Lake District - England

obenix · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 19 Location: Everywhere

For those of you who wants a relaxing, family-oriented fun, head down to the Lake District... When I visited the area, I just fell in love with the calmness of the lake, the friendly folks and peaceful bliss. Accomodation is not at all expensive if you book yourself in Ambleside Youth Hostel (highly recommended), Windermere or Langdale... There is a spoil of choice of beautiful Youth Hostels in this area...

I stayed at Langdale Youth Hostel, located 15minutes away from town center. This is a Victorian house which has a large garden (excellent for picnics), good views of the rolling hills and the lakes...

Visit Windermere town to while your time away.. there's a tourist center right in the middle of town and you won't miss it if you are driving. Take lots of pictures here. The lakes are so beautiful in spring, summer and autumn. Even a novice photographer will be able to take beautiful pictures, thanks to mother nature...

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

I spent two nights in Windermere about 6 years ago. Indeed, it is a beautiful place. We stayed at the lovely old Geogian country mansion "The Old England", right in the heart of Bowness overlooking the lake. The hotel was elegant and the restaurnat had excellent food and a diverse wine list. While there, we visited Beatrix Potter's house, Wordsworth Museum and Dove Cottage. There are also some very cool little pubs in the area.The area can be very serene, if you are there during the off season(we went in March). Yet the place gets so overrun with tourists in the summer that reasonable guidebooks recommend against visiting the place during that time. Here's what the Lonely Planet says(and this was the '97 edition!);

"Unfortunately, there are over 10 million visitors a year...The crowds are so intense it is questionable whether it is worth visiting on any weekend between May and October, or any time at all from mid-July to the end of August. It is particularly bizarre and horrible to be stuck in a traffic jam in such idyllic surroundings. It is also common. Scenery and weather are best, and crowds smallest, on weekdays in May and June, followed by weekdays in September and October."

The area is being well-managed by the National Trust, which is not permitting construction and is trying to limit the amount of motor traffic in the park. A couple of years ago, I heard they were trying to stop large tour buses from entering the area and limiting the number of small tour buses daily.

obenix · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 19 Location: Everywhere

I was there in August 2003 and boy, was the place packed. Tourists started to dwindle as the days went by (probably due to summer ending). While I was there, there were virtually no buses in Windermere. Maybe, just maybe, they have effected the no-bus thingy.
Visiting Windermere has made me thinking of moving there..:) It's just lovely...

peterW · Joined: 13 May 2005 Posts: 18 Location: London, UK

I was there in February - and suprise - it was not packed. A group of us stayed in a tiny cottage and went walking. Managed to pick a weekend with very strong winds and horizontal sleet (which has to be better than rain). It was so windy that we walked along at a 15o lean just to stay upright, and so cold that my mars bar in an outer pockat of my pack virtually froze by the time we stopped for luch. Still it was very invogorating, and followed up with a superb pub dinner in the evening.

Would love to go back, though in warmer times would be nice except for all the people during high season.

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

peterW wrote: I was there in February - and suprise - it was not packed. A group of us stayed in a tiny cottage and went walking. Managed to pick a weekend with very strong winds and horizontal sleet (which has to be better than rain). It was so windy that we walked along at a 15o lean just to stay upright, and so cold that my mars bar in an outer pockat of my pack virtually froze by the time we stopped for luch. Still it was very invogorating, and followed up with a superb pub dinner in the evening.

Would love to go back, though in warmer times would be nice except for all the people during high season.
It can indeed get pretty nasty there(and anywhere in England, really!) in the winter months, but personally I would rather go then than deal with hordes of tourists. March was a nice season. Not too terribly cold, and not too many visitors. That's good news about the buses. I guess they did enact that law/rule! :D