©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd The Lake District & Cumbria Why Go? The Lake District ..........579 For natural splendour, nowhere in England compares to Windermere & Bowness- Cumbria. This green, grand, glorious county is a place of on-Windermere ............ 579 nonstop superlatives – home to the nation’s longest lake, Grasmere ...................... 587 smallest church, steepest road, highest town and tallest Hawkshead ...................589 peak. At the heart of the county is the breathtaking Lake Coniston .......................590 District, one of England’s oldest and best-loved national parks, still considered by many to be the spiritual heartland Wasdale ........................594 of English hiking. Cockermouth ...............594 But there’s so much more to this region than just fell Keswick ........................596 (mountain) walking and fine views. There’s a wealth of Borrowdale ...................599 historic pubs, literary landmarks, tumbledown castles and Honister Pass .............. 600 stately homes to explore, and the little-explored coastline Cumbrian Coast ...........604 is ideal if you’re looking to escape the crowds. Whether it’s Northern & Eastern cruising across a lake at twilight or surveying the scene from Cumbria ........................605 the top of a cloud-capped fell, one thing’s for certain: this is Carlisle .........................605 one corner of England that definitely knows how to inspire. Best Places to Eat When to Go » L’Enclume (p 605 ) Cumbria’s largest mountain festival is held in Keswick in mid-May, while the Beer Festival in June welcomes ale » Drunken Duck (p 590 ) aficionados from across the globe. Ambleside’s traditional » Punch Bowl Inn (p 602 ) sports day on the last Saturday in July features events such » Mason’s Arms (p 582 ) as hound trailing and Cumbrian wrestling; Grasmere’s an- » Yanwath Gate Inn (p 608 ) nual sports day takes place on the August Bank Holiday. In November, the world’s greatest liars congregate on Santon Best Places to Bridge for their annual fibbing contest. Stay » The Boundary (p 581 ) » Wasdale Head Inn (p 594) » Moss Grove Organic (p 588 ) » Old Dungeon Ghyll (p 593 ) » Eltermere Inn (p 593 ) 23-lake-district-cumbria-bri10.indd 575 1/02/2013 4:43:49 PM 576 The Lake Dumfries #] Eaglesfield Ecclefechan #\ #\ District & DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY Milton Cumbria Lock /·A75 Caerlaverock SCOTLAND Highlights Castle A75 Ruthven#\ /· U New #V r #\ 1 Conquering the r Abbey W top of England’s a t e Loch highest mountain, #\ r Kindar Castle \# Dalbeattie Scafell Pike (p 594 ) Douglas 2 Taking a cruise in an antique steam Kippford \# launch on Coniston \# Water (p 591 ) Rockcliffe \# Silloth 3 Wandering round Wllliam Wordsworth’s homes at Dove 0¸A596 Cottage and Rydal 0¸A595 Mount (p 587 ) Solway Firth Allonby #\ Aspatria \# 4 Feeling the whiff llen Crosby E of wildness around #\ the dramatic valley of Maryport \# 0¸A595 Wasdale (p 594 ) THE LAKE DISTRICT & CUMBRIA CUMBRIA & LAKE DISTRICT THE Bassenthwaite 5 Cycling round #\ the wooded trails of #\ Grizedale Forest Cockermouth \# (p 590 ) Workington 6 Tackling the Braithwaite 0¸A595 #\ iconic fell-tops 0¸A5086 \# Loweswater around Great Moresby #\ Langdale (p 593 ) Whitehaven #\ Buttermere 7 Delving the #\ depths of the slate St Bees c mines around Head Honister Pass #7 Honister Pass St Bees#\ Great #\ Egremont Gable R (p 600 ) Wasdale#4\# R #1 8 Catching the 0¸A595 7 miniature steam Scafell Gosforth Pike trains of La’al Ratty \# Santon Bridge (p 605 ) into Eskdale #\ Seascale #\ \# c Boot Ravenglass #8 La'al Ratty \# Seathwaite #\ Drigg Dunes #\ Ulpha Broughton- in-Furness \# \# Bootle Grizebeck #\ IRISH \#Millom SEA Haverigg #\ Dalton-in-Furness#\ Furness Abbey #ä Barrow-in- Furness #\ e# 020km 010milesBarrow Island 223-lake-district-cumbria-bri10.indd3-lake-district-cumbria-bri10.indd 557676 11/02/2013/02/2013 44:43:54:43:54 PPMM.