The Lake District
Buttermere
Paintings, prints and posters of the lake beneath High Stile, and a guide to the views they were painted from.
Buttermere at a glance
A small lake under big fells
Buttermere lies at the head of a quiet valley in the north-west of the Lake District. The High Stile ridge rises along one shore and Robinson along the other, while Fleetwith Pike closes the far end, with Haystacks just beyond it. Crummock Water lies to the north-west, and the village of Buttermere sits on the strip of land between the two lakes.
It is a lake people come back to, often for the same few views. Those views are what this page is about: our artists' impressions of them, and the prints, posters and maps they have become.
The views
The pines on the shore
A line of Scots pines stands at the water's edge, and on a still morning the whole row is doubled in the lake. It is the picture most people take home from Buttermere, and our artists keep coming back to it: in gold, in dusk pink, in the first grey light.
The views
The lone tree
A single slender tree stands in the shallows a few steps from the shore. On a calm day it has a perfect twin in the water, and the fells behind it change colour with every hour.
The views
The fence into the lake
An old wooden fence runs down the shore and carries on out into the water. It leads the eye straight across the lake to the fells on the far side, which is why so many photographs of Buttermere, and so many of these paintings, begin with it.
The views
A walk round the lake
A path runs all the way round Buttermere, close to the water for most of its length, and on any fine day it is busy with walkers, families and a great many dogs. Our artists have painted them too.
The views
Rannerdale in bluebell time
Just along the shore of Crummock Water, the slopes of Rannerdale turn blue each spring, usually from late April into May. It is one of the best-loved bluebell sights in the Lakes.
Framed canvases and prints
Buttermere on your wall
Every painting is made to order as a canvas or a fine art print, at 40, 70 or 90 cm, unframed or framed in natural wood, black or white. Prints start at £59.99.
Glowing Buttermere Pebble Shore
From £59.99
Pink Sunset Over Buttermere Pines
From £59.99
Vivid Buttermere Shore and Fells
From £59.99
Buttermere Tree Under Pink Skies
From £59.99
Neon Sunset Over Buttermere Pines
From £59.99
Vibrant Buttermere Lake Reflections
From £59.99
Vibrant Fells at Buttermere
From £59.99
Buttermere Pines and Apricot Reflections
From £59.99
Panoramic canvases
The whole valley, up to 152 cm wide
Some views are too wide for a square. These are painted long and low, the way the valley opens out from the shore, and made as float-framed canvases at 30 × 91 cm or 51 × 152 cm, in six frame colours.
Linocut style
Buttermere in linocut style
Bold cut lines, flat colour and the grain of the block. These are printed reproductions in the style of a hand-cut linocut, in every size and frame.
Bold Pink Fells of Buttermere
From £59.99
Cobalt Blue Buttermere Landscape
From £59.99
Monochrome Buttermere and Lone Tree
From £59.99
Graphic Buttermere in Red and Blue
From £59.99
Black and White Buttermere Fells
From £59.99
Buttermere Valley in Navy and Terracotta
From £59.99
Buttermere in Slate and Navy
From £59.99
Bold Fells Above Buttermere
From £59.99
The watercolour map
Buttermere, drawn from its true shoreline
The lake's real outline in a wash of blue, with the fells around it traced in fine contour lines from survey data and its name across the top. Printed to order and framed in natural wood, black or white, in three sizes up to 50 × 70 cm.
Crummock Water, next door, has a map of its own.
Travel posters
Buttermere as a travel poster
The same lake in a range of poster styles, from railway screen print to Japanese woodblock and Swiss modernist. Framed in natural wood, black or white, in three sizes up to 50 × 70 cm.
Buttermere — Railway Screen Print Travel Poster
From £89.99
Buttermere — Japanese Woodblock Travel Poster
From £89.99
Buttermere — Vivid Travel Poster
From £89.99
Buttermere — Swiss Modernist Travel Poster
From £89.99
Buttermere — Art Nouveau Travel Poster
From £89.99
Buttermere — Impressionist Travel Poster
From £89.99
Buttermere — Muted Modern Travel Poster
From £89.99
Buttermere — Layered Papercut Travel Poster
From £89.99
A poem for Buttermere
Standing by the shore alone
The early air is sharp enough to strike,
The water lies as heavy as a stone;
A pale sun clears the edge of Fleetwith Pike,
And I am standing by the shore alone.
