The Lake District has so much to offer beyond its “spectacular panoramic views”, said Condé Nast Traveller. Famed for its impressive lakes and rugged mountains, the Unesco World Heritage site also has a “fantastic culinary scene” and “activities galore” to keep the whole family entertained, come rain or shine.
Things to do
For some historical sightseeing, visit the “turreted grey knuckle” of Wray Castle, a masterclass in Victorian Gothic Revival architecture built in 1840, said Condé Nast Traveller. It is also worth visiting 17th-century Holker Hall, where the gardens are a mix of “manicured borders and lawns” and “untamed areas of wildflowers and woodlands”.
“William Wordsworth is the Lake District’s ‘literary leviathan’”, said Sean Newsom in The Times. He “transformed our appreciation of the natural world” with his poems, and by visiting his old home, Dove Cottage, you’ll “get a thrilling sense of his early, heroic years”. Next door, the Wordsworth Museum has handwritten journals and letters on display.
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For a mix of history and nature, take a boat tour with Ullswater Steamers, which have been operating for over 160 years. Ullswater, England’s second-largest lake, is a must-see with a landscape of “rolling green hills”, “ancient woodland”, and “plunging crags”.
Thrill-seekers can try ghyll scrambling – a ghyll is a “short, sharp mountain gully cut by a thundering stream”. At Stoneycroft Ghyll, put on a wetsuit while you “scramble upstream”, then “abseil back down”, and then jump into the “deeps beneath the waterfalls”.
Eating and drinking
In the Lake District, it is “hard to go wrong with food”, said Condé Nast Traveller. Try the “deservedly famous” sticky toffee pudding in Cartmel or enjoy “seasonal deliciousness” with “exceptional views of Skiddaw” at Lingholm Kitchen in Keswick.
Cranstons Cumbrian Food Hall is a recently renovated butchery that is great for picking up a “huge variety” of locally sourced produce or enjoying sausage rolls, pies, meal boxes, and salad at the hot-food counter. The Lake District also has a number of Michelin-starred dining options including The Cottage in The Wood, above Keswick, and Forest Side in Grasmere, said The Telegraph.
Where to stay
If you want “indulgence with a capital I”, stay at the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, just 10 minutes from Lake Windermere’s shore, said Helen Pickles in The Independent. This “modern country-house hotel” has a variety of room styles that ranges from the “lavishly cossetting” to stand-alone chalets with personal spas.
For a more family-friendly option, The Swan Hotel & Spa, at Windermere’s southern tip, is “away from the crowds” in a lovely “riverside setting”. It “ticks plenty of boxes” with a range of amenities including a spa, pool, gym, and adventure playground. The place “goes big on colour” with public areas decorated in “clashing pinks and hot oranges” or “dazzling floral wallpapers”.
