Rough Guide Staycations Lake District (Travel Guide eBook)

By Rough Guides

Rough Guides Staycations Lake District


Make the most of your time on Earth with the ultimate travel guides.

Inspirational and informative new pocket guide, making the most of holidaying at home in the UK through clearly laid-out walks and tours.

Explore the best of the Lake District with this unique travel guide, packed full of insider information and stunning images. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see, top attractions like Derwent Water, Lake Windermere and Tarn Hows, to discovering cultural gems, including visiting Wordsworth's home at Dove Cottage, wondering at Castlerigg's ancient stone circle, and taking a ride on an historic steamer on Ullswater, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking and driving routes will save you time, and help you plan and enhance your staycation in Lake District.

Features of this travel guide to Lake District:
- Eight walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat along the way
- Local highlights: discover the area's top sights and unique attractions, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Time-saving itineraries: carefully planned routes will help inspire and inform your on-the-road experiences
- Historical and cultural insights: learn more about the Lake District's rich history with fascinating cultural insights throughout
- Insider recommendations: where to stay and what to do, from active pursuits to themed trips
- Rainy day recommendations: uncover plenty of options, whatever the weather throws at you
- Practical full-colour maps: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
- Key tips and essential information: from transport to hours of operation, we've got you covered
- New for 2021: the latest guidance to all the places you should discover in the Lake District

- Covers: Kendal to Windermere, Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass, Coniston and Hawkshead, Keswick to Grasmere, Borrowdale and Buttermere, Around Skiddaw, The Western Lakes, and The Southwest

Looking for a comprehensive guide to England? Check out Rough Guides England for a detailed and entertaining look at all the country has to offer.

About Rough Guides: Rough Guides have been inspiring travellers for over 35 years, with over 30 million copies sold. Synonymous with practical travel tips, quality writing and a trustworthy 'tell it like it is' ethos, the Rough Guides list includes more than 260 travel guides to 120+ destinations, gift-books and phrasebooks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Oct 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781789197242

Rough Guides

Rough Guides are written by expert authors who are passionate about both writing and travel. They have detailed knowledge of the areas they write about--having either traveled extensively or lived there--and their expertise shines through on every page. It's priceless information, delivered with wit and insight, providing the down-to-earth, honest read that is the hallmark of Rough Guides.

Book preview

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How To Use This E-Book

This Staycation has been produced by the editors of Rough Guides, world-renowned ‘tell it like it is’ travel publishers. Make the most of your time on Earth with the ultimate travel guides.

Walks and Tours

The clearly laid-out walks and tours in this book feature options for walking or using public transport wherever possible. The emphasis is on family fun, wholesome outdoors activities, local festivals, and food and drink. There are loads of great holiday ideas: kids’ stuff, best beaches, historic pubs, literary connections, unique shops, and – crucially with our Great British weather – what to do on a rainy day.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments – options are shown in the ‘Eating Out’ box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink.

Directory

Also supporting the walks and tours is a Trips Tips section, with clearly organised practical information. There is a comprehensive round up of sports and activities in the destination, recommendations for themed holidays, plus our pick of the best places to stay.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Rough Guides

Rough Guides have been inspiring travellers for over 35 years, with over 30 million copies sold globally. Synonymous with practical travel tips, quality writing and a trustworthy ‘tell it like it is’ ethos, the Rough Guides list includes more than 260 travel guides to 120+ destinations, gift-books and phrasebooks.

