Buttermere 25–26 September 2026

For several years now, at the end of September, we have been making our annual trip to visit a patch of chanterelles we discovered in the Lakes. And every time, we manage to find something. This time we took a new route, climbing up Sheepbone Rake. It is a fairly steep scree slope — nothing technical, but very scenic.

The blue line shows our tracks on 25 and 26 September. Shift-click a track link to open it in nakarte.me.

We spent the night about 200 metres above Buttermere lake. Crummock Water can be seen beyond it, in the same valley. There was a strong wind during the night, and in the morning it started raining — something the forecast had not predicted. We had breakfast in the tent because of the rain and wind, quickly packed up and set off. This photo was taken before the rain started.

This rocky ridge is called Comb Craggs. The top was hidden in low cloud. We climbed up to the ridge over straightforward scree, and from there followed a well-trodden path.

The rain kept starting and stopping, with clouds drifting all around us. Suddenly, the sun came out and lit up the ridge. We are descending to the Scarth Gap pass. From there, we followed a familiar path down into Ennerdale and towards the River Liza.

There was already no bridge here last year: there was a sign showing where the nearest bridges were. This year it was still gone. There was much more water in the river this time, so there was no way of crossing without getting wet. By then our feet were already soaked from the rain, so we decided not to bother changing our footwear.

The chanterelles were already waiting for us. There weren't many, but every year is different.

These are winter chanterelles, or funnel chanterelles (Cantharellus tubaeformis), close relatives of the common golden chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius). They appear in woodland in autumn, in the same places where golden chanterelles can be found. We were introduced to them in Sweden, where they are highly prized.

After collecting the mushrooms, we had lunch by the River Liza, crossed it again by wading, and climbed to the summit of Red Pike. From there, Buttermere came into view once more. All the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining. The weather in the mountains can change very quickly. The little white house on the far shore of the lake is particularly eye-catching.

The bright green pastures look even greener against the velvety red-brown slopes. Black sheep graze in the fields. Simply idyllic.