Planning a 4-5 day Lake District trip. Is it easy enough to get around by bus? We’d like to explore Windermere and Ullswater/Keswick. Better to stay in one hotel and travel out each day or split our time between the two locations in two separate hotels?
Coming from Newcastle and planning to stop at Hadrian’s wall as well if you have tips for that!
Within the Central lake district it's pretty easy in season (Easter to late October) to get around by bus.
Down the main Keswick to Kendal spine buses are every hour, in the core Grasmere to Windermere section every 20 minutes- open top buses on that core section for the best sights. Windermere to Ullswater and on to Penrith are every 2 hours.
Also hourly buses from Ambleside to Hawkshead and Coniston and to Langdale, and over the mountain pass of Honister (and it' slate mine) there is a hourly very scenic circular ride from Keswick
Don't miss ferry trips on any or all of Windermere, Ullswater, Derwentwater (Keswick), Coniston.
Winter services are a lot thinner.
You can currently get a weekly ticket for all buses in Cumbria (and further afield) for £32 (fares will go up a bit at Easter). That does actually include the bus from Newcastle to Carlisle (although that is a slow route- train is a lot faster) then on to Keswick and the Lake District.
I would say stay in one place, not that important where- Keswick, Grasmere, Ambleside, Windermere- as it's so easy to get around.
Hadrian's Wall is best done with a car. But from Newcastle it can be done by train to Hexham, then Go North East run a broadly hourly Hadrian's Wall bus which links all the main sites.
The best idea would be to stay in Hexham for 2 or 3 days to do the wall, then catch the hourly 685 bus from Hexham mid morning for transfer to Keswick changing at Carlisle onto the lunchtime 554 bus. If going on to Windermere the 554 does a straight transfer onto the 555 at Keswick.
Thank you! We’re coming in June. Glad we don’t need to rent a car! Is there enough to do in Hexham for 2-3 nights?
As of now, our itinerary:
-Fly into Edinburgh
-Newcastle
-Was thinking just a day for Hadrian’s wall on the way to lakes
-Lakes
(Maybe add York OR Glasgow)
-Back out of Edinburgh
While Hexham is a lovely town with a splendid Abbey, I personally wouldn't choose Hexham as a base for Hadrian's Wall. Haltwhistle would be a better choice as it gives quick access to the best bits of the wall.
If flying from Edinburgh I would say to have the last night in Glasgow, rather than York. If the rail line from York to Edinburgh had a problem, then there is no alternative. From Glasgow to Edinburgh there are 5 rail routes, and a very frequent 24 hour coach service which goes direct to EDI airport, so you always have an alternative.
Haltwhistle and Hexham are both on the same train and bus route from Newcastle to Carlisle, and both are on the Hadrian's wall bus routes (AD122 and 185). Haltwhistle is a small town and the geographical centre of Britain, and makes a lot of that. Hexham is much larger, with big supermarkets and an independently owned Movie Theatre with a pub on the ground floor. Very much personal choice. How long you allow there depends on what you want to do on the wall. If you just want to see the wall and visit one of the forts allow a day. If you want to go walking the wall or part of it on the central core stretch, and visit each or most of the big forts allow 2 or 3 nights.
The unlimited travel Hadrian's wall bus pass in 2022 cost £12.50 for 1 day or £25 for 3 days.
The Bus times to Keswick are Hexham depart 0826, Haltwhistle 0906, Carlisle a 1000, depart 1100 Keswick a 1215 depart 1230 (and hourly to 1930) Grasmere a 1300, Ambleside a 1315, Windermere a 1333, or Hexham 0941 (then hourly) Haltwhistle 1018 Carlisle a 1105, depart 1200 or 1600, Keswick a 1315 or 1720.
To get from the Lakes to Glasgow- Windermere d 0909, Ambleside 0929, Grasmere 0945, Keswick a 1014 (hourly), change bus depart 1020 and hourly, Penrith Rail Station a 1102 (this is not as tight as it looks as you can change in the southern suburbs of Keswick if the 555 is a bit late, the drivers are very helpful). There is a train from Penrith to Glasgow at least hourly which takes less than 90 minutes. There is also a 1030 connection to Carlisle from Keswick, arrive 1150, then the same trains but in Carlisle it's a walk between bus and rail stations, so Penrith is the better route.
