Literary Walking in the Lake District

Name: Literary Walking in the Lake District
Brand: Exodus
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

1 reviews

Activity Level

Easy & Moderate

Activity

Walking & Trekking

Overview

Explore Britain’s greatest lakes, the inspiration for many renowned writers.

aw-dropping scenery, world-famous lakes and incredible literary connections – this 6-night holiday in the South Lakes has it all. The inspiration for writers like Wordsworth, Ransome and Potter, not to mention a plethora of other artists and poets, the Lake District is a place of incredible natural beauty; idyllic and exhilarating in equal measure. And, in 2017, it was awarded World Heritage status, with the committee praising the area’s beauty, farming and the inspiration it had provided to artists and writers.

The Lake District Self Guided walking tours take you to some of the Lake District’s most charming villages, where olde-worlde inns and speciality shops nestle against a backdrop of majestic fells, staggering mountains and shimmering waters. Your routes follow quiet country lanes and lakeside paths, dotted with babbling brooks, thundering waterfalls and shady forest. National Trust properties abound including Beatrix Potter’s former farm, Hilltop, while gems like the award-winning Hawkshead Brewery offer the best kind of refreshment.

Key Information

Trip Code: W06LD
Ways to Travel: Self-Guided Holidays
Countries: United Kingdom

What's Included

All breakfasts
All accommodation (see accommodation section)
Luggage transfers between hotels
Navigation app provided

5 days of Walking & Trekking

Day 2: 13 km / 8.1 miles
Day 3: 17 km / 10.6 miles
Day 4: 11 km / 6.8 miles
Day 5: 12 km / 7.5 miles
Day 6: 13 km / 8.1 miles

Highlights

Idyllic lakeside paths and quiet country lanes
Sections along the famous Cumbria Way
High fells, gushing streams and traditional Cumbrian stone villages
High-quality hotels serving excellent local fare

Itinerary

First Destination: Windermere
Next Destination: Hawkshead

Meals included:None

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

First Destination: Windermere
Next Destination: Hawkshead

Arrive in Windermere, on the shores of the largest natural lake in England. We’ll transfer you by taxi to the Wordsworth Hotel & Spa in Grasmere.
Premium Hotel

Welcome to Wordsworth country! After a gentle walk this morning around the meandering River Rothay, you’ll leave the village along the shores of Grasmere Lake, passing St Oswald’s Church – Wordsworth’s final resting place – and Rydal Water, of which the poet wrote: “Like a fair sister of the sky, Unruffled doth the blue lake lie, The Mountains looking on.” You’ll visit majestic Rydal Hall and Gardens – Wordsworth’s family home – and perhaps stop for a tasty pub lunch before following the old coffin road back to Grasmere; Nab Scar looms ominously above you and there are wonderful views across the water to Silver Howe. Back in Grasmere you can spend time at the Wordsworth Museum, Dove Cottage (where the poet lived with his sister from 1799) and the renowned Grasmere Gingerbread Shop!

Premium Hotel

Meals included:Breakfast

It’s all about stunning scenery today as you make your way to the village of Coniston. After a short climb through either Hammerscar Plantation – overlooked by Loughrigg Fell and with incredible views over Langdale – or the shaded paths of the National Trust’s High Close Estate, you’ll descend into the breathtaking Great Langdale Valley where you’ll pick up the Cumbria Way walking trail. Here you’ll find Elterwater, the smallest of the Lake District’s 16 lakes and popular with huge Whooper Swans from Scandinavia! Follow the foaming River Brathay, enjoying spectacular views of the striking Langdale Pikes, and you’ll reach charming Skelwith Bridge – a perfect spot for riverside refreshments. We recommend a visit to the cascading waterfalls of Skelwith Force and Colwith Force, and the picturesque fishing spot of Tarn Hows, en route to your elegant hotel.

Premium Hotel

Meals included:Breakfast

Coniston has inspired many literary greats and it’s not hard to see why. Heading south along the Cumbria Way you’ll meet the shores of the pristine Coniston Water which served as the inspiration for Arthur Ransome’s much-loved Swallows and Amazons. The majestic Old Man of Coniston – the local area’s highest fell at 803m – dominates the village skyline and presides over your route. Heading away from the lake you’ll find the old Viking village of Torver; the Church House Inn, which dates from 1378, is a great place to stop for a drink before making your way back to Coniston. This afternoon you could pay a visit to the Ruskin Museum, or head to the Black Bull, Coniston’s compact, multi-award winning brewery. The bar here has hosted several famous names including Turner, Coleridge and more recently, Sir Anthony Hopkins!

Premium Hotel

Meals included:Breakfast

Today you’ll visit Brantwood, the former home of Victorian writer, philosopher and artist John Ruskin. In a picturesque setting overlooking the lake, Brantwood is filled with fine paintings, beautiful furniture and a collection of Ruskin’s personal treasures. After your visit, head into the peaceful Grizedale Forest, a shady gem located between the lakes of Coniston and Windermere. The forest offers superb lake and mountain views and – perhaps unusually – a number of sculptures hidden away in the trees! Grizedale extends across Monk Coniston Moor and your last stretch of today’s walk takes you all the way to Hawkshead Moor, from where you’ll descend into Hawkshead village. Your home for the next two nights is the superb, 17th century Queens Head Inn which overlooks the cobbled village square.

