Lake District

Seathwaite in Borrowdale is one of the wettest inhabited places in England, receiving around 3,500 millimetres of rain per year. This is not a complaint; it is the reason everything in the Lake District is so relentlessly green, the fell streams run fast, and the Borrowdale valley looks the way it looks in every 19th-century watercolour. The rain is structural. Plan for it, dress for it, and you will be fine. Arrive expecting summer and you will spend a lot of time in the car.

What the Lake District Is

2,362 square kilometres of Cumbria shaped by glaciation: sixteen lakes in troughs carved by ice, ridgelines between them that are classic aretes, valley floors that are flat-bottomed U-shapes. The highest peaks in England (Scafell Pike at 978 metres) are here, as are millions of annual visitors, most of them concentrated in the southern lakes around Windermere and Ambleside. The park earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2017.

The Southern Lakes

Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere are where the majority of visitor infrastructure sits and where the traffic is worst in summer. The lake itself is 17 kilometres long and the boat cruises are worth taking. Ambleside at the northern end of the lake has more character than Bowness.

Coniston Water, 15 kilometres west, is significantly quieter. The village has the Coppermines Valley walk (three to four hours, moderately strenuous) giving good access to the Coniston Old Man fells, and the steam gondola on the lake. For people wanting the Lake District without the Windermere crowds, Coniston is the right choice, not the obvious one.

The Northern Fells

Keswick, at the north end of Derwentwater, is the main town for the northern and western fells. Catbells above the western shore of Derwentwater is a short ridge walk in under two hours with panoramic views, one of the most satisfying easy-to-access fell walks in the park. Skiddaw (931 metres) directly north of Keswick is longer and less interesting scenically, though the views from the summit justify the effort on a clear day.

The Borrowdale valley south of Keswick and the Buttermere valley to the west are two of the most photographed landscapes in England; both are less crowded than the Windermere circuit.

Eating

L’Enclume at Cartmel in the southern Lake District holds three Michelin stars and is considered one of England’s best restaurants; a tasting menu costs around GBP 220 per person. It requires planning well ahead and will split opinion on whether that is a reasonable use of money on a fell-walking trip. The Drunken Duck at Barngates near Ambleside is a well-regarded gastropub with rooms that does not require the same commitment.

Getting There

The West Coast Mainline stops at Oxenholme (connections to Windermere and Kendal) and Penrith (for the northern lakes). Windermere has its own branch line from Oxenholme. From Manchester, the southern lakes are 90 minutes by car; from Edinburgh, the northern fells are about two hours.