Beginning itinerary for Oxford and Lake District trip

Manchester Airport (assuming you want to stay near the airport?) to Oxford by train is a bear. 3:20 plus or minus with one or two changes and then being stuck on Cross Country trains with one or two changes. Not my cup of tea. That said, when I flew into Manchester (30 years or so ago from DFW) it wasn't a bad experience.

There is an easy bus from Heathrow to Oxford (don't know the duration but not silly), or the Heathrow Express or TfL Rail to Paddington (15 minutes), train from Paddington to Oxford about an hour.

When you fly home from the Lake District Manchester is a good choice.

Won't you go to Hilltop? If you get a membership in the National Trust or Royal Oak Foundation in the US (are you from the US?) you get free parking at many carparks in the Lake District and free admission into many properties.

You might consider flying into Heathrow and flying home from Manchester. You could then travel from Heathrow to Oxford which is a much shorter and more pleasant trip after a long flight than taking the train from Manchester.

From Oxford, you could take a train to Oxenholme or Kendal and rent a car there. It looks as if the train from Oxford to Oxenholme takes less time than the one to Manchester, plus you’re on the edge of the Lake District when you rent your car.

Last year, I took the train from London to Oxenholme, rented a car there and stayed in Keswick. After returning the car, I took the train to Manchester and flew home from there.

I used Enterprise Car Rental in Kendal. They will pick you up from Oxenholme if you can’t get a train to Kendal.

All the best,

Raymond

Would it make the most sense to fly into Manchester as a midway point
between the two destinations? Here's my rough outline so far.

An open jaw ticket would make the most sense. There are frequent coaches between Heathrow to Oxford that takes about 80-90 minutes. Birmingham airport could also be an option, but Manchester is just too far away in my opinion when there are closer alternatives.

We spent three nights in Keswick in the Lake District in 2017 as well as visiting Oxford. It was a four week drive tour of Wales and England.

Not sure why you feel compelled to take the train to Manchester after visiting Oxford? You can pick up your car in Oxford and drive to the Lake District. That way you avoid a big city like Manchester.

At the end of our Lake District stay, we drove all the way to Winchester. Traffic was a bit heavy outside of Birmingham, but nothing terrible.
Having a car in the Lake District is important, so you can drive around and view the scenic vistas.

I hope someone will address your question about accommodations, which I suspect you need to be working on now, since the Lake District is so popular with UK residents as well as foreign visitors. In the meantime, I suggest you begin looking at what is available on booking.com. You may find that early July is a bit more open that late July (or not). I say this after having massive difficulties finding lodging in the Scottish Highlands for the trip I made this summer. Of course, with a car you'll have the flexibility to stay in places off the bus lines.

Hi kat.rac -

Should you have booked six months ago? Possibly, to get the best sites, but you still should be able to secure accommodation in the Lakes if you get working on it now. Looking on booking.com as previously recommended is a good start as is a map of the Lakes to see where the accommodation is - I’m amazed how far out of Keswick some of the places that come up under Keswick are. You might also check out the website for Cumbrian Cottages who have an office in Keswick.

I’m afraid that I can’t promise that the Lakes won’t be bedlam in the summer. The towns certainly will be, but once you get into the hills, on foot, it’s a lot quieter. I’m amazed by how many people never go further than the towns. Even if the out of town parking spaces are busy, the hills swallow a whole lot of people!

If you can’t get what you want in Keswick, check out Rosthwaite at the foot of Derwentwater, south of Keswick and maybe Braithwaite to the west. North of Keswick check out Bassenthwaite village. During the summer our friends rented a house/cottage in Ireby which is ‘back o’Skidda’ (behind Skiddaw, the mountain that looms over Keswick). It was very quiet had a couple of pubs within walking distance and plenty of on street parking. Not really in honeypots of the Lakes, but a twenty minute drive took us down past Bassenthwaite Lake into Keswick and beyond.

