Getting to the Lake District
By Train
The West Coast mainline trains run through the east of the Lake District. They connect Oxenholme, Penrith and Carlisle to Glasgow & London. There is also a direct train running from Manchester to Windermere. Local trains stop at Kendal, Staveley and Windermere. You can also use the Cumbrian coastline route.
By Bus
Villages and Towns such as Windermere, Coniston and Keswick are connected with many bus links with additional services laid on in the summer / busy periods..
By car
A typical trip from London and the south east is around four to five hours. It takes about 1hour 20 minutes from Manchester and about two hours from the city of York.
The M6 runs to the east of the Lake District National Park:
- Take Junction 36 and then A590 for the southern end of the Lake District
- Take Junction 40 and the A66 or A592 for the northern end of the Lake District
- From Kendal to Keswick = one hour
- From Windermere to Keswick = 45 minutes
- From Kendal to Wasdale = 1 hour 30 minutes
Drivers should be warned while driving these routes as they contain some of the steepest gradients in the whole of the British Isles
If using a SAT NAV:
- Ambleside >> LA22 9BU
- Bassenthwaite >> CA12 4QH
- Bootle >> LA19 5TF
- Bowness-on-Windermere >> LA23 3HJ
- Buttermere >> CA13 9UZ
- Broughton-in-Furness >> LA20 6BJ
- Coniston Village >> LA21 8DU
- Coniston Boating Centre >> LA21 8EW
- Caldbeck >> CA7 8EA
- Elterwater>> LA22 9HP
- Glenridding on Ullswater >> CA11 0PA
- Grasmere >> LA22 9PZ
- Hawkshead >> LA22 0NS
- Hesket Newmarket >> CA7 8JG
- Keswick >> CA12 5DQ
- Loweswater >> CA13 0RU
- Patterdale >> CA11 0NW
- Pooley Bridge >> CA10 2NP
- Ravenglass >> CA18 1SG
- Seatoller >> CA12 5XN
- Staveley >> LA8 9LN
- Troutbeck >> LA23 1PF
- Lake District Visitor Centre (Windermere) >> LA23 1LJ
- Wasdale Head >> CA20 1EX