LAKE DISTRICT HOTELS

THE LAKE DISTRICT – WHY GO?

It stirred Wordsworth and Coleridge to write poetry, and you’ll soon see why the lustrous landscape of the Lake District – nicknamed Poet’s Corner – has inspired droves of artists, writers and nature lovers. This pocket-size corner of England is a scenic jewel, with soaring fells, glittering lakes, stone-built villages and hillside meadows dotted with sheep.

The area is home to England’s biggest lake – Windermere – and also to the country’s highest peak, Scafell Pike. Footpaths radiate from the main lakeside towns (you’ll see plenty of walkers), climbing into the fells and encircling much of the dramatic shorelines. There’s an abundance of sailing, rowing, windsurfing and fishing hereabouts.   

Arrive out of season, when the summer crowds have dispersed, to see majestic Lakeland at its best. Take a walking map and hiking boots, and head for the fells, then hole up in a cosy pub or teashop.

Beatrix Potter fans should make a trip to Hill Top, near Sawrey, where the author penned some of the Peter Rabbit books. Many of her drawings and other memorabilia are displayed at the Beatrix Potter Gallery in the village of Hawkshead, a few miles away. There are yet more literary associations at Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage, both of which were home to the poet William Wordsworth.

Kendal is the natural gateway to the Lake District, lying close to the wooded shores of Windermere. Graceful old steamers ply up and down the lake and it’s relatively easy to lose the summer crowds by hopping aboard a ferry to the western shore – free of any roads and villages – to take in the views.

Be sure to visit Derwentwater – generally agreed to be the most beautiful of the lakes – and Ullswater, scene of Wordsworth’s well-known poem Daffodils. Pop into the Windermere Steamboat Museum, see some of the cars driven by the stars at Keswick’s Motor Museum, and tuck some Kendal mint cake into your pockets to take home.