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A Lake District itineraryJul 20 '02 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line A day trip itinerary to the English Lake District that touches a couple of major tourist centres but gives you some less stressful options A few years ago the old winding road to Windermere from Kendal was straightened and widened to allow easy access to traffic from the major connurbations to the south. This "improvement" means that the journey to Windermere now resembles a continuation of the M6 with fast traffic travelling almost all the way to the lake. I am a firm believer that travelling anywhere should be an experience in its own right and travelling at speed along four lanes of tarmac is an experience we all have enough of. So here is my alternative, I travelled along this road which is quite straight and fast in May 2000 and on the quietest five mile stretch along the Lyth Valley was passed by just 13 vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. I am prepared to share this lovely road with you...but ssssh don't tell everybody or the "improvers" will descend on it ! The first option, if you are travelling north towards Windermere on the M6 leave the motorway at Carnforth about 5 miles north of Lancaster at Junction 35. Take an immediate left turning at the end of the motorway slip road to the A6 and follow the signs for Milnthorpe. The A6 is the old north south road from the days before the motorway was built, in fact it dates back to pre-Roman times. Another option is to follow the coast road north. (You can leave the M6 anywhere north of Preston and follow the A6 north. Lancaster gets jammed with traffic but north and south of Lancaster the A6 is not unpleasant.) But for our purposes we will start at the Carnforth motorway exit. This time we bear right and cross over the M6 and at the T jucntion we take a right turn into Carnforth centre. Don't blink or you may miss it. At the traffic lights in the centre go straight on and follow the the B6254 to Warton. Continue with the Coast Road north Follow the A6 North of Carnforth : These days the A6 north of Carnforth is largely overlooked as a major route, but it is a good road with a fraction of the traffic of the M6 just a mile or so to the east. If you wish to travel fairly quickly and pleasantly to Cumbria this is the way to do it. It will normally take about half a hour to Windermere from Carnforth following this road. There are a number of B&B's along this stretch and there are coaching houses (pubs) at regular intervals and I am sure some will offer overnight accommodation. The Blue Bell at Heversham is worth trying.(There is a good a good choice of overnight accomdation a few miles to the west along the picturesque coast at Arnside and Silverdale, and certainly these are good places to break your journey). You will very quickly be struck by how quiet this road is compared to the M6 only a mile or so to the east. I have never been stuck in traffic on this road and I have travelled it many times. Within a few miles of leaving the M6 you will pass the "Welcome to Cumbria" signs. The scenery here if not as spectacular as the Lakes is still very attractive. The first major junction is at Milnthorpe 8-9 miles north and we continue north on the A6. At Milnthorpe the local stone used for building changes to a soft grey limestone from a honey colouredsandstone further south. The drive north of Milnthorpe is pleasant and within a couple of miles you reach Heversham and then a mile or so further on is Levens. The gardens at Levens Hall are some of the most famous in the country for their sculpted trees and hedges. The hall and gardens are well worth a visit. The road directly passes the high garden walls and the entrance is clearly signposted. Its a about ten miles from Carnforth to Levens. Immediately after Leven's Hall the road takes a sharp turn to the left and almost immediately we take the first turning on the left, which is the slip road to the main A590 road to Barrow-in-Furness. (Don't take the second turning A590 to Kendal unless of course you want to go to Kendal.) You will be pleased to know that we only follow this busy road for about a mile. Look out for the second turn on the right which involves crossing the busy carriage way, the road is clearly signposted A5074 to Bowness-on-Windermere. If this manouevre is a bit hairy for the cautious driver, it is worth it. After a second turn almost immediately to the left, you are faced with a long straight stretch of flat road. I drove along this road midweek in May along the 5 mile stretch and was passed by just 13 cars coming in the opposite direction. How many "A" roads in England are so quiet ? The A590 and the roads around Bowness are both quite busy but for some reason not this stretch. It is a beautiful road that gradually turns into a mini roller coaster as you get nearer to Lake Wndermere. The local stone changes again from Limestone to Lakeland slate which is blue green. There are a few cottages and hamlets along the length of this road. There are a number of places