Further south I like Langdale (Elterwater) and Coniston but these might be a bit too far south for you. In the north I like Glenridding and Patterdale near Ullswater. I would avoid - especially in the summer months - Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside and Grasmere especially. Fine to visit but manic.

Dig out that map and start having a look what your options are!

Ian

Thanks, everyone! This has been super helpful! I don't know why I didn't think about flying into London and out of Manchester, but that seems to make a lot more sense and we could get to Oxford the first day we arrive. The downside is that we'll have to splurge for nicer accommodations for at least one night (we want try to stay in one of the colleges, but I'll need someplace that I know is going to be quiet and cushy the first night in).

In terms of renting a car in Oxford versus taking a train up to the Lake District, we'll have to look at options (cost versus time), but it probably makes sense to just rent in Oxford. It does make travel a bit more stressful (navigating unfamiliar roads) but the time difference likely tip the scales.

Thank you for the recommendations of places in the Lakes to look into for accommodations. We are not deterred by going off the beaten path! (One of our favorite vacations was spent way up on one of the peninsula on Skye.)

Just to throw in one more wild card -- if there was a different destination that you would recommend instead of the Lake District, perhaps a lot closer to Oxford, where might that be? Beautiful, hiking, not too crowded...

For another option, what about somewhere in Wales?

I’d definitely fly in to London instead. The bus to Oxford takes about 1 hour 20 min. I did that over the summer and it was easy to get to, didn’t cost as much as the train and didn’t require transfers like the train. Driving in oxford wasn’t as bad as I had expected. Parking is just the part you have to figure out, or just plan to pick up the car and immediately depart Oxford.

I'll throw in the Peak District as another option. It has hiking and many points of interest, but is less heavily touristed than the Lake District.

The Airline is the name of the bus service between Heathrow and Oxford. Very convenient and easy, picks up from several terminals and drops off at several locations in the middle of Oxford. I believe a pre-purchased ticket is good for a time window that allows for flight delays.

Working with a map and the National Rail website, you might find a train from Oxford to a location close enough to the Lake District to be worthwhile. Or see what Nigel recommends. ;-)

In Keswick we liked Badger's Wood Guesthouse, up a short hill from the center, with nice views from at least some rooms. Whether there or elsewhere, I'd suggest getting that room lined up as soon as you can.

The Derbyshire and Yorkshire Dales and Moors are dramatically closer.

But the Lakes is different. Then again, I love the Yorkshire Dales. And the Derbyshire Dales. All different, all fabulous views and terrific hiking.

If you are driving from Oxford to the Lakes, you will be A34/M40/M42/(M42 clockwise to M5 to M6)(M42 anticlockwise to M6) then M6 the rest of the way.

Be advised that M42 has very slow traffic at times, M5 leads into heavy traffic, M6 always has heavy traffic and pretty much contruction zones (putting in the infernal "smart" motorway crap) the full length of the motorway from Coventry to the Scottish border. Plan on narrow lanes, 40 mph or 50 mph averaging speed cameras throughout each zone, and a jolly good time had by all.

If taking the train north and then switching to a car is an option it is worth considering.

You will need a car if you go to Nidderdale or another Yorkshire Dale, or into the countryside of Derbyshire.

The only place remotely like the Lake District between there and Oxford is North Wales, specifically Snowdonia. Smaller than the Lakes, it also gets stupidly busy - see if you can find the pictures of thousands of hikers queueing for up to three hours to climb the last few feet to the summit of Snowden - I say hikers, but there’s also a train that brings people all the way to the summit, but not all of them in the queue by any means. Not my idea of getting away from it all!

The Yorkshire Dales - my backyard! - are indeed wonderful, although I suppose I am honour bound to think so! I would recommend the ‘Three Peaks’ area (the peaks in question are Penyghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough) which has excellent walking/hiking. If you can track down a copy of ‘Walks In Limestone Country’ by the legendary Alfred Wainwright (his major work was on the Lake District, but he didn’t restrict himself to there) the one slim volume will give you years of walking options. For accommodation in this area I would be looking around Ingleton, Clapham and more remote but delightful, Dent. Further afield is Hawes and there’s also Horton in Ribblesdale but these get very, very busy, especially at weekends.

