility if the outlook is the main reason for your visit.
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.