There is also a bus direct from Windermere to Penrith via Ullswater at 0925 (then every 2 hours), arrive Penrith Rail Station 1109.
If you decide on York as your last stay, catch a bus to Carlisle as above, then the train over the scenic Settle Carlisle railway at 1340, Leeds arr 1605, very frequent trains to York.
Thanks for the tips! We were leaning toward Glasgow over York, and I think your advice confirms it. I’ll do my research on Hadrian’s wall. At first I thought, “oh we should stop and see that historical thing.” :) Now I realize it’s more extensive, so I’ll talk to my sister and see how much we want to explore.
Glasgow over York, NO, NO, NO.
York is so much more.
Looking at some options for walking Hadrian's Wall. I found Hadrian's Haul, a service that takes your bags during your hike. Using the AD122 bus service, would it be pretty straightforward to walk from Chollerford to about Vinolanda? Then we would take public transport to Carlisle. The best option might be to ride the bus back to Hexham and take the train. Seems to be one of the more popular stretches of wall. We can probably handle a 10-13 mile day hike. Any tips for the best section?
The prevailing wind is from the west so usually it's better to take this from Vindolanda to Chollerford.
The other reason is that, if you're tiring, from about 2 miles east of Housesteads you're pretty much adjacent to the Military Road (the bus route) so can just hail a bus down as it passes.
The key section of wall is from Birdoswald to Chollerford, but that's too far in a day.
There is a case for saying to do Birdoswald to Twice Brewed (about 10 miles) which ends at the 'The Sill' national park visitor centre at Once Brewed with the bus leaving from the very close by Twice Brewed (these are place names, but Twice Brewed does have a good pub), then Vindolanda to Chollerford next day.
Bear in mind that you have three big forts to visit on the Vindolanda to Chollerford section- Vindolanda, Housesteads and Chesters.
Personally I can't choose between the Birdoswald to Twice Brewed and the Vindolanda to Chollerford sections.
Then yes hop on a train to Carlisle at the end of the day. Do not take that train on a Saturday evening after 7pm as it's full of revellers, and gets very lively.
While in Hexham, if you're into Indian Food do not miss The Valley Restaurant at Corbridge (the next station towards Newcastle). It is in the old station building and gets rave reviews. Every night of the week the Restaurant block books one carriage of a service train from Newcastle to take people to the Restaurant with the experience and drinks starting on the train- the "Passage to India" train. There is also now a branch restaurant in Hexham- Cilantro. The food will be just as good, but The Valley is the authentic experience.
Also when you are transferring to Hexham try to fit in a visit to Segedunum Fort, Roman Baths and Museum at Wallsend, east of Newcastle. It has an adjacent Tyne and Wear Metro station with very frequent service. If you have time it's well worth it.
The best section of the Roman Wall is from Housesteads Fort west to Steel Rigg and then over Winshields (the highest point of the wall) before dropping down to Cawfields Picnic site. It takes you past the remains of milecastles and turrets as well as stunning scenery. From here you can drop down to Haltwhistle following the path down Haltwhistle Burn. Then catch the train to Carlisle.
This is about 7 miles walk, but can feel a lot longer as there is quite a bit of up and down to it! The Milecastle Inn is a good place for food or a drink!
Details and map of the Haltwhislte Burn walk here.
https://tvcrp.org.uk/images/OpenInWinter/Haltwhistle_Burn_to_Cawfields-2.pdf
By the way the government £2 bus fare cap is now confirmed as remaining in place. At the time of writing Go North East have NOT yet confirmed (4 days out) that they are remaining in the scheme (I have been in e-mail communication with them today concerning this, as they gave wrong information to another forum member on the validity of the £2 cap on the AD122 service)
We did take our trip! The £2 bus fare was a great benefit in the Lakes. The buses are great all over the district, but be flexible with the time table and make sure you have plenty of margin to get back in the afternoon! On weekdays that aren’t holiday hours, some buses run as far apart as every two hours.
I also recommend staying in Keswick. Derwentwater is a beautiful small lake and the pencil museum is fantastic!
Sarah, I’d love to hear more about your trip. I’m thinking about a trip to the lake district flying in and out of Edinburgh. And another recent post has me thinking I could combine the lake district with Northumbria.
