Best holiday accommodation in the Lake District

Advantages: Location and scenery and activities
Disadvantages: Having to take your own towels

...HARTSOP HALL COTTAGES I have now been to the Lake District for my annual family holiday twice, the first time in mid winter with snow on the ground, and the most recent one in August. The summer holiday was excellent, in excellent surroundings, having spent a week at Dovedale Cottage, which is one of two cottages at Hartsop Hall Cottages. The cottage itself is excellent and highly recommended. For those of you that know the Lake District, it is situated at the foot of the Kirkstone Pass, and close to Brothers Water and Ullswater. Going up the Kirkstone Pass gives you some excellent views of the surrounding countryside, but if you go during the winter months, the Pass can be rather perilous and often is closed to traffic DOVEDALE COTTAGE DETAILS Dovedale Cottage is situated on a working hill farm and is attached to...

JAVER1967 26.11.2007 (27.11.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Hartsop Hall Cottages, Lake District

A Fishy Day Out In The Lake District.

Advantages: Interesting and interactive displays, fab outdoor facilities, good ticket prices
Disadvantages: Can get a bit squished. Won't be able to spend the whole day here

...I'm always on the lookout for days out in my local area, that aren't going to break the bank. I have 2 children with an 8 year age gap, so finding something that appeals to both has become increasingly difficult! The Lake District Coast Aquarium has become a favourite attraction, and one we have visited annually for the last 4 years. Situated on the West Cumbrian Coast, the Solway Estuary and with the Lake district just a stones throw away, Maryport is home to the Lake District Coast Aquarium. The aquarium, now 12 years old, houses a wide and varied exhibition of river and marine life from the local area and is easily accessible from Keswick, Penrith, and Carlisle by car, train or bus. There is pay parking right outside, and a large car park 2 minutes walk away. Opening Times And Prices The aquarium is open daily from...

Rhiana 09.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Lake District Coast Aquarium, Cumbria

Why the Lake District is the place to go...

Advantages: Great mountains, great scenery...
Disadvantages: Rains quite a bit

...I have visited Scotland, Snowdonia, The Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales, but The Lake District remains my utmost favourite for spending a walking holiday. It has glimmering lakes and wind-swept tarns, valleys and ghylls, towering crags and narrow rakes all combining to form razor-sharp ridges and beautiful mountain tops with Scafell Pike rising (just) over the rest at 3,210ft. Now that's a prospect for a damn good holiday! It's mountains are modest compared to those in Scotland, but the Lake District has a subtlety of scale which surpasses no other mountainous region. Don't think that the Lake District mountains are easy either, for they can provide challenges which can equal those provided by the Scottish mountains. Take the Fairfield Horseshoe for example or Kirkfell from Wasdale. No, most of these beasties are tough and combined...

razor_2006 24.07.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Lake District (England)

A District with....Lakes

Advantages: Scenery, activities
Disadvantages: rain

...to around 1,000,000 cafes. To be honest, the best one is at Grange, at the very top of Borrowdale - the Hot Chocolate and evening meals are fantastic. Also, Mayson's in Keswick has pretty spectacular food. And of course, I have already mentioned Mire House. That's not to say there aren't many good ones around - all of them do a mean HC. Where To Stay The Lake District has a wide range of accommodation for anyone. I'll start at the top and work down. The Swiss Lodore Hotel in Borrowdale is probably as near the top of the spectrum as you will get. Its a 4 star hotel, overlooking Derwentwater, with a swimming pool, squash courts, tennis, sauna and steam room. It also has a first class restaurant. It is also pretty pricey, but you do get what you pay for. The you get a range of rented accommodation and hotels, from nice cottages to...

Dawson 13.05.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Lake District (England)

Windermere in the Lake District

Advantages: Cheap
Disadvantages: No iron in the room

...Some Family friends were on holiday in the Lake District for a couple of weeks, they were staying in the Caravan park in one of the small towns nearby. The invited us over for a couple of days, however we couldn't get booked in at the caravan park as it was fully booked for mid week breaks! So we had to have a look at an alternative place to stay, somewhere cheap with basic facilities and we came across the Best western hotel, close to where our friends were staying. We arrived at the hotel at about 11:00, but check-in wasn't until 12, so we were shown to the lounge area. **The Lounge** My first impressions of the lounge area was 'I bet this was lovely once upon a time!' It was a large room with about 20 sofa's and a bar. The set out was lovely and the style of the furnature matched well with the decor, however it had seen...

