Running from Lancaster to Keswick, it passes through the glorious heart of the Lake District, stopping on the way at various towns and villages including Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside and Grasmere.
From a seat on the top deck, you’ll be able to gaze down on serene Rydal Water and Thirlmere, and crane your neck to stare up at some of Lakeland’s most majestic mountains including Helvellyn.
There are memorable walks to be enjoyed from just about every bus stop – from relaxing valley strolls to more strenuous high-level hikes. The frequency of the service also makes it easier to set out on a linear journey by foot, walking from one bus stop to another – a particularly satisfying experience.
Spoilt for choice, guidebook writer Vivienne Crow managed to whittle down her favourite walks from the 555 to a list of just 10.
Advice before you set off
Make sure you’ve got a map and are equipped for whatever the weather might throw at you. If you’re heading to the fells, check out the Adventure Smart website for advice.
For information on bus times, go to the Stagecoach website or download the Stagecoach Bus app from Google Play or Apple’s App Store. Pensioners travel free with a NoW card while everyone else pays only £2 per journey under the national fare cap scheme.
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1. Walk 1: Scout Scar (linear from Levens Hall to Kendal)
Start: 555 bus stop at Levens Hall. Finish: Kendal bus station.Length/difficulty: 8¾ miles, moderate, approximately 4½ hours.Map: Ordnance Survey OL7, English Lakes SE.Scout Scar is a long limestone cliff that is topped by an expanse of grassland brought to colourful life in spring and summer by a wealth of wildflowers. Striding out over the springy turf along the south-eastern edge of the Lake District National Park, you’re treated to superb views across to the high fells. The Lyth Valley and the gently rolling countryside east of Windermere enable an uninterrupted view of the mountains, often topped by snow in the winter. Catch the 555 to Levens Hall and then use quiet lanes to gain the higher ground above Brigsteer Park. Continue steadily gaining height, passing above Burnbarrow Scar, another limestone outcropping, to reach Scout Scar. In spring and summer, keep your eyes peeled for wildflowers such as bedstraw, thyme and hawkbit. You might even spot a few orchids up there. Descend to Kendal via Cunswick Scar and Kendal Fell. You can catch the 555 at various points in the town including the bus station. Photo: VIVIENNE CROW
2. Walk 2: St Catherine’s Church
Start/finish: 555 bus stop at Abbey Square, Staveley.Length/difficulty: 8½ miles, moderate, approximately 4½ hours.Map: Ordnance Survey OL7, English Lakes SEThe Dales Way passes close to Staveley on its way from Ilkley in West Yorkshire to Bowness-on-Windermere. Set off from the Abbey Square bus stop and join the long-distance route just south of the village. The route then uses quiet roads, green lanes and paths through enclosed parcels of rough pasture to reach the isolated farm at Crag House. Leaving the Dales Way here, head south along rough tracks and through wildflower-filled meadows to reach the old St Catherine’s Church. Now just an abandoned tower, it’s located on a small hill near Crook – a lovely, tranquil spot with good views of the distant hills including the Howgills on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales. More meadows are then encountered before the Dales Way is re-joined and followed back into Staveley. Your visit to the area doesn’t have to end now though – there are good paths beside the River Kent or, if you just want to kick back, there are several places in the village to grab a drink and a bite to eat. Photo: VIVIENNE CROW
3. Walk 3: Orrest Head
Start/finish: 555 bus stop at Windermere Station.Length/difficulty: 2 miles, easy, approximately 1½ hours.Map: Ordnance Survey OL7, English Lakes SE.Orrest Head is closely linked with the famous Lakeland guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright. Hailing from Blackburn in Lancashire, he was just 23 when he went on his first proper holiday in 1930. Having arrived in Windermere, he and his cousin excitedly set off up Orrest Head. He wrote an account of the experience several decades later describing it as 'a moment of magic, a revelation so unexpected' that he was transfixed by the view from the low-lying summit. “Those few hours on Orrest Head cast a spell that changed my life,” he wrote. Today, having got off the bus at Windermere railway station, you’ll find the route on to Orrest Head starts from the opposite side of the A591. The path’s undergone a lot of improvement work in recent years so, although there’s obviously some uphill work involved, it’s easy going underfoot. Return the same way or take your pick from a variety of field and woodland paths. Photo: VIVIENNE CROW
4. Walk 4: Wansfell Pike
Start/finish: Ambleside bus interchange, Kelsick Road.Length/difficulty: 6½ miles, moderate, approximately 4 hours.Map: Ordnance Survey OL7, English Lakes SE.Taking the 555 bus to Ambleside opens up a massive choice of walks taking in woodland, lakes, hidden tarns, low fells and high, windswept ridges. The first of two walks recommended here climbs Wansfell Pike, a popular viewpoint. It’s a stiff pull to the summit (1,581ft/482m), but the views of the surrounding fells and of Windermere make it well worth all the puffing and panting it takes to get here. Start from the bus interchange and then, after following Stock Ghyll upstream – past its tumultuous waterfalls – the route heads out on to the open fell. Beyond the summit, it drops easily to Troutbeck, one of the Lake District’s most idyllic villages. Here, pretty cottages and farmhouses, largely dating from the 17th and18th centuries, are strung out along the hillside taking advantage of a line of natural springs. The route then returns to Ambleside via old driving lanes and a woodland path. On the way back, take some time to make a short detour out to Jenkin Crag for another superb perspective on England’s largest natural lake. Photo: VIVIENNE CROW