Lake District Recommendations

[MelC]

I've never been to the Lake District and am thinking of taking my mum as she really would like to see it before she loses her eyesight completely. Does anybody have any recommendations of where to stay and things to do? She can't walk far so nothing too physical.

[titch juicy]

Depends if you want peace and quiet or busy (more shops, facilities etc).

Most central areas will be pretty busy in the easter, half term, summer holidays etc; so if you want to avoid the crowds either visit outside of these times, or avoid Bowness, Ambleside, Grasmere, Keswick.

If you're visiting outside of school holidays these areas are fine and offer more in the way of things to do and places to stay.

From the sounds of things your mum might be advancing in years so perhaps doesn't want to go running up mountains, so the pretty villages might be more suitable; in which case Hawkshead, Grasmere, Consiston are all well worth a visit.

A good way to see the scenery is on one of the boats on the lakes; Coniston Water, Windermere and Ullsawter all have quite big boats (Ullswater is perhaps the prettiest of the big Lakes).

These days I tend to stick to the quieter areas in the western lakes- the duddon valley is stunning, but quiet, with little to but walk and take in the beautiful scenery. Eskdale has more to do (the l'aal ratty miniature steam train, several pubs and a beautiful river with easy low level walking), Wasdale is spectacular, but bleak (england's highest mountain and deepest lake), and places like Borrowdale & Buttermere- these tend to be a little less accessible- can take a while to drive to around the edges or over spectacular but hair-raising mountain passes.

For reasonably easily accessible (by car), but out and out stunning scenery it's best to head for the top of windermere and towards the langdales (little and great langdales).

If it's good food pubs you're after; my personal favourites are The White Hart at Bouth (best Sunday Lunch in the Lakes in my opinion), The Queens Head @ Troutbeck (fabulous food and a very pretty little valley). I love the Bluebird cafe on the shores of Coniston too.

I could go on like this forever, but my boss is giving me a dirty look, so If i have time later i'll offer more suggestions.

[PeckhamRose]

I second the above ideas, and if you are taking her in a car and you are a confident driver and she is not a nervous passenger, do Hardknott Pass and the other one further north which is less extreme.

[kendalcottages]

Hello from Kendal which is on the edge of the Lake District.

The good news is that there are are lots of places where you can enjoy good views of the Lakes without even leaving the car. The main passes (eg. Hardknott mentioned above) are an ideal opportunity to take in a wide expanse of scenery. There are also roads running alongside most of the Lakes where you can enjoy good views - the east side of Coniston where the relatively quiet road is in an elevated position from Coniston Water - offers some scenic opportunities but possibly not that many good places to pull over. (There's a car park at Brantwood, mind.)

It might be worth getting hold of a copy of Stirling Moss: Great Drives in the Lakes and Dales as that offers around 15 different recommended routes to explore.

If you didn't want to drive, there are plenty of tours that run and that will take you to a number of key sights (eg. Mountain Goat Tours and Lakes Supertours).

If your mother is reasonably mobile but not up to climbing fells, then Tarn Hows isn't a bad bet for getting lovely views without too much strenuous walking. It might be a bit much though as it's probably a couple of miles right the way round, with some inclines. It is relatively wheelchair friendly the whole way round if that's any help to know.

Things to do... it really depends on what you both like but perhaps going to the cafes, looking at shops and visiting one or two attractions might be in order? You can visit Dove Cottage (Wordsworth's home) at Grasmere, Townend (one of Beatrix Potter's places) at Troutbeck... to be honest... there's LOADS to see and do.

As for places to stay, first thing to do would probably be to decide what kind of accommodation you would like. There's literally hundreds - more likely thousands - of places to chooose from, when you consider all the B&Bs, hotels and self-catering properties. We have a holiday let ourselves here in Kendal which has been finished to a good spec, has a lovely riverside balcony view, and two bedrooms if you would like to take a look (click here for details and, if you like, feel free to message me with any questions via that site, regardless of where you choose to stay - I would be happy to help with any specific questions).

[MelC]

Thanks for the recommendations. We will definitely be going during term time and will probably rent a self catering place for a week as it sounds like there is plenty to see without having to run up mountains. And I am very happy to drive around as long as I get a glass of wine at the end of the day.

[JMT]

I'm from Cockermouth, just west of Keswick. It's a lovely little town. Wordsworth was born and lived there. There's a great veggie B&B. Check out http://www.veggielakelandliving.co.uk/ The owner used to own a vegan restaurant in town. She's a great cook.