you can stop if you wish on this road. Approaching Bowness you will catch glimpses of the Lake as you descend into the town. Bowness on Windermere as the name implies is on the lakeside and is a major tourist centre. Within a few miles the scene is utterley transformed from the familar urban scene around Carnforth to a landscape of slate buildings, mountains and lakes. There are a couple of sizeable hotels along this road and at least one caravan site. There is a big choice of overnight accomodation in and around Bowness (pronounced as "Bonus" locally), Windermere village and at Kendal The local tourist office will be able to arrange overnight accomodation on the spot for all but the busiest periods. A quick mention here for Blackwell - Arts & Crafts House which is situated just to the left off the A5074 as the road descends into Bowness. This early 20th C house is a masterpeice of the Arts and Crafts Movement. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours here looking round this interesting house. They have a treasure hunt to keep the kids interested. There is also a nice cafe but this is only open to paying visitors ! After Blackwell follow the A5074 for a few hundred yards (ooops metres) and there is a left turning signposted for Newby Bridge and the Windermere Ferry. At the bottom of this hill you will arrive at a T junction with the A592 signposted left to Newby Bridge and right to Bowness on Windermere, turn right. (If you wish you can easily carry on directly into Bowness and return back along the A592 later). But we take an almost immediate turn left signposted for the Ferry to Hawkshead. This is a short road down to the Ferry and beware you are very likely to join a queue of standing traffic. The Ferry is open all year except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day aand but at peak times you can wait an hour or more. But you can take advantage of this wait to have a walk along the road to the waters edge. The Ferry is a very pleasant short crossing which gives you a few minutes to enjoy the views. On leaving the Ferry on the eastern shore of the Lake the road snakes for a while beside the Lake. (Approximately half a mile after leaving the Ferry there is a right turn into a narrow road which leads to a car park and access to a lovely flat walk along the shore of the Lake.) This side of the Lake is far less developed than the Bowness side and without using the Ferry there is a long detour to reach the same point.. because the Ferry can only carry 18 vehicles the amount of road traffic is restricted. Within a mile the road climbs quite steeply away from the Lake towards the delightfully named villages of Near and Far Sawrey. This is Beatrix Potter country and you can visit her house in the village. There is a vast Beatrix Potter industry in the area and you can purchase her prints etc in just about every Lakeland center. The B5285 road continues towards the busy village of Hawkshead. The village is quite small but gets very busy at peaks periods. This village is quite charming but in my view has been adversely affected by poor planning. If you visit in the evening or out of season you can still get an idea of what this once remote and charming village must have been like before mass tourism swamped it with visitors. Because the village is accomodation is a limited but there is plenty of accommodation in the vicinty. There is a youth hostel nearby which can be booked online. The Tourist Office adjoining the main visitor car park should be able to find accomodation at short notice. After crossing small bridge with ornate cast iron pedestrian railings there is a right turning into Hawkshead village we continue straight on towards Newby Bridge.. you can rejoin this road easily if you wish, after visiting Hawkshead by turning right and right again after leaving the main car park. Within a few hundred yards there is tight right turn into a narrow lane signposted to Grizedale. The turning is only a hundred yards or so after the Hawkshead turn off. This narrow winding lane climbs quite steeply towards Moss Top on the edge of the Grizedale Forest. Take care to watch for oncoming vehicles because the lane is quite narrow and it is possible you would need to stop quickly if another vehicle is coming down the hill. The road climbs to Moss Top on the eastern edge of Grizedale Forest. There is a car park on the right with a picnic area. From this car park you can join a number of the signposted footpaths and cycle paths through the commercially managed Forest. The paths are rather uninspiring for the experienced walker but are ideal for most people. The cycle paths have become very popular and you will be passed by lots of cyclists. The paths are flat and there are relatively few inclines for the inexperienced walker. The most interesting and innovative feature of these Forests are the contemporary sculpture trails. I would be very pleased to receive feedback from anyone who tries my little itinerary. The road is so quiet it won't be spoiled by a few more visitors  |
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