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From mirror-calm lakes to green-sloped mountains to tiny towns full of tea shops, on this full-day tour, with plenty of time for lunch, you explore the northwest area of the Lake District. Your private guide, who also acts as driver, will tailor your route to your particular interests and the weather. You can add in several short or medium walks along the way, as well as numerous stops at viewpoints to take photographs.
Your guide picks you up at your hotel and drives you toward the town of Keswick. You then head past Derwentwater toward the valleys of Borrowdale and Buttermere, hailed by many as the most beautiful area in the Lake District.
If weather conditions permit, you can travel on Hopebeck Road, a narrow, gated and rarely visited road that offers panoramas over the region’s characteristic moss-covered dry-stone walls. This joins the Whinlatter Pass, which takes you back through Keswick and to Castlerigg stone circle.
Unlike Stonehenge and Avebury, this 5,000-year-old megalithic circle (which, unusually, is in fact oval-shaped) is thought to have once been a marketplace, specifically for trading stone axes, which were a speciality of the area. Other historians believe the stones served as a form of early map; historically, the mountains themselves wouldn’t have been visible from the ground as the whole area was forested.
Beyond Castlerigg (again if the weather permits), you can stop at the impressive Aira Force waterfall, taking the pleasant path that leads down and around for different perspectives on the water.
You then skirt around Ullswater, the second largest of the Lake District’s lakes, to climb the Kirkstone Pass — pausing to gaze at the view toward the Coniston Fells — before returning to your hotel.
Start planning your tailor-made trip by contacting one of our England specialists
These activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences around where you're staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident's eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can suggest tours and activities that will introduce you to the local ways of life.
Hardknott Roman Fort, Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway and Muncaster Castle
Your driver-guide can navigate Cumbria鈥檚 steep and winding roads while you admire the looming mountains and sweeping sea views. The tour also stops at Muncaster Castle, the Roman-era Hardknott Fort and the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, a Victorian steam train line.
Lake District farm experience
Experience life on a traditional Lake District fell farm where you'll get a chance to meet the hardy Herdwick sheep, learn about farm practices and local lifestyles and get to try your hand at dry stone walling.
Tea at Beatrix Potter's cottage
Discover the land that Beatrix Potter loved and helped to preserve on this tour of her Lake District home. Cross Lake Windermere before having a tour and tea with a Potter expert at the author鈥檚 marital house, Castle Cottage.
Wordsworth's Lake District
Explore the landscape that inspired one of Britain鈥檚 most renowned poets. Your guide will bring you to two of Wordsworth鈥檚 homes, Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage, to learn about his life and family. You can also explore nearby Grasmere village.
