Stuck for plans in the Lake District? We can promise you're not.
Cumbria's crown jewel has so much to offer over the next few months, from incredible eateries, art holidays and cycling tours, to visiting some of the best pubs on the market.
Whatever you choose, you won't be left feeling disappointed.
Here is The Telegraph's recently composed list of the 10 best holidays in the Lake District:
Taylor thought she might try some wild swimming on the #coasttocoast. Surprisingly hot for the Lake District in June. pic.twitter.com/IgrcUWZLhN
— David A Roulston (@davidrsomme) June 9, 2023
10 best holidays in the Lake District:
Cycle the hills with ease
Brimstone, an adults-only, all-suite hotel, has a team of hosts looking after guests’ needs who will arrange e-bike hire and delivery, kit you out in appropriate clothing, and suggest tried-and-tested cycling routes.
Maybe down the quiet west side of Windermere and back via the Drunken Duck for lunch.
How to do it: Brimstone (015394 38014; brimstonehotel.co.uk) doubles from £416; e-bike £55 full-day, £132 (3 days).
Go all in on wild swimming
With a lake on its doorstep, a private jetty, and wetsuits and gear to borrow, Another Place, on Ullswater, more or less pushes you into the water.
For three days, under the tuition of expert Colin Hill (English Channel swimmer, ice mile swimmer), you can explore secluded bays, tackle a cross-lake swim, plunge (safely) from rocks, try a river swim and float under the night sky.
How to do it: Another Place (017684 86442; another.place.com) offers Wild Swim Camp (various dates) from £575 B&B, based on two people sharing.
Family fun on the rocks
Mainly done on crags in the Langdale Valley, against the backdrop of such classic fells as the Langdale Pikes and Crinkle Crags, all equipment is provided.
Extend into more than one day and they’ll add other activities, such as rock-scrambling and navigation, into the mix. How to do it: More than Mountains (07984 410230; morethanmountains.co.uk) multi-activity day £220.
To stay, try dog-friendly Toffee Cottage in Chapel Stile, Langdale (01237 426781; holidaycottages.co.uk) sleeping four, from £438 for three nights, £561 for seven nights.
Sample the local terroir
Take a look behind the scenes at where it all began: Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume, in Cartmel.
More specifically, have a guided tour of the 12-acre bio-dynamic ‘home farm’ which supplies Rogan’s restaurants: three-starred L’Enclume, its neighbour, one-starred Rogan & Co, and Henrock outside Bowness.
The farm manager and head chef Liam Fitzpatrick will explain techniques, varieties (nine types of mustard, for example), kitchen preparation and clever substitutes (fermented courgettes as a lime flavour) to keep dishes of their ‘terroir’.
Snacks are offered during the tour, after which dinner is prepared and served in the al fresco dining room (canopies if the weather turns inclement).
How to do it: L’Enclume (015395 36362; lenclume.co.uk) offers tour, dinner, B&B from £500 (selected dates).
#OTD 1807 Wordsworth writes
— The Romanticism blog (@Wordsworthians) May 21, 2024
"every great and original writer... must himself create the taste by which he is to be relished.” pic.twitter.com/D8FChHGvL7
Lakeside literary tradition
The name of this festival – Words by the Water – sums up both its glorious setting and what it celebrates.
Expect big names and local names, poets, comedians and journalists.
How to do it: Words by the Water (017687 74411; wordsbythewaterkeswick.com), 5th- 9th June, tickets from £13. To stay, try The Royal Oak, Keswick (017687 73135; royaloakkeswick.co.uk) from £125.
Spa, Champagne and scenery
Champagne on arrival kicks off this three-day break at The Gilpin Hotel and Lake House.
Day two’s treats vary but can include a spa treatment, a private hot tub session (more Champagne), or a ‘sensory journey’ around your private suite (including sauna, massage room and hot tub). Lake House guests also have a private pool. There are lunch treats and spa gifts for all.
Dine one night on Asian tapas and two nights in the Michelin-starred SOURCE; wine flight included one evening. If you can drag yourself away, there’s also a free cruise on Windermere.
How to do it: Gilpin Hotel and Lake House (015394 88818; thegilpin.co.uk) offers a three-night break from £1,710 in a Classic Room, to £2,970 in a Spa Suite.
In the footsteps of Wordsworth and the Romantics
On this bespoke guided tour, take a deep dive into William Wordsworth and the Romantic Poets – who, arguably, helped kickstart the Lake District tourist industry.
How to do it: English Lakes Tours (0333 335 0042; englishlakestours.com) offers a full-day tour: 2 people £833, 4 people £907, 6 people £981, prices include entrance fees To stay, try Rothay Garden Hotel, Grasmere (01539 435334 rothaygarden.com) from £204 B&B.
Stay off-grid
Tune in, turn on, drop out – that’s the proposition offered by these off-grid boltholes (huts and cabins plus an old school bus), although with 21st-century comforts.
Finding them – using the geolocation app what3words – is part of the fun. How to do it: Hinterlandes (hinterlandes.com) offers two nights, sleeping two to four, from £320.
Recommended reading:
Tourist moans William Wordsworth wasn't in Cumbria home
UK wild swimming: Lake District hotspots feature heavily
The best spring walks in the Lake District accessible by bus
Walk the heights
A three-day walking trip.
Starting in Ambleside, it ticks off Wansfell Pike and, later, Loughrigg Fell on the nine-mile (14k) route into Langdale where, on Day 3, you can tackle the biggies: Langdale Pikes. Gentler and shorter options are provided, such as up to Blea Tarn and into Little Langdale.
Wet-weather and lazy-day suggestions are also included – plus detailed route notes, maps, munchies, and OS App downloads – as is luggage transfer between comfortable inns.
How to do it: Muddy Boots Walking Holidays (01524 271580; muddybootswalkingholidays.com) offers four- to six-night self-guided walking trips, B&B and luggage transfers, from £510pp.
Find your artistic inspiration
Courses are available at Higham Hall, a late Georgian mansion, above Bassenthwaite Lake with views to Skiddaw.
More familiar options include landscape painting, jewellery-making, art appreciation and stained-glass making with course lengths varying from one day to a week long, the majority two to three days (residential and non-residential options).
The atmosphere is warm and jolly, the food highly prized (including homemade cake and biscuits) and there are walks from the grounds when leg-stretching is required.
How to do it: Higham Hall (017687 76276; highamhall.com) offers around 250 courses throughout the year, an average £320 for a two-night course, and £390 for 3 nights, including all meals and accommodation.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here