Travel and Leisure

To tell you all that England's Lake District, lets call it the Lake District, has to offer would take volumes of books, such is the diversity and excitement of the area. Many famous writers have written about and within the area, for instance Wainwright, who wrote the famous tour and walking guides for the area, providing countless walkers and cyclists with the joys of his writing, Beatrix Potter, who lived for many years in the heart of the Lake District at Hill Top, near Ambleside, which is now owned by the National Trust. Beatrix is famous of course for the creation of the tales of Peter Rabbit and his friends.

The Lake District is in the extreme North West of England, bordering Scotland to the north, Lancashire to the south and the Irish Sea to the west. It sits within the County of Cumbria and is a designated National Park, one of the busiest and most popular in the UK.

Whilst the Lake District isn't widely know for it sunbathing weather, although if you are lucky to be there on a warm and balmy day, nothing beats it anywhere. the lakes wouldn't exist if it didn't get its fair share of rain. Or perhaps a little more than its fair share on occasion. It is this weather, the lakes, the many towns and villages and the wonderful mountains that make this place what it is and why it attracts so many people to sample its delights.

The Lake District in the spring and summer is glorious, but don't stay away from here in the middle of winter. The snow on the tops and often at lower levels provides unequalled scenery, straight from a Christmas card. Your time spent here in winter can be refreshing and invigorating and is not quite as busy at it some times throughout the year.

If you are looking to stay in one of beautiful towns, consider Keswick, nestling next to Derwentwater in the northern lakes, ideal for walking the northern hills such as Blencathra, or take a ferry around the lake giving a different perspective on the area. Or consider Ambleside in the southern lakes on the shores of England's biggest inland stretch of water, Lake Windermere. The western side of the lakes is less populated and provides a landscape in which you can lose yourself in, complete with England's highest peak, Scarfell Pike and deepest inland lake, Wast Water, a dark and imposing place, with screes tumbling steeply into the water all along its north western flank.

Getting to the Lake District is easy by car or train, to Windermere and the choices of accommodation vary from spending an exciting and adventurous night in a tent, up to a luxury night in a top class hotel overlooking a lake.

The difficult choices of where to stay, what to do and where to enjoy your food are there to be made. The services of an experienced and knowledgeable tour guide could be the answer to making your stay smooth, relaxed and unforgettable.