Wray Castle to Blelham Tarn Circular Walk

A closed circular walk of about 5.6 km / 3.5 miles in total, measured all the way round to the start, with roughly 150 m of climbing spread across it. Allow around 1 hour 40 minutes at a steady pace, longer with stops. Start and finish at Wray Castle. The official grading is moderate, while a mapped copy of the same line rates it easy, so treat it as a straightforward low level walk that gets harder underfoot in wet weather.

From the castle the path pulls away through the estate and quiet access lanes, then crosses meadows and woodland toward the south west side of Blelham Tarn. The middle section rolls through farmland, with one short steeper rise near High Tock How, before dropping through fields and woods to the western shore of Windermere. The last stretch follows the lake, then climbs back up to the castle, with fell views one way and water the other.

Expect a mix of estate lanes, grassy field paths, farm tracks and woodland trail, plus gates and stiles along the way. The farmland and the ground near the tarn can be boggy in wet weather, so stout footwear is sensible when the ground is wet. Nothing is exposed, and the single steeper climb is over quickly.

Castle, tarn, meadows, mixed woodland and open lake shoreline all fit into under four miles. Blelham Bog beside the tarn is a protected site recorded for rare mosses, sedges and insects, so stay on the paths there. Field sections may hold grazing livestock.

Dogs are welcome and should be kept on leads throughout, both for the grazing stock and the sensitive bog ground. Gates and stiles mean this is not a barrier free route. The separate signposted Miles Without Stiles route from Wray Castle toward Low Loanthwaite is a different, longer, one way walk of about 7 km, so do not confuse the two when planning.