Let me know if you need any further information if you decide to head in my direction!

Ian

Ah, Hawes. More cheese, Gromit?

If the dates work out, this country house right on Derwentwater ( just outside of Keswick) is available for 3 nights beginning 17/07:

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/country-houses/locations/derwent-bank

The price of £630 includes room plus all meals ( breakfast, packed lunch, and very nice 3-course dinner with choice of mains). The food is excellent. You sit at shared tables and meet the other guests, most of whom are there for the guided walking. You can choose "self-guided" and tour or walk on your own; they have a library corner with maps and suggestions for walks and drives. The lawn in the photo slopes down to the lake, and you can see the Cat Bells from there. We saw a pheasant strutting on the lawn from our window in the mornings.

People gather in the bar area for drinks before dinner, and for parlor games or more conversation afterward. The atmosphere is very friendly. To paraphrase Bill Bryson, we "liked this place a lot".

When we flew into Manchester, we picked up a car and stayed at a B & B with parking (you can arrange on line) just outside of Chester which is a great place to start an English Adventure. Get a www.nationaltrust.org.uk Overseas Visitor Touring Pass online and pick up at selected sites. Save a lot on admissions and parking is included. The Lakes will be super busy in July; but with a car you can stay at a Farmhouse like we did and enjoy inhouse dinner and drinks, too. I liked the Peaks District. You can visit Chatsworth while you are there, timed admission tickets can be ordered online. You can visit the Garden while waiting. When you are in Chester you are an easy run to Conwy Castle and Beaumaris Castle. If you stay overnight in Wales you can visit Caernarfon and Harlech. Visiting the castles of Wales are what I remember best. The Pembroke Coastal Trail in Wales is recommended by many casual walkers and dedicated hikers, too.

Thanks again so much everyone. After more deliberation, I think we will stick to the plan of the Lake District. Now trying to narrow down where to stay. We had looked into the HF Holidays self-guided walking tour as that sounds like something we'd like, but the dates don't work out for us. We will look at the areas surrounding Keswick to see if we can find something that suits our fancy that still has availability.

If you are going to have a car then you should stay in one of the outlying villages in the Lake District. During the summer the primary villages of Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, and Keswick are very crowded and busy. The road connecting them can also be bumper to bumper with traffic. I would suggest staying in Buttermere, Coniston, Portinscale, or one of the other places removed from the A591. You can drive in to see the main villages but I prefer to stay outside of them when I can. When I can't, I stay in Keswick. It's the most non-touristy of the main towns, although there are still plenty of tourists there. I've stayed at a great little BnB several times called Herdwick House - it just changed owners but it's a cozy little place 5 minutes walk from the town center.

Thanks everyone. For now, I was talked into staying in Keswick. A friend thought we would like being in walking distance of restaurants. I'm sure we will get out into the countryside daily. Fortunately, there was still good availability and we booked at Howe Keld based on RS's recommendation.

Despite warnings that it can be very busy, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it there. I do enjoy it myself! There’s lots of access to the fells not least to the ‘boat across Derwentwater, climb Catbells and walk back to Keswick via Portinscale’ walk (tea and cakes at Nichol End, the newish cafe at Beatrix Potter’s former holiday home or Portinscale) as featured in Mr Steves’s film on this site, plus Skiddaw behind the town and a little further afield, Blencathra. If these latter two are a bit big for your tastes, Latrigg, which overlooks the town, has great views - for the effort - from the top. And there’s the walks round Derwentwater (catch a launch back if necessary from part way round the lake) or to Castlerigg Circle, also as featured on this site. Your hotel is also, being on The Heads, is handy for the Theatre on the Lake. Loads to go at!

Have a great trip!

Ian