Poetic landscape
The Lake District in Cumbria is England's largest national park and easy to get to from Manchester. It's impossible to witness the timeless mountains and lakes or charming towns and villages without falling in love with the place. Combining tranquillity and exhilaration, The Lake District offers some of the best scenery and outdoor pursuits in one of England's few mountainous regions. The area was revered by the romantic Lake Poets, especially William Wordsworth, who lived with his sister Dorothy at Dove Cottage in Grasmere. It has inspired many British landscape artists too.
Lakes, mountains and market towns
Kendal, an attractive market town, has a lively mix of arts and culture with quaint cobbled streets and is home to the Museum Of Lakeland Life. Not far away at Windermere, largest of the lakes, steamers and launches sail daily between Ambleside, Bowness and Lakeside on a regular timetable. Heading south, Coniston Water is a good choice for shore-side picnics, with the fells (as the steep hills are known) reflected in the waters on calm days. Lovers of art and Victoriana will enjoy Brantwood, former home of John Ruskin. Dominated by the peaks of Skiddaw and Blencathra, Keswick on Derwentwater boasts Cumbria's only year-round theatre and Cars of the Stars Motor Museum – featuring Batmobiles, Harry Potter, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and James Bond’s Aston Martin. The western lakes are the least tamed, before the landscape gives way to seaside ports and sandy beaches; to the east the gently curving shoreline of Ullswater makes a dramatic contrast to soaring Helvellyn.
Wild adventures
With more than 3500 kilometres of walking and hiking routes through the Lakes, there’s a trail to suit every level of fitness, from lakeshore circuits to climbs up to hidden waterfalls and the peaks of Scafell Pike and Helvellyn, with its daunting “Striding Edge”. For the more daring, hanggliding, paragliding, kayaking, canoeing, waterskiing, sailing and windsurfing are all available, not to mention rock scrambling, abseiling, caving, hot-air ballooning, horse riding, paintballing, golf and quadbiking. Youngsters with energy to burn and a head for heights might enjoy Go Ape! at Grizedale, a high-wire course up to 60ft above the forest floor. It’s so popular that booking is essential – a month ahead in full season.