Oxenholme Lake District - Day trip or Not?

We stayed in Keswick for three nights for our visit to the Lake District in October 2017. We had a rental car and drove around for a full day, driving a large circle around a huge lake (as Rick Steves guide to GB indicates). I can't imaging trying to visit the Lake District on a day trip from London.

Not a day trip. Stay overnight.

And what pictures are you referring to?

pictures https://www.visitbritain.com/us/en/england/northern-england/lake-district

Al least overnight, preferably two nights in the Lake District. Consider continuiing from Oxenholme via train to Windermere: https://www.thetrainline.com/train-times/oxenholme-lake-district-to-windermere

What to do in Windermere: https://www.visitcumbria.com/things-to-do-windermere/
That said, Windermere is very "touristy".

If you think the pictures are beautiful, just wait until you get to the the Lake District; it's lovely. You'll never want to leave.

Definitely plan a multi-day trip. Perhaps one or two nights in Windermere and one or two nights in Keswick. I recommend the Crow Park Hotel in Keswick and the Dog and Gun pub for food and drink.

Thank you all for your help.

Not a day trip. Oxenholm Lake District is a station on the mainline to Scotland where people transfer from express trains to a train that goes up the branch line to Windermere - which is on a massive lake with mountains at the north end. You would need a few days to see all the lakes. The Lake District is incredibly beautiful but is also the wettest part of England - especially in the autumn.

https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/tickets-and-savings/ways-to-save/benefits is the train company that operates the express trains between London (Euston) and Oxenholm - on their way to Scotland. Should you go, DO NOT buy a ticket from EUS > Windermere as it will be VERY expensive. Buy an Advance (specific train) ticket from EUS > Oxenholm. To get from Oxenholm to Windermere you would need an off peak single for £6.70. I checked for Advanced fares in November & got EUS > Oxenholm for £30.90. The fare for October is more like £54. (To get the cheapest Advance fares, you need to book around 10 weeks out). Buying a through ticket for EUS > Windermere is more like £86.20 so it pays to split the ticket at Oxenholm. (Different split points would apply to reduce the price in the unlikely event of doing this as a day return).

Hi -

As others have so astutely pointed out, this really is a multi day trip. You can’t see the Lake District in any sort of detail in one day. Or in my case, a lifetime! It’s big (by U.K. standards) and if you hike at all, there’s a ton of stuff to do and see. Even if taking to the hills on foot is not your thing, there’s still an enormous amount of stuff to do.

Here’s the thing. There’s nothing much at Oxenholme bar the railway station (calling it a station is somewhat over egging the pudding) where the express trains stop, somewhat implausibly, to connect with a branch line through to the Lake District - to Kendal and then on to Windermere to be precise. Once at Windermere the railway ends, but there are buses on hand (some not terribly frequent) to take you to other parts of the Lakes including Keswick, quite a bit further north. The bus number for Keswick is (certainly was) 555 and it also calls at Ambleside and Grasmere. Of course, transferring from train(s) to bus means the lighter you can travel, the more comfortable you’ll be. Do go thoroughly equipped though if heading into the hills.

The photographs are good, but they don’t do it justice. If the weather cooperates, in person, it’s stunning. Please feel free to ask if you have any further questions (the info about rail tickets is good and necessary to avoid paying through the nose). Hope you make it and have a great trip!

Ian

Oxenholme is outside the Lake District, a small station and village on the main line from London Euston to Scotland. There's nothing there, but you can take the train to Windermere the 20 miles or so that is in the Lake District.

Its not 20 miles its just over 10 from Oxenholme to Windermere
Kendal is nearby
There is a nice walk that starts next to Windermere Station to Orrest Head viewpoint