As a general guide, why not visit the following web sites?
Cumbria Tourism
Lake District Let's Go
and also the
Cumbria links
on Matt Phillips' excellent website "withnature"
.
For lots of activities, see Destination Cumbria. Below are just a few ideas.
Walk straight out of the house to enjoy a wide variety of walks, including the famous "Newlands Round" (aka "Catbells Horseshoe", comprising Catbells, Maiden Moor, High Spy, Dale Head and Hindscarth). Easier, but still with great views, is the fine ridge of Ard Crags. Nearby is the "Coledale Round" comprising Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Crag Hill (Eel Crag) and Causey Pike. For a wide selection of walks in the Lake District, the best thing is to buy the famous and excellent set of books by A. Wainwright.
Energetic types may wish to attempt the Bob Graham Round. This comprises 42 Lake District fells traversed within 24 hours. One of the original pacers for Bob Graham when he completed this in 1932 was Phil Davidson - architect of the current Bawd Hall.
Bring a bike - this is great cycling country and the house has lockable
bike storage in the garage.
There are a number of excellent quiet roads towards Derwent Water and
Borrowdale, and along the Newlands valley.
There are two specially-constructed mountain bike trails at
Whinlatter Forest, a
"moderate" one and a "difficult" one. Bike hire is available from
Cyclewise at the Whinlatter Centre.
The coast-to-coast cycle path runs nearby. For more routes and ideas, see
the
Lake District National Park web page on cycling.
If you can't bring your own bike, try hiring one from
The Keswick Mountain Bike Centre (017687 75202).
The North-Western and Buttermere fells are within easy reach.
Blencathra, Hopegill Head,
Grisedale Pike, Causey Pike and Mellbreak are personal favourites. All
have setting-off points within 15-20 minutes drive.
Buttermere is about 10 minutes drive away. A further 15 minutes or so leads
over Honister pass to Borrowdale Head and the big climbs up Scafell etc.
Being on the western side of the Lake District, Wasdale is also easily
reachable and offers the best climb up Great Gable.
The lakes are ideal for sailing, canoeing or just cruising about. See
"Sports" below for sailing/canoeing. Derwent Water and Ullswater both have
launch services with various landing points. Rowing boats can be hired on
nearby Derwent Water.
Keswick launch
serves 7 stops on Derwent Water.
Ullswater
steamers provides excellent views of the delightful shore of Ullswater.
Further afield is
Windermere Lake Cruises.
Whinlatter Forest is famous for its red squirrels, mountain biking (see above) and its live webcam of the Osprey nest. It also has pleasant forest walks and a nice cafe.
For those who want a change from the mountains, it is not far to the seaside, which features cliffs, sandy beaches and good birdwatching. Take a look at The Solway Coast.
The whole area is steeped in history. Below are just a few of the
interesting places to visit.
Castlerigg stone circle
Wordsworth House, Cockermouth.
Senhouse Roman Museum, Maryport.
Haig Colliery mining museum, Whitehaven.
Cumberland pencil museum,
Keswick.
Dalemain historic
house & gardens (nr Ullswater).
Hutton-in-the-forest historic house & gardens.
Muncaster Castle
is well worth a visit (especially in spring) for the Sino-Himalayan gardens
alone. Even better is to go when the house is open: the family still live
there and provide a very personalised audio tour.
Blackwell, near
Windermere is a fascinating arts & crafts house.
Sailing or canoeing on Derwent Water - try
Nichol End Marine or
Derwentwater
Marina (also does climbing and abseiling).
Rookin
House Farm (Troutbeck, south off the A66 near Penrith) provides a
variety of equestrian, off-roading and other activities.
Paragliding - Air
Ventures.
Keswick
climbing wall & activity centre.
West Coast Indoor Karting, Maryport.
For something a bit different, how about an aerial tour of the lake district
in a
gyroplane?
Keswick is particularly well-supplied with pubs, which serve a variety of mostly traditional food; of these, the Dog and Gun is our favourite (it also has free wi-fi). The beer from the newly established Keswick brewery is usually excellent. The Kirkstile Inn at Loweswater is also excellent. If you like beer, or are just interested in how it is made, then the Jennings Brewery Tour, Cockermouth is strongly recommended.
Kids can be difficult to persuade out onto the fells if the weather is
bad and need to be kept amused. Try the following:
Trotters World of
Animals, Cockermouth.
Lake
District Coast Aquarium, Maryport.
Ravenglass
and Eskdale railway.
Rheged - Lake District
discovery centre.
