Overview:
The Lake District is the first and largest of England’s national parks. It is the land of William Wordsworth and other Romantic poets, and the inspiration for Beatrix Potter’s works. It lies in northwest England nestled between the sea and Scotland, and is a region of high mountains, deep valleys, and deep blue lakes formed 10,000 years ago by glaciers. Wild, rugged mountains contrast with charming villages and farms. We’ll be treated to wildflowers and the sight of newborn lambs during this springtime cultural walking tour.
This trip will be based in a hotel in Windermere near the lake and will enable you to unpack and relax as you spend the week exploring this beautiful region. Our hotel, once owned by Beatrix Potter, is a charming manor house with lovely grounds, lake views, gracious service and a small indoor swimming pool and sauna. You’ll enjoy multi-course gourmet dinners, and you’ll be treated as if you were the esteemed guest in an English country house, which, by the way, you will be on this trip. We’ll be located a short distance from the hikes and cultural attractions, but will be away from the bustle.
We offer this trip May through October but have a guided departure planned from May 25 - 31, 2008. If that timing does not work for you, or you prefer a self-guided trip, please contact us and we will work with you to design a custom trip.
Highlights:
- Cottages, cobbled streets and stone walls that crisscross the landscape.
- A charming hotel, once owned by Beatrix Potter, with delicious gourmet cuisine and friendly, gracious service.
- Gentle valleys surrounded by rugged high peaks.
- Newborn lambs, spring wild flowers, and songbirds.
- Cultural attractions such as William Wordsworth’s homes and museum, the Beatrix Potter residence and museum, and Blackwell, the world famous Arts and Crafts House.
Your Itinerary
Day 1: Trip Orientation and Welcome Dinner
Travel to Windermere and meet your guide, Deborah Lewis, at 6:00 p.m. for a trip orientation and welcome drinks, followed by your first delicious dinner in your charming hotel.
Day 2: Beatrix Potter Walk
We’ll visit Brockhole, the Lake District visitor center, a late Victorian mansion with lush grounds, to orient ourselves to the area, and then it’s off to the Beatrix Potter Walk across Lake Windermere and over the wooded fells to take in the sights that inspired the works of Beatrix Potter. We take a ferry across Lake Windermere, once the scene for the “night walker ghost”, and over the wooded fells of Claife Heights to the villages of Sawrey and Hawkshead. We walk through the lovely woods of Cockshott Point that she bequeathed to the National Trust and visit her house, Hill Top, in Near Sawrey. We can make the walk as long or as short as we like by making use of either the shuttle bus or the ferry bus to suit our itinerary and our fancy.
Day 3: Grasmere and our Wordsworth Day
After our usual hearty English breakfast today we’ll walk from Ambleside to Grasmere via Loughrigg Terrace, enjoying wonderful views of Grasmere, Dunmail Raise and surrounding mountains. We’ll stroll around the idyllic hamlet of Grasmere, visit Wordworth’s Dove Cottage, and will stop for a treat at Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread Shop. Grasmere is an intimate cluster of gray-stone houses on an old packhorse road along the River Rothay. With a population of under a 1000 and just a few roads, it retains the character of what the Poet Thomas Gray called the “white village” on the water in this “unsuspected paradise.” His groundbreaking tour of the Lakes did much to attract broader attention. Grasmere is seen as the “eye of the Romantic storm.” We’ll return to our starting point along the medieval Coffin Trail, the route over which coffin bearers struggled with their load on the way to church before there was a church in neighboring Rydal. (Our load will thankfully only be our day packs and our mood certainly much more cheerful than that of our predecessors on this pretty route.)
Day 4: Alcock Tarn and Blackwell Arts and Crafts House
Today’s adventures take us to Alcock Tarn where we’ll enjoy great views and a feeling of being on top of the world without too much work. Some of the grand views in Lakeland are from the fell (or hill) tops, available only to hardcore hikers carrying a day’s rations. The walk up to Alcock Tarn, complete with wonderful views of Grasmere below, is available to us on this moderate hike. After enjoying Alcock Tarn, we’ll walk from the hotel via public foot paths past charming farms to visit Blackwell, the lovely Arts and Crafts House. On the way back to the hotel we’ll enjoy the lake view and perhaps an aperitif from the terrace of another gracious manor-style hotel.
Day 5: Hawkshead or Jack Diamond Path
We’ll have a choice today between a walk in and around Hawkshead that features quaint villages, wild flowers, views, and well-preserved farms, or a hike up the southeast flank of Coniston Old Man via the wonderfully graded Jack Diamond Path in a series of cairn marked zigzags. Hawkshead is a delightful village, originally a medieval marketplace and steeped in the history of William Wordsworth, who went to school here, and Beatrix Potter, who married a local solicitor, William Heelis. Potter, who was known locally as Mrs. Heelis, preserved thousands of acres of land, which she bequeathed to the National Trust. On this walk you pass several farms, which were preserved by Potter. The route follows well marked paths across pastures and woodlands and past charming settlements. The view from the top of Latterbarrow is stunning, and takes in Hawkshead, Lake Windermere, and Wray Castle. At Wray Castle Beatrix Potter, at the age of 16, spent her first holiday in Lakeland.
The Jack Diamond Path is another choice if we are feeling particularly energetic. It is one of the few paths in the Lake District named after an individual, a one time member of the climbing club the Coniston Tigers. It provides the best viewpoint in the south of the Lake District.
Day 6: Tarn Hows or Fairfield Horseshoe
For our last walk of the trip we have two options from which to choose, depending upon the weather and the group’s energy level. We’ll hike in Tarn Hows past farms and cottages with mountain views. The view of the ponds at Tarn Hows is one of the most famous in the Lake District, and the path there from Hawkshead delights as well as it passes by farms and sheep. If we are up for more of a challenge, we’ll do the Fairfield Horseshoe, the most famous of the Lake District “rounds” that takes in the peaks that surround Rydal. We’ll also travel up to Keswick for a sunset visit to mysterious Castlerigg, a bronze age circle of massive stones, and make our own guesses as to the purpose of the stones.
Day 7: Farewell to Lake District
Today we say good-bye to the Lake District and depart for home or other adventures.
Please bear in mind that this is a typical itinerary, and the actual walks and sites may vary due to season, special events or weather. We reserve the right to alter the itinerary since tour arrangements are made up to a year in advance, and unforeseen circumstances that mandate change may arise. Itinerary changes are made to improve the tour ad your experience.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
$2,700 USD (per person double occupancy). $300 USD single supplement. $500 USD deposit. Loyalty Program discounts. Pricing applies to May 25-31, 2008 departure.
Included in Price:
• Double occupancy hotel in superior category rooms; single available with supplement. We would be happy to try to identify a roommate for you.
• Transportation to/from daily hikes by van or boat
• Full, hot breakfasts and multi-course gourmet dinners at the hotel
• Daily guided walks led by an expert guide
• Welcome drinks on May 25
• Admission to cultural attractions that are part of scheduled walks
• Literary and historical information shared informally during walks
• Travel brochures and hiking maps
Not Included in Price:
• Air travel and transportation to/from Windermere
• Lunches
• Gratuities for your guide(s). A gratuity for your guide(s) is at your discretion, but the standard for a job well done is approximately $10 USD per person per guide per day.
• All beverages with dinner
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
England
Hiking & Trekking
Cultural Journey
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