© 2021 Apa Digital AG

License edition © Apa Publications Ltd UK

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Table of Contents

10 Things not to miss

Introduction to: The Lake District

Landscape

Geology

Climate

Farming

Food and Drink

Meat

Fish

Cakes and Sweets

Ale

Tour 1: Kendal to Windermere

Kendal

Riverside and museums

Anglicans and Quakers

Art and leisure

Burneside

Staveley

Kentmere

St Cuthbert’s Church

Windermere and Bowness

Soaking up the atmosphere

Blackwell

Lyth Valley

Cartmel Fell

Crosthwaite and Scout Scar

Tour 2: Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass

Penrith

Around Penrith

To Pooley Bridge

Ullswater

Glenridding

Ladies of the Lake

Hartsop

Kirkstone Pass

Troutbeck

Holehird

Brockhole

Ambleside

Museums and culture

The Struggle

Dalemain

Dacre

St Andrew’s church

Rheged

Feature: Literary Lakes

Tour 3: Coniston and Hawkshead

Galava

Loughrigg Fell

To Waterhead

Coniston Water

Coniston

The Gondola

Brantwood

Yewdale

Tarn Hows

The Courthouse

Hawkshead

St Michael’s Church

Wordsworth’s school

Potter’s world

Esthwaite Water

Near Sawrey

Tour 4: Keswick to Grasmere

Keswick

Halls

Museums

Castlerigg

Thirlmere and the Fells

Ancient pass

Grasmere

Dove Cottage

Rydal Water

Rydal Mount

Nab Cottage

Back to Keswick

St John’s in the Vale Church

Feature: Festivals

Tour 5: Borrowdale and Buttermere

Derwent Water

Lake cruises

Lodore Falls

Grange-in-Borrowdale

Boulders and scree

Eagle Crag

Graphite Mines

Seatoller

Honister Pass

Honister Slate Mine

Great Gable

Buttermere

The Buttermere Beauty

Around the lake

Newlands

Tour 6: Around Skiddaw

Blencathra

Threlkeld

Mungrisdale

Caldbeck

Famous huntsman

Cockermouth

Coastal towns

Thornthwaite Forest

White Bishop

Mirehouse

Crosthwaite Church

Feature: Wildlife

Tour 7: The Western Lakes

Langdale Valley

Great Langdale

Blea Tarn

The Wrynose and Hardknott Passes

Eskdale

Viking Cross

Wasdale

Tall stories

Tiny church

Shapely fells

On to Ennerdale

Ennerdale

Tour 8: The Southwest

Grange-over-Sands

Cartmel

Holker Hall

Flookburgh and Humphrey Head

Ulverston

Hoad Hill ‘Lighthouse’

Swarthmoor

Dalton-in-Furness

Furness Abbey

The Dock Museum

Broughton and Millom

Duddon Valley

Birks Bridge

Seathwaite

Grizedale Forest

The railway, motor museum and aquarium

Active Pursuits

Walking

Cycling

Water Sports

Swimming

Sailing and kayaking

Climbing

Fell Running

Themed Holidays

Children

Cooking

Literary Tours

Nature and Birdwatching

Geology

Spas

Volunteering

Walking, Cycling and Sailing

Practical Information

Getting There

By train

By coach

By road

By air

Getting Around

By bus

By train

By bike

By car

By boat

Guided tours

Facts for the Visitor

Disabled travellers

Emergencies

Opening hours

Tourist information

Local Tourist Information Centres

National Park Information Centres

Entertainment

Accommodation

Accommodation Websites

10 Things not to miss

There’s water and Wordsworth everywhere – but there’s still much more to drink in. Here are just some of the high spots of this beautiful corner of Britain

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Dove Cottage. Imagine Wordsworth, his wife and sister in this former Grasmere pub, reciting poetry. For more information, click here.

William Shaw/Apa Publications

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Aira Force. This graceful tumble of water is spanned by a picturesque stone bridge. For more information, click here.

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Derwent Water. Climb aboard a classic boat on one of the most beautiful of all the lakes, dotted with islands, surrounded by magnificent mountains and close to the market town of Keswick. For more information, click here.

Cumbria Photo/Ben Barden

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Langdale Valley. A perfect mountain valley, its green floor and fell-sides rising to the bare rock of Langdale Pikes, and at its head the great bulk of Bow Fell. For more information, click here.

