There is always plenty to do in the Lake District this Winter, whatever the weather. Below are a selection of days out to try when you visit.
Tree Top Trek & Tree Top Nets Brockhole, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1LJ Challenge yourself at Treetop Trek to 35 exciting treetop challenges designed to enable you to swing, climb, balance and fly your way through the ancient woodland canopy at Brockhole Visitor Centre, Windermere, whilst discovering views previously reserved for the squirrels and bats. Treetop Nets offers a whole different treetop experience! It is the UK’s first Aerial Netting adventure park. Featuring over 1500m2 of sky trampolines, aerial walkways, tunnels and slides.
The Arts & Crafts House, Bowness Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 3JT Blackwell is one of Britain’s finest houses from the turn of the last century. Designed by M H Baillie Scott, as a holiday retreat for Sir Edward Holt, a wealthy Manchester brewery owner, Blackwell survives in a truly remarkable state of preservation, retaining many original decorative features.
Windermere Lake Cruises, Bowness-on-Windermere Windermere (‘mere’ meaning ‘lake’) is England’s largest natural lake and Windermere Lake Cruises currently operates 16 vessels, including 3 historic ‘steamers’, 4 traditional wooden launches and 9 waterbuses. Boat trips and cruises run every day except Christmas Day, linking Bowness, Ambleside and Lakeside during the winter months. A popular outing is the 45-minute circular Islands Cruise from Bowness, which takes in wooded islands and secluded bays.
Lakes Aquarium, Lakeside Lakeside, Newby Bridge, Cumbria, LA12 8AS, The Lakes Aquarium allows you to visit creatures from the lakes of the world, along with those a little closer to home. Residents include Marmoset monkeys, British sharks, Rays, Otters and Diving Ducks, as well as a collection of Lake Windermere’s most iconic fish – the Arctic Char. This fish was one of the first to enter the lakes after the last ice age and has evolved and survived the test of time.
Brantwood, Coniston Coniston, Cumbria, LA21 8AD (winter opening: Weds-Sun 10am – 4pm) Brantwood offers a fascinating insight into the world of John Ruskin and the last 28 years of his life spent at Coniston. Filled with many fine paintings, beautiful furniture and Ruskin’s personal treasures, the house retains much character of the man himself. Famous as a writer, artist and social reformer, many great thinkers have been influenced by Ruskin’s ideas. Displays and activities in the house, gardens and estate reflect the wealth of cultural associations with Ruskin’s legacy – from the Pre Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts Movement to the founding of the National Trust and the Welfare State.
Dove Cottage & the Wordsworth Museum, Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9SH William Wordsworth lived in Dove Cottage from 1799 – 1808, and during this time wrote the most famous and best-loved of his poems including, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and his sister Dorothy Wordsworth wrote her, “Grasmere Journals”. Come and see what inspired them, the beautiful landscape and their simple way of life.
Lakes Distillery, Setmurthy, near Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria, CA13 9SJ Opened in 2014, The Lakes Distillery has expanded its portfolio of products and is now producing the awardwinning ‘The ONE’ blended whisky, The Lakes Gin and The Lakes Vodka, alongside interactive distillery tours and the highly acclaimed food and drink offering, Bistro at the Distillery.