The Lake District is one of my favourite places in the UK thanks to its breath-taking scenery and the opportunities that it offers to explore the outdoors. A few weeks ago I went camping there for the first time with one of my besties.
I’d not been camping since I was a teenager so I wasn’t sure what to expect and I had to admit I was a little bit nervous the day before. However, I needn’t have worried, I really enjoyed it.
I’d worried I might be cold but I had an awesome sleeping bag that kept me cosy the whole time.
Campsites in the Lake District
The Lake District is home to hundreds of campsites, and the facilities at each one vary. We stayed at the National Trust campsite at Great Langdale and we were very impressed with the facilities.
There are a few different fields in which to pitch your tent, including a family field, and all of them have fantastic views of the surrounding fells on a clear day. There are several toilet and shower blocks and these were really clean. They also had hairdryers in them.
On site there was a well-equipped shop which literally had everything you could think of and was perfect for top-ups if you had forgotten anything. Of course, it was a little pricier than the supermarket but we picked up some porridge pots, sandwich ingredients and milk.
If you don’t fancy camping, then why not try glamping instead? Campsites.co.uk lists great options for glamping in the Lake District, check them out to find your perfect stay.
The shop also do bacon baguettes in the morning which again were a little pricy at £4 each but provided us with a great start to the day and some fuel for our walks.
The campsite was near to two different pubs. We only visited one of them but we went there for dinner on two nights because we enjoyed it so much.
Again, run by the National Trust, the Sticklebarn pub looks like the most beautiful barn conversion on the outside.
It has seating outside and inside and is, like many places in the Lake District, dog friendly. There was a great atmosphere inside as it was full of walkers and fellow campers and we made friends with pretty much everyone in the pub!
The food was great and very reasonably priced. We both had a halloumi and mushroom burger which was a special on the first night and it was delicious.
There are also cards and games to help yourself to, plug sockets and free wifi which was great as we had no 4G at the campsite.
Walks in the Lake District
Of course, you can’t go to the Lake District without doing a bit (or a lot!) of walking. We’re now on a mission to tick off all of the Wainwrights, or fells as they are also known, in the Lake District and we started off with these two.
The Pike o’ Blisco
The Pike o’ Blisco is quite a challenging walk with amazing views almost all the way up. For this walk, you can set off straight from the campsite so there’s no need to drive anywhere.
Be warned – at the top it does get a little bit scrambly and for us it was super windy at the top which made it a bit scary!
However, it was all worth it for the fantastic views and the feeling of achievement we felt once we’d ticked it off.
I wore these Maier Sports hiking pants which I was sent for this walk and I loved them. The fit was great and they come in a shorter length which I need. I also scramble tested them and they had plenty of movement.
Silver How
Fran sold this to me as a nice easy walk before we jumped in the car to head home. However, it was actually quite steep on the way up and I’m very unfit and so it was a bit challenging for me!
However, it wasn’t too scrambly and it was a really enjoyable walk with amazing views.
This walk starts in the beautiful Grasmere which is famous for its gingerbread. Silver How offers gorgeous views across the surrounding lakes which are well worth the steep walk up.
On the way down you walk by Grasmere lake and back into the village.
Wild swimming in the Lake District
Wild swimming has become super popular over the last couple of years and I’ve been dying to give it a try for ages. So, on the way back from our Pike o’ Blisco walk, I went for my first ever wild swim!
We headed to Blea Tarn as this was on the way back and quite close to our campsite. I’m not going to lie – it was very cold!
After some “cold noises” from me and some coaxing from Fran I finally went in all the way up to my shoulders and what they say is right – you do get used to it once you’re in!
I began to enjoy myself and we swam for a bit back and forth. The lake was really shallow but I would absolutely recommend wearing something on your feet as it was really rocky underfoot.
Towns to explore in the Lake District
Although we were lucky with the weather whilst we were in the Lakes for our walks, there was one day where it literally never stopped raining. So, instead of dragging ourselves up a mountain in the pouring rain, we decided to explore Ambleside.
Ambleside is a picture-perfect little town which is full of outdoor shops, lovely little cafes and cosy pubs. We enjoyed looking round the gem shop where we found our birthstones plus lots of crystals before we had a look at some outdoor gear in the various other shops.
We had a coffee at Esquire’s Coffee which, again, is dog friendly and serves cakes as well as amazing hot chocolates. For a late lunch we headed to the Ambleside Tapyard which was super cosy with log burners inside – perfect for a rainy day.
Here we had a gorgeous antipasti board with cheeses, meats, bread and olives on it. I also enjoyed a blood orange spritz which was fab.
We had an amazing time on our three day camping trip in the Lake District and I can’t wait to go camping more next summer!
If camping isn’t your thing and you’d prefer to stay in a hotel or B&B then check out my review of some Lake District hotels. I’ve also got more inspiration for things to do in the Lake District.