Wet weather walks in Cumbria

Living in Cumbria means that our walks don’t stop because of a bit of rain!

I have put together a list of walks that are perfect for those rainy days. If anyone has children like mine they will still need ‘walked’, regardless of the weather, otherwise I am left with four very excitable children by 7pm!

The following walks are local to Carlisle and all of them can be found on this website, via the walks tab at the top.

• Finglandrigg Wood: this 1.2 mile walk offers plenty of shelter on this wet and windy days!
• Miltonrigg Wood: a short, pram accessible wood walk perfect for all!
• Chalk Beck, Cumdivock: a beautiful 1.7 mile route, plenty to explore and see for little legs.
• Clay Hurley Bank Woods: a very short wander through the woods, ideal for those wet days when you don’t want to travel far.
• Gelt Wood, Brampton: a classic wood walk close to the city of Carlisle. Plenty of trees to offer much needed shelter on those wet days.
• Coombs Wood, Armathwaite: this two mile wood walk offers lots of excitement for little legs – watch out for those sculptures!
• Hayton Wood: a 1.2 mile walk amongst the trees, you’re bound to see plenty of wildlife when visiting here!
• Hadrian’s Wood: this 1 mile circular route is situated within the City of Carlisle and is off road pram accessible.
• Wetheral Caves: my children adore this walk, the excitement of the caves at the end is always a hit!

The following five walks are slightly further afield from Carlisle:

• Dodd Wood: situated in the Lake District, close to Keswick, this is a great walk to complete if you are visiting the Lake District and find it is pouring down! There are multiple routes to take on this walk, one of which is Dodd Fell – included in the 214 Wainwright walks.
• Cliburn Moss Nature Reserve: this walk is situated 5 miles South East of Penrith and offers plenty to see for little ones – look out for the dens made of trees!
• Forest of AE: Over the border in Dumfries and Galloway the Forest of AE offers a huge range of walking route for all abilities. There is also a café, toilets and a bike hire shop.
• Allen Banks National Trust: This walk can be found near Ridley Hall, Bardon Mill. The walk itself offers many different waking routes, my little ones throughly enjoyed this walk!
• Castle Loch, Lochmaben: this toddler friendly walk is a must if you have youngsters who like to explore. There is so much to see: carved trees, fairy doors and more! This walk is also pram accessible.