Where to Stay

Whether you are one of our regular guests and a frequent visitor to the Lake District, or someone who is coming for the first time to discover the joys of its unique lakes and fells, choosing where to stay is often a difficult decision, especially when each area is so beautiful and has so much to offer.

To help you select the ideal destination for your holiday, we have included a brief guide to the villages and valleys where our properties are located.

There is much to discover in the Lake District
Waterhead, Ambleside
Buttermere
Blea Tarn

Ambleside
A popular village, right in the heart of the Lake District National Park at the northern end of Lake Windermere, surrounded by fells and stunning scenery. Excellent shops, including many outdoor clothing stores, restaurants and cafés. Summer Music Festival. Christmas lights. Visit Ambleside gallery, museum and shop, together with the Armitt Library and their unique collection of Beatrix Potter watercolours, Kurt Schwitters artworks and local history. See the Adrian Sankey glass studio. Two cinemas. Lake District Visitor Centre at Brockhole. Lovely walks from your door to Wansfell, Loughrigg and around the Fairfield Horseshoe. Cruises on Lake Windermere.

Troutbeck and Troutbeck Bridge are two small villages in the Troutbeck Valley just to the south of Ambleside. Troutbeck lies in the hills amid glorious scenery, with delightful character properties, two good pubs and Townend, a wonderfully preserved National Trust yeoman farmer's house. Good walks from the door. Further down the valley, Troutbeck Bridge lies in a central position on the through route between Ambleside and Windermere, with good pub for bar meals and public swimming pool.

Langdale Valleys
Two dramatic valleys to the west of Ambleside. Majestic mountain scenery with wonderful hill walks and stunning views. Good pubs in Elterwater village and also in the valley.

Hawkshead & Coniston
Hawkshead is an award-winning, picturesque village four miles from Ambleside with a lovely traffic-free centre in the heart of Beatrix Potter country. Interesting local shops and good eating places. Lovely walks. Tarn Hows and Grizedale Forest. Esthwaite Water for fishing. The quaint hamlet of Near Sawrey is two miles from Hawkshead. Home of Beatrix Potter. Good village pub. Delightful walking country. Close to Lake Windermere - ferry to Bowness. Esthwaite Water.

Coniston is a pretty village alongside the beautiful Coniston Lake. Excellent walking in the Coniston hills. Grizedale Forest nearby. Ruskin's home at Brantwood. Sailing and canoeing on the lake. Cruise on the 'Gondola'. Good pubs and shops in the village.

Keswick
Market town in the Northern Lakes at the foot of majestic Skiddaw. Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lakes. Fine mountain scenery and walking/climbing in Borrowdale for all abilities. Good shops. Pencil Museum. 'Cars of the Stars'. Stone Circle. 'Theatre by the Lake'.

Bowness & Windermere
Bowness-on-Windermere is a lakeside town four miles south of Ambleside. Lake cruises on England's largest lake. Excellent shops and restaurants. Colourful holiday atmosphere and night life. 'World of Beatrix Potter'. Cinema. 'Old Laundry Theatre'.

Windermere is one mile from Bowness. Delightful Lakeland village - good shopping and eating out. Railway station and good public transport connections to other parts of the Lake District. Fine views from Orrest Head.

Ullswater & Patterdale
Nearby is Hartsop, a delightful character hamlet amid dramatic mountain scenery. Fine walking. A bit off 'the beaten track' - good for quiet holidays. Pub with bar meals. Ullswater Lake. Kirkstone Pass. Brotherswater. Glenridding is a lakeside village on Ullswater Lake. Sailing and canoeing on the lake. Cruises on the Ullswater steamer. Fine mountain walking. Helvellyn and Striding Edge. Picturesque scenery. Local shopping and good pubs in the area.

Grasmere & Rydal
Grasmere is a picturesque village in the heart of the lakes. Wonderful scenery and fine mountain and valley walking. Good local shops and restaurants. Wordsworth's Dove Cottage and Museum is a must. Picturesque Grasmere Lake.

Rydal is a tiny hamlet between Grasmere and Ambleside in the beautiful Rothay Valley. Wordsworth lived here for thirty-seven years at Rydal Mount. Some of the best walking in the lakes from the village. Rydal Water.


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