Alcock Tarn - views of Grasmere

Time taken approx. 1.5-2 hrs
Difficulty of the walk  3-4

Hopefully if you've done a handful of easier walks and your fitness is growing slowly then you might fancy something just a little step up.


This walk is beautiful. The Grasmere are is full of medium sized 'nobbly' hills, if I can describe them as that. Lots of character and the light shines off them in an interesting way. Every turn makes you feel you're on a slightly different walk.

To start this walk then I normally choose the large layby off the main A591 road between the two main village road entrances, just north of the southern entrance.
You can  park here for free but need to be there in good time to get a place, otherwise the large Stock Lane car park near the sports field is your other option but I think that car park is quite expensive.

The first part of this walk is on the path by the main road. From the layby, walk south, down to the mini-roundabout which is the southern entrance to Grasmere. From the main car park, you're heading to the main road, meeting the same roundabout.

At the roundabout, take the back lane behind the main road past Wordsworth's Dove Cottage, carry along the lane until it turns to the left and gets steeper. Near the top of this section of lane then there's an opening to the left with a seat to have a few minutes if need be.

Walking along the path and through a couple of gates, the lonning then turns to rise up the fell. At the top then there's the option to turn left towards Grasmere or turn right to Alcock Tarn. Turn right.

I love this next part as the path twists and turns between the trees and little rocky nobbles, and past an old banked up water source shown in the picture to the left.

Each turn gives another angle to the valley, the fell and the village as path winds upwards.

Pause part way up on a small seat to look across towards the Langdale peaks and some of the Western Fells. In the foreground is Silver How and the distinctive Helm Crag (the Lion and the Lamb) slightly more to the north.

Following this path, the path starts to get rockier and steeper.

This part is probably why I'd say its a little step up from some of the earlier ones.
For me, although still roughly the same distance as the others which I'd done to that point, I felt it was physically more taxing and a real step up for my fitness at that time.

At a later date I chose Alcock Tarn for a debut wild camp, and carrying my camping kit up there really was a lungbuster!
Mainly because I'd taken enough camping equipment for a Everest base camp bid!

Finally you walk through the gateway and onto the tarn. The views down Windermere from here are stunning and on a clear day you can have a good look around neighbouring peaks to see what's what.

An extension to this walk is to clamber over a dodgy stile on the top side of Alcock Tarn and walk up to Nab Scar, down towards Rydal, have a cup of coffee at the coffee house and then return to Grasmere via the old Coffin Trail, coming out at the top of the lane you set off from.


As mentioned earlier I spent my first wild camp at Alcock Tarn having been inspired by several posts about wild camping and liking the idea of the solitude.
It was such a brilliant experience in the heat of June. I walked back down at 4-5am, with the sunrise bouncing along the far fells and creeping ever nearer as time wore on.
Its hard to imagine such a peaceful time, so good for the soul, watching the world wake up from above - so refreshing and relaxing - and I can't wait to repeat that somewhere this year.


Walking alongside Alcock Tarn and out the back the path becomes rockier and steeper on the way down.  The path winds downhill and there's a new bridge at the bottom to cross the stream before going through the gate at the bottom and onto the tarmac again. Even then the locals have ensured there's normally a great bloom whatever the season.

The last part of the walk finishes similar to the start unfortunately, walking along the path to the side of the main road back to the layby but a great walk where you've plenty of time to take it slow or a good test of fitness if you want to attack it.