The Lake District

Welcome to the Lake District, C Known for its endless collection of rolling It's also a The park provides endless walking opportunities for all levels of From the vast lakes of the north to the busy tourist areas of Bones, there are some excellent walks, You'll find plenty of inspiration on t Find out what we got up to during our 7 day visit, take some notes and prepare to be blown away by the beauty of the Lake District. Grassmere is one of the Lake District's most charming and picturesque villages. It's notably the home of romantic poet William Wordsworth, who spent several years in the village. Walk around Grassmere to discover tea shops, gift shops and cafes, and plenty of picture perfect streets and doll buildings. Grassmere is also famous for its gingerbread. Visit Sarah Nalsons Gingerbread Shop and you'll find queues at any time of the day, but it's well worth the wait. Once you've explored the village centre, take a slow walk around the lakeshore and soak in the peaceful surroundings. Amongst all the lakes, water activities, forests and The path to the cave takes you along some streams, through forests and up the side of a It's around a one hour walk from Grassmere Village. Walk inside and you'll find a huge echoing cavern, rugged rock face and some stepping stones. It's well worth the Next up is one of the Lake District's most central villages. Amboside offers a quaint countryside atmosphere of other Lake District villages, but there's also a lot to see and do. The village's many cafes, shops, bars, restaurants and fish and c You'll also want to wander its colourful streets. The houses, churches and parks are exactly what you'd expect from an old English village. Just a 10 minute walk from the centre of Amboside Town, Stockgill Force is an impressive waterfall that's over 20 metres tall at its It has a series of small falls and streams at the bottom of the Ride further up and you'll reach the Cascading Main Falls. Pay your visit to the waterfall with Amboside Town. You can see both places in half a day. If you It really helps us out. Out of the many amazing water features, lakes, pools and streams we visited, we appreciated the beauty of Bath and Swate Lake the most. It's actually the only true lake in the Lake District, the rest are bodies of water. The bottom of Bath and Swate has some nice viewpoints and a scenic lakeside drive. Drive to the north and you'll find some rowing clubs, a small village and walking routes along the lakeshore. We recommend packing a picnic and finding a secluded spot by the lake. Enjoying lunch with a view with no tourists in sight was a Doddwood is a vast woodland on the side of a It overlooks Bath and Swate Lake from the east and is a somewhat lesser known It offers both challenging and easy going walking routes through the forest and some amazing woodland scenery. The giant pine trees are really somet If you reach the s We st Nestled between the villages of Coniston and Hawkshead, t It's excellent for families or anyone who wants to soak in the beautiful nature of the Lake District without climbing up a mountain. Tarnhose is a national trust managed park with walking trails, viewpoints and a forested area and of course there's the main attraction, the lake, which produces a mirror The next place in our video is undeniably the Lake District's most popular destination. Bones has long been the top place to stay for those that want to sample the Lake District on a weekend break. It's packed full of shops, bars, restaurants and hotel options. It's also right on the famous Lake Windermere. Bones's central location is excellent for exploring the wider Lake District area. It has nice lakeside walking routes, a picturesque marina and some good places to grab lunch. To see Bones away from the shore, board one of the many boat tours for a slow ride around Lake Windermere. Just along the road from Bones, Brock Hole on Windermere is the place to go on a sunny day. It has several paid activities including a kids play area, go-apes, zip line park, archery attraction and many more. Brock Hole also has direct access to the lake shore and is a good place to If you don't want to try one of the many activities on offer, simply wander down the lake walking paths, visit the gardens or have a picnic by the shore. Hole Hood Gardens is a free to visit botanical garden that's also in the Windermere area. The garden area stretches for 10 acres and is packed full of scenic walking routes, flower ex Spend time looking at the creative garden displays, enjoy the peace and quiet of the final place to check out in the Windermere area is Ray Castle, a National Trust's own residence that was built to look Stop by Ray Castle to see the impressive castle walls and explore the gardens. Next up is a village that's located away from the Lake District's busy tourist centre. Buttermere is a tiny farming village surrounded by rolling The top t Small waterfalls, forests and the lake itself set the scene for some excellent morning walks. We W The route takes you alongside the shoreline of Cromuck Water, traversing rocks and crossing bridges until you reach a river crossing. You'll then need to Dropping over 50 metres, Scaleforce is considered the We're not done with waterfalls just yet. Drive around the Located in a valley, Moss Force is over 100 metres It cascades down the rock face to the crags below, creating the backdrop for some amazing photos. Arguably the most beautiful lakeside village in the Lake District, Glen Riding is quiet, scenic and a great place to board a boat tour. It also has some excellent lunch spots. Enjoy a drink in the cafu00e9, browse the local shops or stop at the local pub, Travellers Rest. We travellers use the village as a base for It's located right next to some excellent fowl The Helvelyn Reach north of Glen Riding and you'll reach Ira Force waterfall, a t Ira Falls is not one, but a series of falls. The first waterfall has a height of 65 foot and you'll need to walk along forests of trails and up a Visit any day of the year and you'll see the water cascading from the cliffside. Although the first waterfall is the most impressive, you can walk further up the stream to see several smaller falls. Small, charming and known for its iconic river crossing bridge, Pooley Bridge is another village in the Oleswater area. We've been a few times and always appreciate how quaint and quiet t On warmer days, the riverbank is lined with people enjoying a drink on the terrace. Inside town, there's a good selection of cosy cafes, shops and pub restaurants. Walk five minutes from town and you'll reach the Oleswater Lakeshore. It's the perfect spot to go for a long walk with your dog, We've mentioned one beautiful forest already. Winletta Forest is another that you can't miss. It's England's only true mountain forest. Managed by the National Trust, the park features some excellent viewpoints, nature trails and adventure activities. One of the most popular t We opted for a slow walk amongst the many pine trees and enjoyed a coffee with a view at the Park's Cafe. We're now heading to the South Lakes, where you'll find far fewer tourists than the North. Coniston is a boat as paradise, boasting a lakeshore that's best explored by a rowing boat, pedal boat or a larger vessel. It famously hosts a steam yacht gondola, w You'll also want to check out the old streets of Coniston Village. Looking to experience some of the National Park's ancient In fact, it's around 700 years older than Stonehenge. It's located in a country field just outside of Kessick Town. Kessick is a great place to stay in the Lake District. It's also a nice place to visit for half a day and has a lot more amenities than all the smaller villages in our guide. Walk down the main Whether you need hiking gear and adventure clothing or want to buy homemade gifts to take home, Kessick is where you'll It also has some excellent independent craft stores, including our favourite homemade foot shop, Rowley's. Kessick is located on the vast body of water known as Doentwater. To get the very best view of the lake, you'll need to drive or The best way to explore the Lake District is by car. Cruising down the mountainside roads and being amazed by the view as you drive through valleys is a Travel by car to see some of the most scenic roads in England. During our time in the Lake District, we stayed at a South Catering Lodge just outside of the main tourist area. Our lodge was a perfect place to relax after a long day of sightseeing and best of all, it had a hot tub. We That wraps up our guide on the Lake District. No matter how long you stay in t If you need any help planning your Lake District trip or have any questions about the places we featured, be sure to post a comment. If you liked our video, please give it a