Lake District Tour

7 days / 6 nights

$5,350 per person

(minimum 2 people)

This specially designed tour takes you to the world-renowned Lake District: home to the poet William Wordsworth and the adopted home of Beatrix Potter, John Ruskin and many other writers. The tour is completely private. You and your party will be our only guests. What’s more, the pace is unhurried. You’ll have plenty of time to immerse yourself in each writer’s world and enjoy every site you visit (literary, non-literary, film and TV locations).

The Lake District Tour has been thoughtfully designed by the experts at Literary Tours of England. However, we’re flexible: the tour can be modified to reflect your personal tastes and preferences. The itinerary can even be adjusted en route to take account of weather conditions, local events, etc. If you wish, your tour can be extended to include London and/or other areas of England.

The tour includes:

For lunch, afternoon tea and dinner (per your preference) your tour guide will help you find the type of eating establishment and food you like, from country pub to fine cuisine.

Day 1: Drive to Windermere

You are met at Manchester International Airport (MAN) by your personal driver / tour guide. The relaxing drive to Windermere (the town on the lake of the same name) takes about one-and-a-half hours. Your four-star hotel is right in the town center, within walking distance of all amenities.

Day 2: Explore Windermere and Beatrix Potter sites

A full day to enjoy this lakeside town and nearby attractions.

A cruise around Windermere – the largest lake in the Lake District – is a great way to start your day! Beatrix Potter first visited the area in 1882, when she was sixteen, and immediately fell in love with it. Following the success of her first three children’s books, she was able to buy land here and in 1905 she purchased the 17^th Century farmhouse, Hill Top, in the “charming village” of Near Sawrey. Potter lived at Hill Top for the next eight years, during which she wrote prolifically. She died in 1943 at the age of 77 and left Hill Top to the National Trust, specifying that it be left exactly as it was when she lived there. You’ll find the house is filled with Potter’s furniture and possessions, arranged to create the impression that she has gone out for a stroll. In the nearby village of Hawkshead we’ll visit the Beatrix Potter Gallery, also owned by the National Trust. Housed in a 17^th Century property, it features a splendid display of Potter’s original artwork. Finally we’ll look into The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness to enjoy its many exhibits about Potter and her famous characters.

Day 3: Explore Ambleside and Wordsworth sites

A full day to enjoy this picturesque town and nearby attractions.

At the head of Windermere lies the popular small town of Ambleside, with its interesting shops and the remains of a Roman Fort (an English Heritage property managed by the National Trust). A short drive away from the lake brings us to Rydal Water and Rydal Mount, the home of William Wordsworth from 1813 until his death in 1850. We’ll visit this delightful house, built in the 16^th Century and much enlarged since. Still owned by the Wordsworth family, it contains a selection of the family’s possessions and portraits. The five-acre garden, still much as Wordsworth designed it, is equally delightful, with its fell-side terraces, rock pools and an ancient mound. A further short drive brings us to Dove Cottage, where Wordsworth lived from 1799 for eight years. The attraction might have been nearby Grasmere: one of the smallest of the lakes and “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found”. The displays in the adjacent museum bring Wordsworth vividly to life, not only as one of the greatest Romantic poets, but also as a radical who celebrated the French Revolution and travelled freely in Europe. Wordsworth’s grave is at St Oswald’s Church in Grasmere.

Day 4: Explore Coniston Water and John Ruskin’s home

A full day to enjoy fascinating sites around the southern lakes

We’ll take a scenic 50-mile circular drive that loops around Windermere and the neighboring lake, Coniston Water. High above Coniston Water sits Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin from 1871 until his death in 1900. Ruskin was the greatest art critic of the Victorian era and he’s also remembered as an original social thinker. His ideas were the inspiration behind many foundations of civil society, including the National Trust. Ruskin’s charming house is filled with superb paintings, beautiful furniture and personal treasures. In the village of Coniston, close to Brantwood, is the Ruskin Museum, which celebrates the literary and cultural history of the Coniston area. It’s a good place to learn about Arthur Ransome (1884-1967) who spent much of his life in the Lake District. He’s remembered for the timeless Swallows and Amazons series of children’s books (1930-47), some of which are set on a fictional “lake in the north” that’s a combination of Coniston Water and Windermere. We can take the Swallows and Amazons boat tour or go for a cruise in the National Trust’s Steam Yacht “Gondola”: a faithful reconstruction of the 1839 original. At the southern end of Windermere, if time permits, we’ll take the short but rewarding steam train ride on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. We’ll also look into the Scott Park Bobbin Mill, one of English Heritage’s most fascinating attractions, the only surviving and working Lakeland mill that made bobbins for the Lancashire textile industry.

Day 5: Drive to Keswick

Stop along the way to enjoy beautiful Ullswater and other sites.

From Windermere in the southern area of the Lake District we’ll drive north through gorgeous mountain scenery to Ullswater, second only to Windermere in size. Regarded by many as the most beautiful lake in England, Ullswater is where Wordsworth saw the “host of golden daffodils” that inspired him to write his most popular poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (1807). The road from Windermere takes us over the spectacular Kirkstone Pass, the highest in the Lake District that’s open to motor vehicles. We reach Ullswater at its southern tip and the village of Glenridding. Here we’ll embark on an “Ullswater Steamers” boat for a gentle two-hour-plus cruise around the lake. Just sit back and soak in the beauty around you! We’ll hop off at Pooley Bridge, the beautiful village at the northern tip of the lake, to enjoy its many little shops and local pubs. After returning to Glenridding, we’ll resume the drive north. Shortly after leaving the lake shore we’ll come to Aira Force, an impressive 65-foot waterfall. The parking area and access to the falls is managed by the National Trust, who provide their customary tearoom and gift shop. From here we’ll complete the easy drive to Keswick. Your four-star hotel is right in the town center, within walking distance of all amenities.

Day 6: Explore Keswick and Wordsworth’s birthplace

A full day to enjoy this pretty market town and the northern lakes.

Keswick is the main tourist center in the northern part of the Lake District. We’ll linger there for a while before driving up to the impressive Castlerigg Stone Circle, dating back to the Neolithic era, on a hilltop east of town. Then we’ll take a marvelous 40-mile circular drive through some of the Lake District’s most spectacular scenery. We’ll pass lakes including Derwent Water, Crummock Water, gentle Buttermere and Bassenthwaite Lake. We’ll drive along the beautiful Borrowdale valley and over the mighty Honister Pass. We’ll spend time in the small market town of Cockermouth, where Wordsworth was born in 1770. Wordsworth House is a lovely Georgian townhouse, now owned by the National Trust. Wordsworth’s love of literature evolved in his father’s library, where he studied the works of Shakespeare and Milton, among others. It was in the garden, with the River Derwent running behind it, that the young William developed his appreciation of nature. The house is presented much as it was when the Wordsworth family lived there and the guided tour through the rooms is well worth taking.

Day 7: Drive to Manchester Airport

The return journey to Manchester International Airport takes about two hours. We’ll stop at significant sites along the way if time permits.

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