Red Squirrel Watching in the Lake District

About the Lake District red squirrel population

The red squirrel population in the Lake District is one of the largest in England. The combination of continuous conifer woodland across the central fells, active grey squirrel control programmes, and the geographical semi-isolation of Cumbria has allowed the red squirrel to persist here while disappearing from almost everywhere else in England.

Grey squirrels carry squirrelpox virus, which is lethal to red squirrels. Greys were introduced to Britain in the 1870s and have displaced reds across most of England and Wales. In the Lake District, Forestry England and the Red Squirrel Survival Trust carry out targeted grey squirrel control, which is why the red squirrels are still here. Without this work the reds would have gone within a decade.

The Lake District red squirrel population is therefore a managed population, not a purely wild one. Understanding this is part of understanding what you are watching. The conservation effort is real, ongoing, and consequential. The squirrels at the Grizedale feeders are alive because people are working to keep them alive.

Grizedale Forest

Grizedale visitor centre (LA22 0QJ) is the most reliable red squirrel site in the southern Lakes. Forestry England maintains feeders adjacent to the visitor centre and the squirrels are habituated to human presence. Early morning visits, particularly between 8am and 11am, give the best chance of squirrel activity at the feeders. Car park charges apply.

Away from the feeders, red squirrels range throughout the forest. The Ridding Wood Trail and the Courthouse Trail both pass through squirrel habitat. Quiet movement and occasional stops give the best chance of squirrel sightings in the woodland proper. Listen for the sound of squirrels moving through branches — a rustling and occasional dropped cone fragments are often the first indication of a squirrel above you.

Autumn is particularly good. The squirrels are actively caching food for winter, carrying large mouthfuls of cones and nuts with surprising speed. They are often seen on the forest floor at this time, digging small holes to bury food. Winter, when the canopy is bare, makes aerial movement through the trees easier to see.

Whinlatter Forest

Whinlatter Forest Park above Braithwaite (CA12 5TW) is the northern Lakes' main red squirrel site. The visitor centre maintains a red squirrel camera system — live feeds from the feeder areas allow viewing without disturbing the animals. There is also a red squirrel trail through the woodland with marked viewing spots and information boards.

The Whinlatter area is England's only mountain forest — the fells above the visitor centre reach over 500 metres and the forest has a different character from the lower-lying Grizedale. The trails through the spruce and larch give good red squirrel habitat, and the combination of fell walking and wildlife watching makes Whinlatter a full-day destination.

The visitor centre cafe at Whinlatter is better than you might expect. Worth planning around, particularly on a cold morning before a wildlife walk.

RSPB Haweswater and other sites

RSPB Haweswater (CA10 2LX) has red squirrels around the feeders near the hide car park. This gives the unusual combination of squirrel watching and osprey watching in the same visit from April to August. The Woodland Trust and National Trust properties across the Lake District also hold red squirrel populations — any mature conifer woodland on higher ground is worth checking.

The key habitat indicator is mature conifer woodland, particularly spruce and Scots pine. Red squirrels feed heavily on conifer seeds, extracting them from cones with the characteristic rapid rotation of the cone against the lower teeth. A scatter of stripped cones below a tree is reliable evidence of squirrel activity.

Urban and garden sightings are unusual in the Lake District — the squirrels here are woodland animals and not habituated to garden feeders in the way the familiar grey squirrel is. If you are staying in the villages near Grizedale or Whinlatter, sightings at the edge of the woodland near accommodation are possible but not reliable. Go to the sites with maintained feeders for guaranteed sightings.

Identification and behaviour

Red squirrels are smaller than grey squirrels and more slender. The ear tufts are the most immediately distinctive feature in winter — long, prominent, and clearly visible. In summer the ear tufts are reduced and the animals can appear more similar to grey squirrels. The colour is variable: in winter the back is a rich chestnut-red; in summer many individuals appear brownish or even grey-brown on the back, which confuses people. The key features are the ear tufts, the smaller size, and the white underparts with a sharp demarcation from the back colour.

Behaviour is similar to grey squirrels — rapid movement, cache-burying in autumn, territorial chasing between individuals. Red squirrels are generally more nervous than habituated grey squirrels and will move away if approached too closely. At the feeder sites they are relatively tolerant of quiet observers but will retreat if disturbed.