The Inn Way...to the English Lake District - 2nd Edition OUT NOW (May 2011).
Long Stay parking is limited at Ambleside, so please use public transport. If you arrive by car, then enquire at the Tourist Information Centre at Ambleside about where to park your car. Hotels, B&Bs and the Youth Hostel etc usually allow you to leave your car with them (if you stay with them at the start and end of your walk) – always 'phone to check.
The only cash-point facilities along the entire route are at Ambleside at the start of the walk (Barclay's, NatWest, HSBC, Halifax). There are also banks at Broughton-in-Furness and Coniston (Barclay's), although they do not have cash-points.
There are Outdoor Shops at Ambleside, Grasmere, Broughton-in-Furness and Coniston.
There are shops at the following Overnight Stops – Rosthwaite, Braithwaite, Boot-in-Eskdale, Broughton-in-Furness and Coniston. A limited range of provisions can be purchased at the cafe at Butteremere.
If you are relying on a pub for lunchtime food then always phone in advance to check opening times. Many rural pubs close at lunchtimes early in the week.
Stage Seven involves a long and steep climb to the summit of Swirl How – please allow plenty of time to complete this walk. An early start is essential as it will take around five hours to complete the 'morning section' to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.
Stage Seven ('morning section' via Swirl How) – If the weather is bad and there is poor visibility, then the following 'low level' route to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel is recommended. From Coniston, walk up into the Coppermines Valley then head along Hole Rake path to Tilberthwaite. Follow the track from High Tilberthwaite to Fell Foot Farm in Little Langdale, then left up along the Wrynose Pass road for half a mile then take the footpath to the right which heads along the western shores of Blea Tarn, then down into Great Langdale to reach the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. Full details of this alternative route has been included in an Appendix at the back of the 2006 re-print (and all subsequent re-prints, including the Second Edition).
The path down through Gasgale Gill (Stage Three) has suffered some flood damage in places (Nov '09 floods) - take care along this section.