Premium Hotel

Meals included:Breakfast

The choice is yours today. Fans of Beatrix Potter will enjoy the National Trust’s Beatrix Potter Gallery in the centre of Hawkshead, followed by a visit to Near Sawrey’s Hilltop Farm, the former retreat of the world-famous children’s author. Now in the hands of the National Trust, Hill Top is a delight to explore. Wander the 17th century rooms where you’ll find Potter’s original writing desk, and walk through the pretty cottage garden – the inspiration for many of Potter’s tales! Another option is to head east, via pretty green meadows and the shimmering Blelham Tarn, to visit the National Trust’s beautiful Wray Castle. Back in Hawkshead, be sure to reward yourself with one of the brewery’s award-winning ales!

Premium Hotel

Meals included:Breakfast

After breakfast, if you have pre-booked a transfer, a taxi will take you to Windermere station.

We recommend adding an extra night to your holiday, to take advantage of our walk from Hawkshead to the popular lakeside town of Bowness-on-Windermere (12km/7.5mi/3.5hr). The route takes you through pretty meadows and woodland and up to Latterbarrow Fell (245m) from where you’ll enjoy incredible views across Windermere to Bowness. Descending to the lakeside, you’ll follow a waterside path along Windermere’s tranquil western shore; catch a ferry across to Bowness and take some time to explore this ever-popular town, before retiring to your Laura Ashley-designed hotel overlooking Lake Windermere.

Meals included:Breakfast

Dates & Prices

Skip the hassle: We’ll handle your trip from start to finish, with competitive flight prices, dates that suit you, 24-hour support, loyalty discounts, and peace of mind for delays or disruption.

Call us on 1 844 462 4317

Your Group, Your Adventure

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Accommodation

Hotels

You’ll stay in a 4 star country house hotel in Grasmere, a traditional lakeside inn with verdant lawns running down to Coniston Water in Coniston, and a charming 17th century inn serving fine local ales in Hawkshead. Add an extra night in Bowness and you’ll stay in the Angel Inn, with its lovely gardens and views down to the village and over to the surrounding fells.

All prices are based on 2 persons sharing, so if there is an odd number of people travelling in your party or you are travelling alone, there will be a compulsory supplement for a single room for the tour duration. For a solo traveller there is an additional charge to cover transfer costs.

Essential Information

The walks on this holiday take you to some of the Lake District’s most charming villages, where olde-worlde inns and speciality shops nestle against a backdrop of majestic fells, staggering mountains and shimmering waters. Your routes follow quiet country lanes and lakeside paths, dotted with babbling brooks, thundering waterfalls and shady forest. National Trust properties abound including Beatrix Potter’s former farm, Hilltop, while gems like the award-winning Hawkshead Brewery offer the best kind of refreshment.

This is a self-guided tour, as such there will be no group or tour leader and you are free to complete the walks at your own pace. We have suggested that 8yrs is the minimum age for this trip, but as it is self-guided and you will be leading your own family we will ultimately leave this decision up to you.

For the Literary Walking in the Lake District holiday, you will arrive into Windermere by train. Our friendly local taxi service will be there to meet you upon your arrival and you will then be transferred (15 mins) to the first hotel and the start of your holiday. Please just ensure that you have informed either ourselves or the agent about your time of arrival. The briefing will be given at 6.00pm on the day of arrival.

United Kingdom

Travellers from the US, Canada, and the EU normally do not need a visa to enter the United Kingdom, but do need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (or ETA), which you can apply for at www.gov.uk/eta/apply.

Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

Full English Breakfasts included throughout.

Try out traditional English country pubs for lunch or enjoy a picnic in the countryside. Please note, if you order a picnic from the hotel, please do so the evening before.

Summers here tend to be slightly cooler and winters milder to what one might expect. The warmest months to visit are from June through to August, temperatures start to warm up around April and remain pleasant until October time. We advise you take waterproofs as showers can occur anytime of year.

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

Reviews

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Ruth Benedict

Added September 2022

Fabulous and meaningful walking trip

Seeing the Lake District on foot is outstanding! We were well supplied with directions for getting around, and the lodging and other support arrangements were excellent. I highly recommend this trip for poetry and essay writers, for those who love the serenity of the English countryside, for those who love...

Most Inspirational Moment

Touring Dove Cottage at a leisurely pace (make time for this in your schedule, peeps) ... and the ferry ride on Coniston Water to Brantwood and a leisurely visit there, too. The landscape is enchanting: sheep, stone walls EVERYWHERE, the beauty of the landscape and the villages.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Not applicable ... this was a self-guided trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for rain (although we were very fortunate and only had mist and one short shower) ... don't pack too much stuff. You really only need to be prepared for hiking. Do be sure to carve out time if the weather changes, etc. to visit the homes of William Wordsworth (Dove Cottage), John Ruskin (Brantwood) and Beatrix Potter (Hilltop Farm). You may find you don't have time to do these at a leisurely pace unless you skip a hike here or there, which worked out great for us on a day we decided we needed a rest.

Suggestions

Studying the maps ahead of time would have been helpful (we received them on site with our briefing), but the written hiking directions from Headwater were excellent.

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