Autumn in the Lake District

October and November are my favourite months in the Lakes. The school holidays are over, the car parks are manageable, the light is different, and the landscape does something it does not do at any other time of year.

The colours

The Lake District in October has genuine autumn colour. The sessile oak woodland on the lower fells and valley sides turns amber and gold. The bracken on the open fell goes russet. The birches go yellow. The larches in the forestry plantations go to copper before dropping. This peaks typically in the second and third week of October. It is not a minor variation — it genuinely changes what the landscape looks like.

The red deer rut

Martindale, on the far side of Ullswater, has one of the best red deer populations in England. In October the stags rut. You will hear them before you see them: the roaring carries across the valley. Dawn and dusk are the best times. Access via Howtown on the Ullswater Steamer or by road through Pooley Bridge to Martindale. Binoculars help, but the deer herd is large enough that bare-eye sightings at 200 metres are not unusual.

The walking

Autumn is better for fell walking than summer in almost every way. Lower temperatures mean comfortable ascent rates without the July heat. The views are clearer on good days as the haze drops. The paths are less crowded. The midges, which are a genuine nuisance in August, are gone by September.

The risk factors shift. Weather becomes less predictable from October. Days shorten significantly by November. Daylight on a fell by mid-November is from around 7:30am to 4:30pm. Plan accordingly, start early, and be off high ground by 3:30pm.

The pubs in autumn

This is not a small thing. A Lakes pub in October with an open fire, wet gear on the drying rack, and a proper cask ale after six hours on the fells is one of the best evenings available in England. The Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale (LA22 9JU), the Wasdale Head Inn (CA20 1EX), and the Kirkstone Pass Inn (LA23 1LU) all operate year-round and are better in autumn than in summer because there is more room and the fires are on.

Practical autumn notes

• →Pack a head torch from October. Darkness comes fast if you are running late on the descent.
• →Waterproof trousers matter more in October than July. The bracken on the fell flanks is wet all day.
• →Kendal Calling is in late July or early August. Ambleside Sports is in July. Grasmere Lakeland Sports is in August. By October the events calendar is quieter.
• →Accommodation prices drop in October and November compared to peak summer. The same hotels are 20 to 40% cheaper.

Damian Roche

Founder, Churchtown Media. Builder of TheLakesGuide.co.uk, TheLakesWildlife.co.uk, and HikeTheLakes.com. Southport-based. Regular Lakes visitor for decades.