Lake District

Destinations in Lake District

Windermere

The Lake District is probably the most scenic area of England. The highest mountains in England overlook the largest lakes in a largely unspoilt national park stretching over several hundred square miles. The small towns and villages are connected by winding roads over narrow passes, which makes for some pretty interesting bus rides, even if you have to wait all day for the service. It is a good area for most outdoor activities, with walking and watersports aplenty, and activity centres able to organize days of climbing and rafting. If you're bored of London and want some fresh air, get it here.

Arriving by Plane.

The closest airport is Manchester, which is connected to the area by a fairly regular direct train service taking around 2 hours.

Arriving By Train.

The West Coast Main Line runs along the Eastern edge of the Lake District, with stations at Penrith and Oxenholme (with connections to Windermere). Virgin Trains run regular express trains to these stations from London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and are probably the best way into the area. TransPennine Express run slower trains from Manchester and Lancaster along the south of the Lake District to Barrow-in-Furness, and onward along the coast to Carlisle. Even if these slow trains aren't necessarily the quickest way into the Lakes, the route is quite scenic and market towns like Ulverston along the way are quite pleasant places in themselves. As usual, times and prices are available on the National Rail website.

Arriving By Coach.

National Express run a coach every day from London and Birmingham to Windermere with a journey time to London of around 8.5 hours.

Hostels

The Lake District is where Hostelling International membership really comes in handy. The Youth Hostel Association runs a fairly good network of small and medium sized hostels in the area which are perfect for keen walkers or cyclists. Unfortunately the Lake District lacks the bunkhouses which provide cheap basic accomodation in Scotland, but since the usual annoyances of HI hostels like lockouts and curfews are less likely to present a problem in an area with so little nightlife and so much wholesome fresh air to enjoy. The YHA website (linked above) is probably the best place to look for further information and booking.

Bed and breakfast

There are thousands of small bed and breakfast places scattered througout the Lakes. These vary from the out and out terrible - dirty and run by surly unelpful owners, to ones which provide a service well in excess of what you can expect from a hotel. Prices are not that hot, but compare pretty well to hostels if you are travelling in a pair. Unless you are arriving at peak season it is probably easier to arrive on the day and either walk around or get details of vacancies from the local tourist information office - this will allow you to look at the place before you take it, and give you a wider choice (although of course all the best accomodation may have been booked out in advance).