We will doing an organized hiking trip in the Yorkshire Dales/Lake District for a week in July. The itinerary includes Grassington, Haworth, Clapham, Hawkshead, Lake Windermere, Lake Derwentwater and Langdale Pikes. We thought it would be nice to stay an extra day or two in the area to relax (!) as we’ve never been there before.
I’ve looked at Windermere (where the trip ends) and Keswick, but would appreciate any suggestions. We will not have a car and will be returning to London by train. Thank you for your input!
Posted by
Lake District, England
8134 posts
Have you booked your train to London yet?- if so from which station?
Anywhere in the Central Lakes (like Windermere or Keswick) is going to be busy in July- which is peak season.
Also what is your budget?
So you want to be somewhere with easy access to the area, but a little bit away from things.
In the Keswick area one of the smaller villages such as Threlkeld would be good on a low to medium budget (still on the 1/2 hourly bus route to Keswick and Penrith). Back o' Bassenthwaite there are a number of nice hotels on the hourly X4 route to Keswick and Penrith. If you were in the splurge category I would suggest Armathwaite Hall . For less money- in a really nice historic town the Trout Hotel at Cockermouth would be nice.
In the Windermere area Staveley (several places to stay) or the Watermill Inn at Ings would be nice choices. Both are on the main 555 bus route. The quiet part of 'Windermere' is the area on the Barrow road just past Bowness steamer pier.- quite a few places down there.
In the splurge category, and a place with an interesting history, think about Storrs Hall (on the newly improved Barrow to Windermere bus route). Or another nice place with easy train and bus access is The Swan Hotel at Newby Bridge.
Another lovely place (at the south end of the Windermere 'steamer' route) would be the Lakeside Hotel, There are some nice gentle walks in that area, as well as the Bobbin Mill, the adjacent Aquarium, the Steam Railway, the Motor museum at Backbarrow.
Then start your journey to London in style- boat from outside the front door to Bowness, open top bus up the hill to Windermere station, then train.
Posted by
OP
Sonoma
15 posts
Hi isn31c,
Thank you so much for your suggestions. Very helpful! After researching your recommendations, we decided on the area around Bowness. And I love your suggestion of a boat ride, then open air bus, to the train station! A perfect way to end our trip!