STUNNING STAYCATION BREAKS

THE NORTH WEST

1 The Lake District

It’s a national park and a world heritage site, with mild winters, cool summers and an awful lot of rain – around 80 inches a year - but not enough to deter the millions who visit one of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes. They come for the views of mountains, plunging into long lakes that have filled valleys carved by glaciers. This is serious walking country, with four of its peaks - Scafell Pike, Scafell, Helvellyn and Skiddaw – topping 3000 feet.

Catbells, at 1481 feet, is one of the more accessible fells and is a favourite with families. It offers 360-degree panoramic views that take in Derwentwater, Keswick, Skiddaw, Blencathra and the Western Fells.

Cruise boats on Windermere, Derwentwater, Coniston Water and Ullswater get you to points of interest. Cruise the five-mile long Coniston Water, where Donald Campbell attempted his speed records, on the rebuilt Victorian steam yacht Gondola, or catch one of the vintage boats plying Ullswater, said to be the most beautiful lake in England. It’s also one of the deepest, plunging to 205 feet, and is known as the Dark Lake. In medieval times it was believed to be home to monsters and during World War II it was used to test mini-submarines.

Pottering about

Towns around the lakes accommodate those wet-weather days, but there are other places to visit. These include The World of Beatrix Potter at Bowness-on-Windermere; Beatrix Potter’s house, Hill Top, at Near Sawrey, Hawkshead; the Ruskin Museum, the Lakeland Motor Museum, Wordsworth’s House, the Keswick Museum, the Pencil Museum, and Lowther, Muncaster and Sizergh castles.

The area’s mining heritage should not be forgotten. Graphite, copper, silver, lead and slate have all been mined here and a visit to the famous slate mines and the daredevil walks of the Via Ferrata Classic and Ferrata Xtreme at Honister give you some idea of the kind of conditions that the miners had to endure.

CORNWALL

2 The coastal towns

This ancient county is rugged and mysterious, with an industr of tin mining that dates back 4000 years and a 700-year histor of disreputable smuggling activities. It’s a place of myths and legends, of rock-throwing giants and, of course, the noble King Arthur. It is also one of the prettiest counties in England: warmed by the Gulf Stream, it has a sub-tropical climate, producing exotic