The Lake District is one of my favourite places for a UK break. There’s so much to do and the scenery is just stunning, especially if you manage to get lucky and get good weather.
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I recently headed up to the Lakes for a couple of days so I thought I’d share my three day Lake District itinerary with you so you can plan your own staycation in the national park.
Things to do in the Lake District
There is literally so much to see and do in the Lake District. There are hundreds of walks, lots of towns and villages to potter round in plus museums and other attractions in case you get a rainy day…which is likely in the Lakes!
These are just some of my top picks, if you’re looking for more then check out some other things to do in the Lake District from one of my previous trips.
Bowness-on-Windermere
Situated in the south of the Lakes, Bowness-on-Windermere is the typical honeypot tourist town. It is just on the banks of Windermere and benefits from lots of little shops to potter around as well as plenty to choose from when it comes to eating and drinking.
It’s the perfect stop on your first day in the Lake District. Arrive in the afternoon, ready for a spot of late lunch or some liquid refreshment and then spend a chilled afternoon exploring.
I can recommend the Lake View Garden Bar for a drink – it’s gorgeous if the weather is good and there’s a cover for when it rains. Blankets are also provided.
Just a note here – in the summer, Bowness gets very busy. We actually ended up driving around the town a couple of times and we weren’t even able to find anywhere to park so we didn’t even end up visiting here this time.
Old Man of Coniston
I’d suggest tackling the Old Man of Coniston on your full day in the Lakes after a good night’s sleep. The Old Man is one of the highest fells in the Lake District at 2,632ft high.
There’s a great circular route you can do which is around 6.5 miles in total, or you can go up and back down the way you came.
You’ll be rewarded with spectacular views of Coniston Water and the surrounding fells and you can stop up for a rest at Low Water where you can have a dip or just a bottle of prosecco like we did!
If you fancy even more of a challenge then you might want to try Scafell Pike, the Lake District and England’s highest mountain.
Coniston
Once you’ve conquered the Old Man, you can head into the village of Coniston and reward yourself with a drink. There are lots of little pubs and shops here to mooch around.
We popped into the Green Housekeeper Cafe for a cuppa and a slice of cake.
From here you can walk down to Coniston Water where there is a shore to walk around. If you’ve still got the energy you can hire paddle boards, a rowing boat or a motorised boat here and go out on the lake.
Rawlinson Nab & Windermere Shore walk
This walk starts off from Ees Wyke so it’s best to do this one after your overnight stay there. It’s a good walk to do on the day you head home as it’s an easy five mile stroll which is fairly flat so won’t be too hard on your legs – especially after your day in the mountains!
You’ll get lovely views of Windermere from here plus a bit of woodland walking.
Where to stay in the Lake District
Again, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to places to stay in the Lake District. With everything from glamping and lodges to boutique hotels, there’s something for everyone here.
We stayed in two gorgeous hotels for this trip.
Beech Hill Hotel and Spa
It’s all about location, location, location here. Beech Hill Hotel and Spa is situated right on the banks of Windermere, the largest lake in the Lake District. This means that most of the rooms and the dining room have spectacular views of the lake.
We woke up in the morning and opened the curtains to enjoy a cup of tea in bed while looking out at the view.
There’s a spa here which has two hot tubs which are just in front of the lake. There’s also a gorgeous swimming pool with beds around it as well as a steam room and a sauna.
It’s the perfect place to spend a couple of hours relaxing on the day you arrive in the Lakes, especially if you’ve had a long drive.
We also had a meal at the hotel which was absolutely amazing. It was fine dining quality – I went for the chicken liver pate and the pork belly which were both delicious.
There’s a continental breakfast included in the price of your overnight stay but you can also add on a full English if you want to…of course, we did! The continental breakfast included pastries, cereals, jams, cheeses and bread and arrived on an individual stand for your table.
The full English came with all the usual – sausage, bacon, beans, mushroom, egg, tomatoes, black pudding and a hash brown. The perfect fuel for a day out walking.
Another thing that really stood out were the staff, they were super friendly and helpful, especially at dinner. When we got there, we arrived earlier than check in time and our room was already ready for us so we could get in straight away.
Our room was a family room which had twin beds, a sofa bed and an amazing view of Windermere and the Lake District fells. We ended up watching the England match in our room after being unable to find a parking space in Bowness and there was quite a big TV and plenty of space for us to chill out on the sofa with snacks and drinks.
The only tiny thing that we thought could have been done better was that our room was a bit drab – there were no colourful throw pillows, runners or artwork on the walls.
We did have a wonderful stay here and I only wish it could have been a bit longer so that we could have enjoyed the views from that hot tub again!
Ees Wyke Country House
For our second night we headed to Ees Wyke Country House, a luxury B&B in Near Sawrey, a small village in the Lakes. As soon as we arrived we were struck by how beautiful the building was as well as the warm welcome we received from the staff.
It felt like a real home from home as soon as we got there. There’s a lounge you can hang around in and we were brought a pot of tea to enjoy in there on arrival.
I was absolutely in love with the tea set!
Our room was absolutely beautiful. It was called the Sunshine room and was decorated with yellow accents.
There was a lovely ensuite bathroom with Penhaligon’s toiletries and complimentary sherry as well as tea and coffee and a couple of bottles of water.
Again, from our room we were spoilt with stunning lake views over Esthwaite. Our room would have been the perfect place from which to watch the sunset too and we almost got to see it but it went cloudy just as the sun was about to go down.
Typically I saw a picture of the sunset the night after we stayed on Ees Wyke’s Instagram and it was stunning.
The menu for dinner was absolutely perfect for us and we went for scallops to start with followed by roasted guinea fowl and then with local Lake District cheeses to finish off. The food was amazing and the dining room had views over the lake.
It was also nice to chat to the other people on holiday over dinner.
It was another full English breakfast for me the following day (well, you have to eat a lot when you’re walking!) which again was packed full of local produce and was really lovely.
We had the loveliest stay at Ees Wyke, everyone was so friendly and really looked after us and it was super relaxing.
Three days is a great time for a short break in the Lakes but it’s definitely one of my favourite places in the UK so I’d recommend spending more time there if you can!
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