Trillian42 24.04.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Best Western Windermere Hotel, Lake District

Lake it a lot

Advantages: Breathtaking scenery, Walker's paradise, Peace & Tranquility
Disadvantages: None

...Firstly, let me apologise for the terrible title, but I just couldn't resist. I had never visited the Lake District until Easter weekend when we decided to go away for a weekend camping. I have to say that I have been missing out. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting and the scenery is just breathtaking. We stayed at Ullswater in a quiet campsite called Cove. When I say quiet I mean it. There was no shop, no pub and to be honest it didn't matter at all. I probably had one of the best weekends ever and will definitely not take long in revisiting the Lakes. ULLSWATER Ullswater is the second largest lake in the Lake District and even though it was early in the season it was a hive of activity. On the lake there are facilities for watersports such as sailing, sailboarding, fishing...

Fluff-Buff 27.04.2003 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Lake District (England)

Can we return to The Lakes after Foot and Mouth

Advantages: Lovely views. Not over crowded yet.Bargain breaks available due to foot and mouth
Disadvantages: Still some foot paths closed

...Today’s is a review of my trip around the Lake District this weekend. I will try and give you an idea about how foot and mouth is still effecting this area. I will point out that with just a small amount of care, it will be a normal holiday meaning foot and mouth should not prevent you enjoying this wonderful area. AIRA FORCE ********** Aira Force is a lovely waterfall, which is approximately 30 metres high in the National Park. Its on the way between Penrith and Windermere on the A 592 beside Ullswater, which means if you coming from the North or East this is a good point on entry into the Lake District. I would say it had approx. 80 car parking spaces on site for which there is a charge of £2.50 for 4 hours. However car-parking tickets are valid in any other National Trust car parking as long as you ticket has not expired...

bazza1603 06.08.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Lake District (England)

A beautiful place

Advantages: Lovely scenery, not as commercial as Windermere
Disadvantages: None

...One of my favourite places to visit is the Lake District in Cumbria. I live an hour and a half away by car, so it is fairly easy for me to visit often. My favourite spot is Ullswater, the second largest of the lakes. I first visited Ullswater, when I was on a holiday with my school aged 11, and staying at Patterdale Hall at the southern tip of the lake. I had two school holidays there and had the opportunity to explore the lake and participate in many walks around the area. I never returned until 20 years later, when I took my own children to Ullswater, and everything was just as I remembered it. That is the beauty of most of the Lake District, it is so unspoilt and nothing changes. Ullswater is approx 8 miles long and three quarters of a mile wide, stretching from Pooley Bridge in the north to Glenridding in the south, which lies...

JEFFJEN 06.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Ullswater, Lake District

I Lake it Very Much

Advantages: Beautiful Surroundings, friendly town, lots to do for all ages, not over commercialised, good value accomadation
Disadvantages: the weather is often v.bad

...We decided to visit the Lake District recently for the weekend. It would have been much nicer to have stayed for longer as it's not possible to cover the District in 2 days, however if you're going there for a few days, then this guide may help. Travelling - Travelling to the LD is not hard, in our case from the South, it is extremely well sign-posted and we decided to take the scenic route through Ilkley, Skipton (A65, A590/591) up to Windemere, not the fastest but if the sun is out, it sets you in the mood for the Lakes. An alternative route if you are coming from the South is to fight your way along the M6. Accomadation - We stayed in a B&B half way between Windermere and Bowness, 2 major towns in the Lake District. (www.st-johns-lodge.co.uk) The 3 star b&b was v.comfortable and served its purpose. Along with a good...

sjl02 23.07.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Lake District (England)

Eden Lake

Advantages: Powerful horror, genuinely scary
Disadvantages: Sickening to watch

...It took me at least a week to come to a semi conclusion of how I felt about Eden Lake; it took me a few days at least to get over the initial shock and emotion felt by watching it. And I have to say that the film I am about to review is like nothing I have seen before. Eden Lake, is an English film directed by a man called James Watkins, I had never heard of the film nor the director and I was not that enthusiastic about watching it, but after a day moping about alone I wanted something scary to watch and it was in the horror section of my local movie shop at a price of £4 so I thought I would give it a watch. Sometimes I just crave something to give me a bit of a scare. Horror films which are genuinely scary are few and far between and it is almost unheard of to find one which gives you more than a few jumps and actually offers...

amyloop 24.08.2009 (30.08.2009) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Eden Lake (DVD)