Public domain

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Furness Abbey. Extending along the lovely Vale of Deadly Nightshade are the splendid red sandstone remnants of a once powerful Cistercian community. For more information, click here.

William Shaw/Apa Publications

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Wast Water. The most austere and spectacular of the lakes, ringed by high mountains. For more information, click here.

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Beatrix Potter sites. Meet Mrs Tiggy-Winkle in Hawkshead, and visit Hill Top, home of her creator, the talented Beatrix Potter. For more information, click here.

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Tarn Hows. A real piece of peace, this Lakeland icon is set in dense woodland interlaced with paths and created by the merging of three tarns. For more information, click here.

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Castlerigg. This ancient stone circle from the mists of time shows how humankind has always been in awe of nature. For more information, click here.

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Windermere. Cumbria’s longest stretch of water is the ideal leisure lake. On its eastern bank is the fun-loving town of Bowness, from where you can take cruises on the lake, or visit the World of Beatrix Potter. For more information, click here.

William Shaw/Apa Publications

Introduction to: The Lake District

Well loved, well walked and wildly romantic, the Lake District is one of the best-known corners of Britain. Yet for all its fame, there is always something new to discover

The Lake District is among the most romantic places in the world – indeed this is where the 18th-century Romantic Movement began. The high, green fells and rocky, sometimes snowy summits falling steeply into deep, still waters, have a dream-like, timeless quality. Whether driving or walking, visitors feel drawn into their wild embrace. Over every hill, round every bend, landscapes shift and turn, diving into narrow, stream-filled valleys, opening up into vistas.

These small mountains (only four of them more than 3,000ft/900m) are not hard to conquer, yet they can be wild and treacherous. And the normally tranquil lakes, some so deep nobody knows what lies on their fathomless beds, can cut up rough, too.

The bare slopes and summits are the result of the grazing of Herdwick sheep. Fellsides and whitewashed farms on rock ledges sit in fields closed off by dry-stone walls. Life has been hard here: look at the old quarries and mines.

Red deer, red squirrels and ospreys make their homes here. Wild daffodils, stars of the most famous poem by the great Romantic poet, William Wordsworth, flourish in meadows and in the deciduous woods.

The ‘Poet Laureate of the Lakes’ inspired the first tourists, and today tourism is paramount for the local economy. Yet however crowded it gets – more than a quarter of a million visitors might arrive for a Bank Holiday – you will still find peaceful areas.

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Boathouse on Ullswater.

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Lake District

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Mediobogdum Roman Fort, Hardknott Pass.

William Shaw/Apa Publications

Landscape

The Lake District National Park covers an area of 912 sq miles (2,362 sq km), all of it in the county of Cumbria, and is the largest national park in Britain. From Ennerdale in the west to Shap in the east, it stretches 40 miles (64km) wide. Shaped like a giant wheel, its ridges radiate from a hub of high mountains (‘fells’, from the Norse), separating the valleys (‘dales’) and a score of big lakes. From Great End, near the heart of the district, the view north extends over Solway Firth to the blue hills of Scotland. A distant blue-grey smudge in the east is the Pennines. To the west and south is Morecambe Bay.

Windermere, the largest lake, is more than 10 miles (16km) long but relatively narrow. Ullswater, the second in size, has its head among the high fells and its tail in the pastoral landscape around Pooley Bridge. In addition to the big lakes, there are numerous small mountain tarns scooped out by Ice-Age glaciers.

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England’s largest natural lake, Windermere is some 220ft (67m) deep.

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The nestled town of Coniston.

William Shaw/Apa Publications

Geology

Skiddaw slates, the oldest visible rocks, form the friable northern fells, plus that isolated bulk of Black Combe in the southwest. They were laid down more than 500 million years ago in a shallow sea. Some 50 million years later, a volcano erupted to form the Borrowdale volcanics of Central Lakeland. The Silurian slates of the Southern Lakes, composed of shales, slates,