One of our final summer adventures took us to one of the most beautiful locations in the country – the Lake District. If you have never visited, the Lakes need to be on your bucket list! This is one of the most scenic and breathtaking places in the UK.
The Lakes
There is only 1 true Lake in the Lake District (a fact I only recently discovered)! The other 15 bodies of water are in fact not officially classified as lakes, for Bassenthwaite Lake is the only body of water with Lake in its name. However, all the waters are all collectively referred to as Lakes. The largest of which is Windemere at a whopping 10.5 miles long and 79 metres deep. Other larger lakes are Derwent Water, Ullswater and Bassenthwaite Lake. Elterwater measuring a mere half a mile long is the smallest.
The beauty of this landscape lies not only in the water but in the soaring mountains and hillsides that surround the lakes. The drive through these mountains when approaching the Lakes is an unforgettable experience.
Derwent Water
We visited the Lakes with our extended family and had to consider a range of age groups on our trip. Carefully planning our visit, we made our first stop Derwent Water. This waterway forms part of the northern lakes and is a 2-hour drive from Manchester. My husband and I have visited this quiet lake on previous occasions and have found it to be the most scenic. There is ample parking on a nearby car park and the lake offers some excellent picnic spots!
Duck food is available for 50p from the boating house and there is never a lack of hungry ducks, geese and swans.
Rowing boats can be hired from here and water sports can also be booked. Visitors can also embark on a short cruise of the lake.
Windemere
Having only a day to spend at the Lakes we made our way south to Windemere to see the biggest of the Lakes. I was previously ignorant of just how many towns and villages lay along Windemere. We continued along the road driving through each town until we found a place to park (it was a particularly busy summer day).
We found Bowness-on-Windemere, a rather busy tourist attraction which enabled us to absorb the essence of Windemere. I was in fact surprised at the amount of shops, cafes and restaurants in here. There also lies a promenade, amusement arcade, visitor’s centre and a beautiful harbour. Lying just outside the town centre the ‘World of Beatrix Potter Attraction’ can be found as well as Blackwell Arts and Crafts House. Cruise boats offer 45-minute tours of the Lake, an undoubtedly unforgettable experience.
As it was a rather busy day, we could only park on a carpark situated 1 mile away from the lake and the tourist attractions. Luckily a road train service runs between the carpark and the town centre. It cost only £3.25 for two adults and two children and the journey was approximately 5-10 minutes long.
As with all Lake District waterways, there are ample ducks and swans to feed.
The views of the lake are spectacular, even on a rather wet and windy day.
It is impossible to explore much of the Lake District in one day, the area is simply too vast. There are so many lakes and quaint villages to experience, the Lakes are always on our summer to do list.