I hear the distant rush of Sour Milk Gill,
The winter rime is clinging to the trees;
The shadowed valley settles, damp and still,
Without the slightest movement of a breeze.
The silver moisture gathers on my skin,
The peaty earth is yielding at my tread;
The deep and iron quiet enters in,
And clears the tangled thinking from my head.
When months have passed, upon a busy street,
Far from the open fell and quiet sky,
I feel the frosted shingle at my feet,
And hold the heavy water in my eye.
An original poem about a winter morning on the shore, lettered onto an illustrated print in linocut or watercolour style. A4 or A3, framed or unframed.
Wall calendar
A year at Buttermere
Twelve months of one lake through the seasons of 2027, a picture for each month above its page of dates. A4, opening to A3 on the wall. £24.99.
On the wall
Buttermere at home
A few of the Buttermere paintings, shown in the kind of rooms they are made for.
Wainwright's fells
The fells around Buttermere
Twelve of Wainwright's 214 fells stand within four kilometres of the lake. These are the eight you meet first. Heights are Wainwright's own, in feet.
High Stile
The top of the long ridge on the lake's south-western side.
Red Pike
Above Bleaberry Tarn, whose stream falls to the lake as Sourmilk Gill.
High Crag
The south-eastern end of the ridge, above the head of the lake.
Haystacks
Wainwright's favourite. His ashes were scattered by Innominate Tarn, on its top.
Fleetwith Pike
Its long ridge rises straight from the head of the lake.
Robinson
The broad fell across the lake, above Newlands Hause.
Whiteless Pike
The pointed top above Rannerdale.
Rannerdale Knotts
A low, craggy fell between Crummock Water and Rannerdale.All 214, on one sheet
Read more
Guides to the valley and around it
Rannerdale, springA Guide to Rannerdale Bluebells: When to Go & What to See
Discover when to see the unusual open-fell Rannerdale bluebells and find practical tips for your visit. Then, bring the vibrant spring valley...
Including Scale ForceLake District Waterfalls: Where to Find the Best Drops
Discover the finest Lake District waterfalls, from Aira Force to Scale Force. Find out where they are, how high they drop, and...
Including HonisterA Complete Guide to Lake District Passes: Roads and Walking Routes
Discover the highest mountain roads and fell walking routes in the Lake District. Learn about the steep gradients of Hardknott and the...
The 214How Many Wainwrights Are There? The Complete Guide to the 214 Fells
Discover exactly how many Wainwrights there are, which fells are the highest and lowest, and where to start if you want to...
Commissions
Your own Buttermere
A view of your own, or a memory of a day here: the walk, the weather, the people and the dog who were with you. Send a photograph or just tell us about it, and one of our artists will paint it in the style you choose.
New from Buttermere
Be the first to see new Buttermere work
New paintings, posters and prints of Buttermere are added all the time. Leave your email and we'll tell you when they arrive.
Around Buttermere
The places within a short walk, and what has been painted there.
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High Stile · 1.9 km
Sunlit Ridge on High Stile
Regular price From £59.99 GBPRegular priceSale price From £59.99 GBP -
High Crag · 2.1 km
High Crag and Sunlit Tarn
Regular price From £59.99 GBPRegular priceSale price From £59.99 GBP -
Robinson · 2.2 km
Blue Shadows on Robinson Fell
Regular price From £59.99 GBPRegular priceSale price From £59.99 GBP -
Rannerdale Knotts · 2.6 km
Sunlit Ridge of Rannerdale Knotts
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Rannerdale · 2.7 km
Rannerdale Fellside Over Crummock Water
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Rannerdale · 2.7 km
Bold Rannerdale Bluebells Over Crummock
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Rannerdale · 2.7 km
Lone Tree Above Crummock Water
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Rannerdale · 2.7 km
Geometric Rannerdale and Crummock Water
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Crummock Water · 2.8 km
Graphic Fells Above Crummock Water
Regular price From £59.99 GBPRegular priceSale price From £59.99 GBP★★★★★ -
Crummock Water · 2.8 km
Vibrant Bluebells Above Crummock Water
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Crummock Water · 2.8 km
Rannerdale View of Crummock Water
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Crummock Water · 2.8 km
Cloud Break Over Crummock Water
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