Six Days on the Cumbria Packraft Ultra

© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

Two friends, Tom Phillips and Alistair Shawcross, recently completed what they believe to be the first unsupported journey to link - and paddle - all 11 of the Lake District's main lakes. Using packrafts, and bivvying en route, the pair (plus collie Bud) covered 160km on foot and 80km by boat, with about 5000m ascent along the way.

Packrafting on a mirror calm Loweswater  © Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross
Packrafting on a mirror calm Loweswater
© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

"This was both a physical and technical challenge" says Tom, "and not helped by very wet weather which meant that our already heavy packs got heavier as equipment soaked up water, going from around 15kg to above 20kg."

Here's his account of the journey:


This time last year we completed the first ever packraft traverse of Cumbria. We also raised funds for a mental health charity and hope to inspire people to get out and take on adventures in their local area.

One night I had another packraft idea: why not paddle and walk a circuit around all the major lakes? It's maybe the most obvious journey to make in the Lake District. OK, pehaps not that obvious - I could see it would be a tough challenge when I plotted it out next day.

I asked my friend Alistair if he had a week free for an expedition, and he said yes before I even told him what it was! We had six days. A distance of 25 miles a day doesn't sounds too bad, but add in your kit (15kg is about minimum with a packraft that will stand up to some abuse, and a dog), and add on time for the many transitions between foot and paddle power (22 x 30mins is quite a lot of time) and it is perhaps a bit tight.

Transitions from boots to boats took up a lot of time - but not everyone was concerned about the schedule  © Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross
Transitions from boots to boats took up a lot of time - but not everyone was concerned about the schedule
© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

With an estimated speed of 2.5mph, both on foot and by boat, we were looking at 10 hours of moving time a day, which in reality would be more like 12 hours total. There wouldn't be much room for error.

Day 1: Newby Bridge - Windermere - Scandale Pass - mid Ullswater

Paddling along at 3mph at the Southern end of Windermere it seemed like the target for the day (mid Ullswater) would be easy to achieve. But gradually a Northerly wind blew up and by midday we still had two miles to do and by now we should have been in Ambleside. So we ended the first day a mile or so short of the target. Not a disaster, but it had been a long and tiring day, only stopping at 9pm.

Packraft plus bivvy gear equals big pack - heading for Patterdale  © Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross
Packraft plus bivvy gear equals big pack - heading for Patterdale
© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

Day 2: Mid Ullswater - Gowbarrow - Stciks Pass - Thirlmere

The next day we seemed to be catching up on the schedule, but the steep ascent of Sticks Pass slowed us down more than we thought and by the time we reached the Southern end of Thirlmere we were done for. So a slightly early camp below the mist shrouded hills above the lake and the plan to start early and see if we could get as far as Loweswater.

Day 3: Thirlmere - Watendlath - Derwent Water - Bassentwaite Lake -  Loweswater

The steep climb over Watendlath to Derwent Water was OK with fresh legs, we were glad we rested. Calm conditions on the lake meant we kept a good average speed up, and after a shopping trip to Keswick for food we stayed in the Middle Derwent River to Bassenthwaite Lake as water levels were quite high. Calm conditions again on Bassenthwaite Lake helped us and we then had time to push on all the way to Loweswater and get slightly ahead of schedule. The next day involved four separate lakes so we knew progress would be slower.

With all that weight, the walking sections could get pretty arduous at times  © Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross
With all that weight, the walking sections could get pretty arduous at times
© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

Day 4: Loweswater - Crummock Water - Buttermere - Scarth Gap - Ennerdale Water - Scalderskew

Stunning conditions on Loweswater which was like a mirror. We were as efficient as possible with changeovers and reached the climb over to Scarth Gap early afternoon. A tailwind on Ennerdale Water was a bonus and allowed us to get within 5km of the target distance, which we were quite happy with. Heavy rain all evening and overnight swelled the rivers and streams.

Paddling on Wastwater  © Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross
Paddling on Wastwater
© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

Day 5: Scalderskew - Wast Water - Eskdale - Duddon - foot of Walna Scar

Tough walking in the upper Calder valley and very wet all the way to Wastwater. Feet wet and equipment soaking up water made things tougher. We also had to wade a couple of quite deep rivers. The rain relented at Wasdale for a few hours and we pushed on into the gloomy damp evening all the way to the foot of Walna Scar. This was a very arduous day with very poor conditions underfoot for much of the way. Again it started to rain very hard and continued all night.

Wet weather made for heavy, saturated gear  © Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross
Wet weather made for heavy, saturated gear
© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

Day 6: Walna Scar - Coniston Water - Return to Newby Bridge

The last day was planned to be shorter so we had 20 miles to do. The rain relented and conditions were good, but our very heavy packs full of saturated equipment were now far heavier than when we started. Coniston Water was busy with holiday makers and we could afford to relax a bit now with time in hand. Alistair's feet were falling to bits though and I think we had both reached our limit. We were very happy to reach Newby Bridge to complete the circuit. The Lakes gave us one more torrential downpour in the last few miles!

Done it!  © Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross
Done it!
© Tom Phillips & Alistair Shawcross

  • Note no swimming or boats are allowed on Haweswater
  • Bio security - rafts and equipment were cleaned between many of the lakes to avoid the risk of transferring invasive species
  • For more of Tom's adventures see instagram

Here's a film of Tom and Alistair's previous trans-Cumbria packraft journey:





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