Things to do in Lake District
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lake District
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Late April to June is among the best times: long days, fuller timetables and fewer crowds.
September to early October is among the best times, with autumn colour following from mid October.
Spring brings Ullswater daffodils, lambs and waterfalls at their best, fell tops may hold snow into April.
Summer has everything open and the longest days, but the worst crowds and prices.
Autumn brings rutting deer, Grizedale fungi and quieter starred restaurants.
Winter has shortest days and reduced hours, January and February are worst for a first trip.
What's on
- Keswick Mountain Festival 21-23 May 2027
Trail runs, swims, sportives and speakers with a Derwentwater shore festival village.
- Kendal Calling Usually the last weekend of July into early August
Indie headliner camping festival at Lowther Deer Park on the park's eastern edge.
- Lake District Summer Music late July-August
Chamber music across southern Lakes venues.
- Grasmere Lakeland Sports & Show August bank holiday Sunday
Fell racing, Cumberland wrestling and hound trailing, held since 1868.
- Kendal Mountain Festival November
Outdoor film, book and talks gathering in Kendal, a highlight of the Cumbrian year.
Best things to do in Lake District
Windermere Lake Cruises
Classic lake sailings between Bowness, Ambleside and Lakeside that work as scenic transport too.
Ullswater Steamers
Sail Glenridding to Howtown then walk the Ullswater Way back along the quiet eastern shore.
Castlerigg Stone Circle
Prehistoric stone ring on a plateau above Keswick with Helvellyn, Skiddaw and Blencathra in view.
Aira Force
A 65 foot waterfall in a wooded gorge, best extended into the Gowbarrow Fell circular walk.
Wordsworth Grasmere
Dove Cottage and museum where Wordsworth wrote much of his greatest work in Grasmere.
Hill Top
Beatrix Potter's farmhouse kept as a time capsule, with rooms matched to scenes in her books.
Theatre by the Lake
Professional theatre right on the Derwentwater shore, the best wet evening plan in the park.
Orrest Head
Short accessible climb from Windermere station to the viewpoint that first inspired Wainwright.
Where to stay in Lake District
Ambleside
first trip, all-round base
Head of Windermere with buses everywhere, the widest restaurant choice and walks from the door.
Keswick
walking base, northern base
Market town on Derwentwater under Skiddaw with Borrowdale and northern fells on the doorstep.
Grasmere
village base, couples and walkers
Wordsworth's village, small and central, with Dove Cottage and fell walks from the door.
Ullswater
scenery, quieter eastern lakes
Fewer hotels and bigger mountains around Glenridding, Patterdale and Pooley Bridge, with the steamer as transport.
Cartmel
food base
Medieval village built for dinner at L'Enclume and lunch at Rogan and Co, best for one or two nights.
Coniston and Hawkshead
quiet southern village bases
Coniston for the Old Man and Gondola, Hawkshead for Potter links, Grizedale and tarn walks.
Think twice about
- Bowness-on-Windermere town centre
In peak season it clogs with crowds and can feel like a seaside resort strip. Day trip by boat, sleep elsewhere.
- Windermere town
The town is about 1.5 miles from the lake at Bowness. Fine if you know, a let down if you expect lakefront.
- Kendal, Penrith, Carlisle, Workington and Barrow-in-Furness
Useful gateway towns but none is in the fells. Basing there turns every walk into a commute.
- Remote single-property valleys: Wasdale, Ennerdale and upper Eskdale
Glorious and safe but very isolated for a first trip without a car, with one pub and little food choice.
Best restaurants in Lake District
L'Enclume
Simon Rogan's three star restaurant in a Cartmel smithy, fed by its own nearby farm.
Lake Road Kitchen
One star Nordic inflected tasting menus from a Noma alumnus, with strong vegan options.
The Forest Side
One star cooking built from the kitchen garden, foraging and Cumbrian farms.
The Old Stamp House
Tiny one star room serving Cumbrian tasting menus of Herdwick hogget and Irish Sea fish.
SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel
Starred dining inside Gilpin, the splurge without leaving the hotel choice.
