Myself and two friends walked the Cumbria Way this September (2015) and thought I'd share some of our thoughts on the walk for others considering giving it a go. We've also completed a couple of music videos of our photo's/video footage which may give a better idea of the terrain and scenery.

We tackled it over 5 days/4 nights - Ulvertston to Coniston (15 miles), Coniston to Langdale (12), Langdale to Keswick (14), Keswick to Caldbeck (15), Caldbeck to Carlisle (12). We used the Sherpavan company to haul our luggage and stayed at The Ship Inn, New Dungeon Ghyll, The George Hotel and the Oddfellows Inn.

Day 1 was quite undulating and starts by crossing fields and styles aplenty. Of all the days this is the one thats hardest to navigate. I'd advise you keep your map handy and keep your eyes peeled. A couple of times we sort of lost our way briefly but nothing too major. A highlight was a lovely stop by Beacon Tarn for some lunch (See 1m 37secs on video) and the last part alongside Coniston Water. It was tougher than I expected due to the undulating nature of the first 6-7 miles but meant the pints in Coniston were well earned. Coniston is a lovely village. We had a couple of pints in the Black Bull and a cracking meal and accommodation in The Ship Inn...a good day

Day 2 - The main talking points of day 2 were the very tough start and the fact we got lost. We weren't expecting it but the start from Coniston to Tarn Hows is quite steep. Quite a wake up call we didn't bargain for. Tarn hows was great stop though as it had an ice cream van parked there for the day trippers ! From there to Elterwater is mostly downhill and nice and you simply have to stop at the pub in Elterwater (see 6m 40secs on video). What a lovely village in beside a small grass 'square'. We stopped off for a pint and a sit on the grass, watching the sheep graze beside us. Now for the 3 miles or so to Langdale. This is where we got kinda lost....once into the woods we kept on going up and went too far. I'd definately recommend a close inspection of the map. I think we should have kept to the riverbank but we ended up climbing quite high up the valley side (See 7m 02secs on video) and had to come back down some rough land. I'd guess we might have added a mile or mile and half. We were blessed with good weather though which made up for it.

Here the link video of the first 2 days -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcWHSN_5DsM Please excuse the poor banter at the start, to skip just move on to 56 secs in

Day 3 is where things really start to take shape. From Langdale it's 3-4 mile walk along the valley before the climb up Stakes Pass. It's now very remote and you really get the feel of being 'out there'...about a mile or so over stakes pass you see the next valley stretch down ahead of you. The views here are just fantastic and continue as you descend and walk the 5 miles or so along before the turn left to Stonethwaite. One of the three of us is completing a video of this day I'll edit this post to add it in when he's done.

Day 4 and the final day 5 is next. It's a fair wee climb up and and out of Keswick and we were met with a bit of rain. Once up to the car park in the hills it's another really remote but beautiful walk around the hills and along the side of the valley up to the YHA hostel (you can see this section at 2m 26 seconds onwards in the video). After a wee break at the hostel (which you can't get into but can use as a rather large wind break). It's another3-4 mile section along a valley (seen from 3m 01s on). This again was remote with no buildings or people around for miles, really nice. Once you hit the bridge it's time to go back up and it's here where things got boggy and we were unsure of the path. We followed the beck uphill but weren't sure when to leave it to go right and go up. We got to the bothy on the hill top eventually and my advice is just make sure your heading roughly in that direction and you'll get there. It's a tough section but once here the worst is over. Take note of the position of the bothy from the bridge back down the valley and keep in that general direction.

Now it's on to High Pass and this part is no problem. From the cairn and bench at the top there are spectular views of the Solway Firth up to Carlisle and the surrounding area. 3 miles later your down and in Caldbeck.

Day 5...the last day. I admit to reading bad reviews about this section (from 6m 42sec till the end on the video) but it was better than I expected. IT is relatively flat but a nice walk along the river and the end part into Carlisle centre wasnt too bad actually.

Overall we the three of us agreed this was a geat long distance walk. It was tougher than expected, not as well signposted as the West Highland Way but the scenery (particularly days 2, 3 and 4) was lovely and the villages, pubs and people in the Lake District were superb. I hope my description and our video's will convey what a great walk it is and inspire you to try it.

Day 4 & 5 Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jo06ianAjo