Visiting the Lake District: A Short Break Guide

Finally managing to write about my Lake District trip back in February! Hurrah! I would have done it sooner, but life got in the way. Nevertheless, here’s a recap of my visit/some travel inspiration for anyone fancying a short break to this beautiful area of the UK.

Where did I stay?

My family and I have had a few Lake District holidays over the years because my dad’s side of the family have shares in Seasons and there’s a lovely self-catering village called Whitbarrow situated between Keswick and Penrith, perfect for the North Lakes (the focus of today’s post). Whilst my immediate family don’t have shares, we managed to get book our property on Sykes Cottages, so it’s worth having a look at other holiday cottage sites if you can’t get a property on the Seasons website.

As the Lake District is very prone to wet weather and we went in February, Whitbarrow is ideal as there’s a swimming pool, gym, restaurant and various other leisure facilities to keep you occupied in a bad weather emergency.

Who did I go with?

My parents, brother, auntie, uncle and cousins.

A LOT of rain

The first couple of days it rained a lot. Given that the Lake District is place to go for outdoors activities, this can cause an issue. All I can say is make sure you bring plenty of books, films and games just in case.

If you do want somewhere to stop for an hour or so, the Rheged centre has a cinema, a cafe and some nice shops. In Keswick, there’s a fun museum called Puzzling Places which features lots of illusions including an anti-gravity room. It’s certainly a unique attraction and an interesting place to visit regardless of the weather.

Three Walks

Onto the main event. The reason why most people come to the Lake District is for the beautiful views and outdoor activities. I did 3 walks when I was there (with varying success).

Buttermere to Scale Force waterfall

I will say this now. Don’t do this walk when it is wet! There are lots of rocks to contend with, plus the slippy post-rain mud as we soon learnt. Me being clumsy was the one in my family to fall over!

Scale Force, however, is the highest waterfall in England, so it’s a spectacular sight if you do go there (without falling ove. A good walking route can be found here, with the longer route taking you to Scale Force. Just making sure you’re wearing good walking shoes!

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Underskiddaw

Thankfully the weather picked up for the last two days and we got to appreciate those beautiful views.

If you want good scenery with less of a walk, then Underskiddaw is a must! There’s a car park with a gravel path leading to a viewpoint overlooking Keswick and various peaks and lakes. I could’ve stayed there for much longer looking at the view. Absolutely stunning!

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Patterdale to Silver Bay

Before going back to home, we finished off the trip with a circular walk from Patterdale to Silver Bay, taking in the spectacular views of Ullswater. It’s a great walk to do around midday as Silver Bay is the perfect picnic spot. For a directions and the route, have a look here.

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That sums up my Lake District guide! I’m hopefully off to Hampshire/Dorset in a few weeks, so there might be another guide coming your way soon.

In the meantime, here’s all the places mentioned in map form to make your trip to the Lakes a bit easier.

Have you been to the Lake District? Are there any places you’d recommend visiting?

Megan x

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