Gilpin Spice
Relaxed pan Asian restaurant on the Gilpin site, the alternative to SOURCE.
The Cottage in the Wood
Starred forest set British tasting menus, the north Lakes' true splurge dinner.
Henrock
Simon Rogan's relaxed Windermere side restaurant, Rogan cooking without the L'Enclume wait.
Outdoor things to do in Lake District
Catbells
The perfect first fell: a short round trip with a scramble and huge views over Derwentwater.
Helvellyn
England's third highest mountain by Striding Edge, a serious and exposed Grade 1 scramble.
Scafell Pike
England's highest ground, shortest and steepest from Wasdale, finer via Borrowdale.
Honister Slate Mine
Working slate mine turned adventure hub with via ferrata, Infinity Bridge and mine tours.
Keswick Adventures
Ghyll scrambling, kayaking and paddleboarding on Derwentwater with trusted local guides.
Go Ape Grizedale
Treetop courses and zip trekking in Grizedale Forest, with free sculpture and bike trails too.
Black Moss Pot
A plunge pool gorge in Langstrathdale loved for wild swimming, best visited early.
Silloth on Solway Golf Club
Championship links on remote Cumbrian dunes, a pilgrimage round for serious golfers.
Best hotels in Lake District
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House
The Lakes' defining luxury hotel with spa lodges, hot tubs and starred SOURCE.
Another Place The Lake
Activity led hotel on Ullswater shoreline with pool, kayaks, sailing and a private jetty.
Brimstone Hotel
Adults focused all suite hotel under the Langdale Pikes with log burners and roll top baths.
The Samling
Small formal luxury hotel above Windermere with a celebrated wine list and lake view dining.
Forest Side
Victorian house hotel in Grasmere whose starred restaurant is the reason to stay.
Storrs Hall
Grand Georgian lakefront hotel with private jetty, temple folly and lawns to the lake.
Rothay Manor
Small stylish boutique hotel on the quiet edge of Ambleside, ten minutes from the centre.
Inn on the Square
Modern rooms right on Keswick Market Square with steakhouse and bar, Derwentwater nearby.
Is Lake District expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | £55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | £160 a person |
| Splurge | £400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Hill Top: weeks ahead
- Theatre by the Lake: weeks ahead
- The Lakes Distillery: a few days ahead
- Honister Slate Mine: a few days ahead
- Keswick Adventures: a few days ahead
- Go Ape Grizedale: a few days ahead
- Silloth on Solway Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Windermere Golf Club: a few days ahead
- L'Enclume and starred dinners months ahead, Schelly, Drunken Duck and Fellpack two to four weeks in season.
- Accommodation for August, bank holidays and festival weekends books first in Ambleside and Keswick.
- Hill Top needs timed entry and parking both pre booked, no book no visit.
- Honister, Keswick Adventures and Go Ape small groups one to two weeks ahead in summer.
Is Lake District safe?
- Check MWIS and Fell Top Assessors reports, carry map, waterproofs, warm layer, torch, food and water on every fell.
- Cold shock is the main danger in Lakes water, swim with a buddy and tow float and check algae warnings.
- Sheep and deer on unfenced roads at dusk, never park in passing places on single track lanes.
- Check for ticks after walks in bracken and sheep pasture, especially children and dogs.
Lake District travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Bowness lakefront at midday in August is the most crowded hour in the park.
- The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction suits Potter mad under sevens only, Hill Top is the real thing.
- Driving ten lakes in a day as a checklist defeats the object, pick two lakes and walk at both.
- Kendal Mint Cake is fell walkers' glucose and a fun souvenir, not a delicacy.
Getting around Lake District: public transport and more
- Trains to Oxenholme Lake District for Windermere, or Penrith for Keswick and Ullswater, then local buses.
- Stagecoach Lakes buses plus lake launches make a car free Ambleside or Keswick trip workable.
- Check the last sailing back before walking away from a pier, timetables shrink October to March.
- National Trust car parks are free to members and honeypot car parks fill by mid morning in season.
Who Lake District suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Lake District your trip
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