Take me to the Lakes…
Where all the poets go to die 🎶 (IYKYK)
I decided to spend our August bank holiday weekend escaping the city, the heat, & the tourists to go to a new place for me- the Lake District. After living in England for 3 years, I can’t believe it took me this long to get here! I felt all the tension in my body ease away the minute I stepped onto the double decker bus in Windermere & the wind whipped my hair as I looked out onto the lake. I understand now why Taylor Swift escaped up here & wrote her Folklore songs about it.
Looking for a perfect place to unwind & relax? The Lake District has it all!
How to get there
It was ~5 hour journey door to door by train which I didn’t think was bad. The way back though was closer to 6 hours due to some rain delays for the buses in Ambleside. You can take a train from Euston to either Lancaster or Oxenholme, and then another local train to Windermere where you can grab a bus for £2 to go anywhere around Windermere. I stayed in Waterhead, on the NE side of the lake & just a 15 min walk into Ambleside.
Where to stay
I stayed at THE WATERHEAD INN, right on the water of northern Windermere. My room cost ~£600 for 3 nights & had this gorgeous reading nook overlooking the lake. They also had a delicious hot breakfast for free & gave you a free drink if you declined room cleaning each day. I would highly recommend staying here, but if you are looking for a few other options I’d suggest:
££ The Brantholme b&b
££ The Ambleside Inn
£££ Ambleside salutation hotel and spa (has balcony)
££ Beech Hill Hotel and spa (hard to get to by train, Lakeview)
£££ Lakes hotel & spa (hot tub on balcony, but away from both towns, couples place)
£££ The Swan hotel & spa (comes with thermal journey at the spa as well as free breakfast, but very hard to get to by train)
££ Windermere Manor hotel (breakfast included & indoor pool) - free cancellation until 18th August
£££ Low Wood Bay
££ Langdale Hotel & Spa
£££ The Langdale Chase (looks like a Castle)
What to do
Obviously, you are in one of the most gorgeous mountainous regions, so lots of outdoors options like hiking, cycling, walking, paddle-boarding, etc.
Boat to Wray castle
Spa day at Low Wood Bay
Explore the towns of Ambleside, Grasmere, or Bowness-on-Windermere
Hiking (Loughrigg, Wansfell Pike, Stock Gyhll Force or if you’re feeling ambitious do Hevellyn or Scafell Pike)
Rydal Caves
Rent a boat or kayak from Waterhead Pier
These were a few of my favorite shops when exploring Ambleside:
Old bank house chocolate
The black sheep gift shop
Herby jacks
National park print shop
Plus lots of mountain gear stores like Fatface, Mountain Warehouse, etc.
*Views from the Low Wood Bay spa- £185 for afternoon, tea, thermal bath journey for three hours, and a one hour treatment
Where to eat (Ambleside)
I struggled a bit to find good food options, mostly because the good places were booked up! Definitely look to book nice dinners well in advance, but you always have local pubs as an option.
☑️ Recommend
❌ Do not recommend
Dodds
☑️The priest hole —> pub food, perfect for after my hike to sit outside. Chicken bites were so good
Matthews bistro
❌Tacos del sol LUNCH 12-5 (SOLD OUT by 2:30 on a friday)
Bellis
☑️ FORCE- brunch (9-5) HUGE space with lots of seating indoors & outdoors. Great American style pancakes & yummy coffee. The views are great as well, perfect stop on hike around Wansfell pike & stock ghyll force waterfall
☑️ Bar eS Tapas - was booked both evenings but I tried walk up ~7:30pm and they sat me. Very good sangria & the prawns were amazing with the bread to soak it in the garlic butter
The lily (live music 9 PM thurs)
Lucy’s on a plate
Don Intanon (Thai)
❌Lucky Dragon (chinese takeaway cash only) 3.* spring rolls were great, sweet & sour chicken was more sweet than sour (way too much pineapple pieces), and chow mein was wet & not mixed which was not ideal
The old stamp house (michelin) book MONTHS in advance
☑️The Sourdough Pizza Co (delivery to hotel)
The Tapas were the best meal of the trip!
Some things to note
‘Mere’ actually means Lake, so there’s no need to say “Lake Windermere”
The bus costs £2 each time and you can pay by card or cash when you get on
Check the forecast when hiking as you don’t want to get stuck halfway up a mountain!
There are probably cheaper options especially in off-season, but just be prepared to spend a bit as its a destination hotspot!
Looking to do my exact itinerary? Here you go! ⬇️
*The Sunday I enjoyed the room until checkout reading & listening to the rainfall, then just explored the town of Windernere before catching my train back to London!
Would you spend a vacation in the Lake District? Lets vote in the comments: beaches or mountains?
Sincerely,
Sarah
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