Lake District - One location - many walks/hikes

Well I didn't know that Rick mentions Keswick, but I was going to. Oh well.. sorry.

If Keswick is the best than Keswick is ok....

We were walking from Grasmere to Patterdale in 2006 during the weekend of the Ullswater Walking Festival. Patterdale was the center of many walking opportunities including Helvellyn and Striding Edge. (Patterdale is closer to Helvellyn than Keswick).

Close to Glenridding at the foot of Ullswater is the small village of
Patterdale – another popular area for walkers for Helvellyn and the
surrounding fells and peaks.

The village caters today largely for walkers and day trippers.

The Walking Festival link describes a number of walks: http://www.ullswater.co.uk/walking_festival.htm

One of the prettiest tarn, if not the prettiest, is Angle Tarn:

Walk 2 Angle Tarn GRADE: Red Length Approx 5 miles Duration Allow
4-4.5 hours Start / Finish 12.30 - Patterdale Pay & Display Car Park,
opposite the Patterdale Hotel Ascent 410m About the walk: A beautiful
circular walk with lovely vistas of Ullswater, Brotherswater and views
to some of the more Southerly fells.

You could continue past Angle Tarn to Kidsty Pike marking the edge of the Lake District:
http://www.lakedistrict-walks.co.uk/2010/April/4.4.2010_Kidsty_Pike.html

Thanks Edgar! All advice is welcome!

I was in the Lake District in early June and stayed in Keswick during their mountain festival. We also visited a number of the other towns in the area. Keswick is by far the best place to stay even with the crowds. Lots of accommodation choices and easy to walk around town. It is a real town, not just a tourist place. The other towns are either very small (maybe 1 pub and a few B&Bs) or full of nothing but restaurants and outdoor stores. RS is correct on the town.

the big question is how will you arrive? And where from?

as for local buses within the area, you can see the main operators guide for this summer https://issuu.com/emmanattrass/docs/cnl_summer_2017_lakes_connection_bo

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/cumbria-and-north-lancashire/buses-to-the-lake-district

Since you wish to stay in one place and take walks and local transport from there, have you considered a week with HF Holidays? This is a cooperative that owns various country houses which are used as bases for guided or unguided walking. Non-members can sign up for the holidays as well. They have two houses to choose fromminnthe Lake District; find them on this page::

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/country-houses/

You get room, full board, and guided walking or access to lots of maps and guidebooks if you prefer to venture on your own. The facilities, food, and camaraderie are all wonderful. You can choose a 3-night, 4-night, or 7-night stay, or can divide a week between two houses if you want.

We spend a 3-night stay at Derwentwater (near Keswick, but not in town) in late May last year and were very impressed. We had a lovely room facing the lake, looking over the pheasant-studded lawn. We signed up for unguided walking but changed to the guided walks once we realized how convenient they were, with transport provided, and good company. Some dates they offer interest-focused programmes ( photography, local history, culture, etc.) with van tours in addition to the scheduled walks.

We will happily return and join them for another walking holiday. It is a particularly good option if you want to see the Lake District without a car.

Thank you all for this information! I think we might be changing the timing to September so it gives us more time to plan. We may or may not have a car. We will be arriving in London from either Bruges or Amsterdam as we will be on a "beercycling" tour (check it out Portland, OR based company) September 1-5 starting in Bruges. We thought to add England on to the end of that trip makes sense as we can just book flights home either from London or Edinburgh if we venture up there.

There are direct fast trains from London to Oxenholme (local connection to Kendal and Windermere) or Penrith. Journey time to Penrith is 3 hours, at least 2 hours faster than driving non-stop. These leave London Euston station hourly but some only call at one of the pair of Lakes stations.

Penrith and Oxenholme also have direct trains into Manchester Airport most hours or Edinburgh city centre roughly 2 hourly.

If you are into beer you'll be wanting to visit this place http://www.kirkstonepassinn.com/

and this http://www.hawksheadbrewery.co.uk/brewery/brewery-tours.aspx

and this http://keswickbrewery.co.uk/

to name but a few.......

Thanks SteveB we will definitely be adding those to our list! Cheers

If you are into beer you'll be wanting to visit this place http://www.kirkstonepassinn.com/

Kirkstone Pass Inn would be a long walk from Windermere or Patterdale and it's uphill. You can reach the Inn with bus service:
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/
Bus 508 runs over Kirkstone Pass between Windermere and Patterdale.

PS I understand that Stanley the Inn's English Bulldog retired with the former owners of the Inn.

Not to be redundant or unimaginative, but I'll join the Keswick chorus because of its easy public transportation to walking opportunities. There's a local bus that makes a loop past numerous trailheads, allowing you to walk from one stop to another over the hills. Also a tour boat that circles Derwentwater with stops for walkers. You can walk along the shore and catch the boat again, or away from the lake and connect with the loop bus or another. Here are some descriptions and timetables.

You will want Ordnance Survey maps. The Explorer series (1:25000) shows footpaths.
English (Lakes NW (Keswik is on the right/eastern edge) and EnglishLakes NE (Patterdale on the left/western edge of map):

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/maps/explorer-map-the-lake-district-north-western-area.html
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/explorer-map-the-lake-district-north-eastern-area.html

If you get the paper version you will need a waterproof map case.

I would suggest Ambleside. You can get the bus from Windermere Station, there are plenty of B&Bs and two or three decent pubs, and you can walk the Horseshoe or over to the Britannia Inn at Elterwater, or get the minibus to Langdale, which has more walks than you could shake a stick at and from where you can take the best way up Scafell Pike.

Thanks for all your comments and ideas! This will be very helpful for our planning! Donna

Here is another vote for HF Holidays
HF Holidays link

I've used them in Lake District and in Cotswolds - wonderful walking/trek trips.
All inclusive.

We have been going to the Lake District every couple of years since 1991 and we almost always stay in Keswick unless we have a car. Since you are relying on public transport then it's the logical choice since it has the bus hub that will get you just about anywhere in the Lakes.
I know that you weren't looking for that answer but it really is the best place...the Lakes were discovered long before Rick ever got there (it's been popular with tourists since the 1800s) so most everywhere is plenty crowded, especially in the months you will be there. Now that it's been designated a Unesco World Heritage Site it's just going to get worse. Anywhere along the A591 road, where you need to be to access the buses, will be quite touristy. In my opinion, Keswick is much less compact than all of the other towns along that route and therefore seems a little less crowded to me.
If you are determined to avoid Keswick then you are limited to Windermere, Grasmere and/or Ambleside. Anywhere else and you'll be at the mercy of the bus schedule, which is often quite limited for the towns off the main road. We've tried it and it makes your days quite short since the last buses run out to those towns around 5PM at the latest.

Just a slightly different note but have you considered flying into one of the northern airports. Humberside, Leeds/Bradford or Manchester among others. All nearer to the lakes and I'm sure have direct regular flights from the continent.