🥾 Walking route
Alcock Tarn Walk, Grasmere
Lake District, Cumbria
- 📏 5.4 km · 3.4 mi
- ⛰ +300 m
- ⏱ 2h 00m
- 🐕 On lead
Walk stats
- Distance5.4 km · 3.4 mi
- Elevation+300 m
- Duration2h 00m
- DifficultyModerate
- Route typeCircular
- TerrainFell path, grass, rocky steps
- Best seasonSpring to Autumn
- DogsOn lead (open fell, sheep)
About this walk
A classic Grasmere fell circuit that climbs steadily from the village to the little hill tarn of Alcock Tarn. The effort is well rewarded with one of the finest low-level panoramas in the central Lakes, with Grasmere and Rydal Water laid out below and the Langdale Pikes beyond.
The route sets off through Wordsworth’s village, ascends beside Greenhead Gill, and returns on a gentler path. It is steep in places but short, and reachable car-free on the 599 open-top bus.
Route map
Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap footpath data. Numbered markers are waypoints on the route; amber star markers are points of interest a short detour away.
Waypoints along the route
5 waypoints along the way
- 1
Grasmere Village
- Start
- Refreshments
The 599 open-top bus stops in the village; cafés and shops cluster around the green.
- 2
St Oswald’s & Wordsworth’s Grave
- Historic
The Wordsworth family graves rest under the churchyard yews.
- 3
Dove Cottage
- Literary
- Museum
Wordsworth’s home from 1799 to 1808, where he wrote much of his best work. Opens 09:30 daily.
- 4
Alcock Tarn
- Tarn
- Viewpoint
The little summit tarn at around 365 m. This is the turnaround, with the walk’s best views.
- 5
Lakes Art Gallery
- Gallery
Browse local landscape art back in the village after the descent.
Worth a short detour
Points of interest just off the route, look for the amber markers on the map.
Greenhead Gill
~239 m off the route
- Valley
- Literary
The wooded valley where the steep climb begins, and the setting of Wordsworth’s poem “Michael”.
Get here without a car
599 Windermere to Grasmere open-top bus →Route & waypoint data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).