Motorhome in The Lake District

 

The new UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Lake District is approximately 45 minutes drive from our base and is criss crossed with good roads and they're used by all manner of traffic, large and small.  True, some roads are narrow, some are steep, some are twisty but all but the most rural are suitable for motor home use.

 

Most of the popular Lake District lakes are accessible by road and your Trek motorhome will have little difficulty getting you up close to many of them.  The early bird can get lakeside free parking in some of the lay-bys at the north end of Ullswater and following the A592 south through Glenridding and Patterdale will bring you to the foot of Kirkstone Pass, an easy climb for your rental van.  Look out for the actual ‘Kirkstone’ as you climb the fellside - a large boulder on your right with a church shaped ‘kirk’ top, just a short walk from the Red Screes car park below the mountain of the same name.  Park at the top of Kirkstone for a good look around, maybe pop in to the Kirkstone Inn or have a brew in your Trek rental motor home and enjoy the scenery around you.

 

Take the opportunity to drop down into Bowness on Windermere from here.  There’s lots of parking on the south side by the lake.  Spend a day there using your trek motorhome as a base, there are plenty of attractions for all ages, boating, easy walks, shopping and lots of places to eat.  Visit The World of Beatrix Potter where the characters of Beatrix Potter's stories are brought to life in this recreation of the Lakeland countryside. Or take a Windermere Lake Cruises steamer up to Waterhead, (Ambleside).

 

If boats aren’t your thing, you can avoid the hassle of parking in some of the ‘honeypot’ villages by using bus service 599, spacious modern open top double deckers which will take you up to Grasmere calling at various attractions along the way such as Brockhole, The Lake District National Park Visitor Centre, Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage, both homes of the poet William Wordsworth.  Of course you can take your motorhome along the A591 to these places but it’s much easier to let someone else drive this bit and bring you back to the luxury of your Trek motorhome!

 

Try a drive from Ambleside to Coniston and call in to Elterwater village, walk down to the lake with its famous white swans and distant views of the Langdale Pikes, a great village inn there too, The Britannia.  Coniston Water is one of the lakes that Donald Campbell did time trials on (he was killed on it in 1967 when Bluebird lifted out of the water at over 300 mph ) and the local museum in Coniston has an exhibition about him.  The Coniston Launch can take you across the lake to Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin.  If you use the village as your base camp you might fancy a climb up Coniston Old Man just west of the village.  Coniston is a useful base for walking the ridges over Wetherlam and Swirl How in the Coniston Fells to the west, many of them steep rolling hills rather than precipitous mountains - but needing care just the same.

 

Feeling adventurous?  Take your Trek motorhome from Ambleside through the Langdale Valley along the B5343 and marvel at the splendour of the Langdale Pikes, a Tyrolean landscape in minature.  Wrynose Pass and Hardknott Pass, probably the lake district's two most demanding mountain passes will take you over the Western fells to the west coast.  There are places to stop the motorhome alongside mountain streams in the valley bottoms and magnificent views all around.  Pull over at the massive Roman fort at Hardknott before dropping down into Eskdale and Ravenglass with its splendid narrow gauge railway, Roman remains and a sandy coastline.  Nearby Muncaster has beautiful gardens, a castle open to the public and a bird of prey centre. And don't worry about the motorhome handling the  mountain passes, our Trek rental motorhome has an upgraded 150bhp engine.

 

If sun (hopefully) and sand is your thing, the roads down the west coast can be quiet compared to the busy central lakes and there's lots of it.  At the top of the 'Smuggler's Coast is Silloth.  It has ample parking, a long promenade, sandy beaches and fish and chips. Allonby, a pretty little village further south has broad greens and vast beaches - great for the children and windsurfers.  And if you have an architectural interest you'll love to explore the old buildings of this once important ship breaking and fishing village.  Next stop Maryport, a large town with a Roman museum, interesting marine aquarium and harbour with a small fishing fleet and some good walking along the promenade below the cliffs.  South of Whitehaven are more sandy beaches and quaint seaside villages of St. Bees and Seascale.

 

Visit Keswick, a great little town beneath Skiddaw to see the northern lakes, Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite.  Derwentwater can be circumnavigated by the Keswick launches or on foot if you’re up to it!  The best views of Bassenthwaite Lake can be seen from the lay-bys on the A66.

 

A drive from Keswick up Honsiter Pass to Honister mines will introduce you to some high mountain scenery and as you squeeze through the Jaws of Borrowdale you’ll be right alongside the sparkling River Derwent.  Continuing over the pass brings you down to Buttermere below the massive Fleetwith Pike and High Crag and continuing along the B5289 you’ll follow the shores of Crummock Water below Mellbreak.  Don’t miss the opportunity from here to call in to Cockermouth, a busy little town with some excellent local traders and of course, the home of William Wordsworth and Jennings Brewery.

 

If you fancy taking your Trek motorhome into some real high mountain country take a drive along Wastwater, the deepest of the lakes.  You’ll gasp at the sheer size of Wasdale Screes that plunge down into the black waters.  Take your motorhome down to the Wasdale Head at the end of the lake and take a look around at the Lakeland giants, Scafell and Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Yewbarrow, Lingmell and pop into the smallest church in England where many lakes mountain climbing pioneers are commemorated.

 

You'll love exploring the lakes in a Trek motorhome, we do. Take a look at some photos of our motorhome here