Home of the Wild Ennerdale project with 30 miles of traffic-free paths
After being utterly lost from the Ennerdale Valley in the 1970s, find out how habitat restoration has been very good news for the beautiful Marsh Fritillary butterfly
Lying on the north western edge of the Lake District National Park, Ennerdale is home to some of England’s most vibrant natural environments and one of the longest running wild land restoration projects in the UK. The Wild Ennerdale Partnership is allowing the landscape to evolve naturally with reducing human intervention and invites you to explore this unique valley and experience its special sense of wildness.
Wild Water, Forests, Mountains
The river Liza is a 'wild' river - allowed to choose its own path through the valley. Native species are gradually colonising forest that was formerly plantation. Some of the classic ‘Wainwrights’ Pillar, Great Gable and Kirk Fell are the giants of the skyline towering over Ennerdale Water.
Come into the wild
Accessing the valley is easy, with two free car parks at either side of the lake – Bowness Knott to the north and Bleach Green to the south. Click here for downloadable trails, information about history, wildlife and conservation work in Ennerdale.
Most of our places run the Gift Aid on Entry scheme at their admission points. Under this scheme, if you're not a member you have the choice of two entry tickets:
If the place runs Gift Aid on Entry, we'll offer you the Gift Aid Admission prices. But it's entirely up to you which ticket you choose. If you want the Standard Admission instead, just let us know when you come to pay.
Gift Aid Admission includes a 10 per cent or more voluntary donation. Gift Aid Admissions let us reclaim tax on the whole amount paid* — an extra 25 per cent — potentially a very significant boost to our places' funds.
An extra £1 paid under the scheme can be worth over £3 to the National Trust as shown below: Payment of the additional percentage donation is entirely voluntary, so if you prefer to pay the standard admission please advise our reception staff at the till point.
| Gift Aid | Standard | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount paid by visitor | £11.00 | £10.00 |
| Tax refund from Government* | £2.75 | £0.00 |
| Total received by the National Trust | £13.75 | £10.00 |
