I have always wanted to visit the Lake District, to go walking and enjoy the beautiful views offered by this little town. Virgin trains had a Black Friday deal last year and included in that deal were return tickets to Lake District for only £22. This is compared to the usual £60 plus so my girls and I took up the offer straight away! We went for 2 days and 1 night and tried to cram as many things as possible! In this post, I will be sharing what we did, where we ate and slept so hopefully you can you use as an itinerary or if you were thinking of visiting a new place
There are many diff places to visit in the Lake District but we went to Windermere and stayed in Bowness which is a small town in Windermere. Windermere also has the largest freshwater lake in England and there’s plenty of walks available there too. The virgin train will take you to Oxenholme then it’s another 20 min train to Windermere station. Tickets are not expensive, £6.10 or £4.95 with a railcard. From Euston, it took about 3 hours to get to Oxenholme.
We slept in the Burnside Hotel & Spa which is a beautiful hotel, within a stone’s throw from the Bowness Pier and town centre. Our stay included complimentary use of the spa facilities and breakfast.
Saturday
We arrived by 1 pm and had brunch at Baha in the town centre. A beautiful restaurant and lounge with good food and service. The prices were budget friendly too.
After eating we decided to go hiking to Stock Ghyll Force waterfall however after an hour into the hike, it started to drizzle and we realised it would get dark pretty soon so we stopped in Brockhole instead. Still, we were blessed with amazing views.
We made use of the spa facilities as soon as we got back! They have a steam & sauna room plus a pool, hot tubs and cool plunge pool! Much needed after our hike!
For dinner, we went to the very fancy old England MacDonald Hotel. The service is amazing and the food is good. This is how fancy they are: they put the napkins on your lap for you, take your jacket and offer you amuse bouche to cleanse your palette! We ordered steaks and wine. There wasn’t a lot of choice on the menu BUT the menu online was totally diff to what we had and that had a lot of choices. Now that I think of it, I am not sure if we were only offered a set menu.. Anyway it was 2 courses for £29 but a £8 supplement for the steak. We were offered beef and feta cheese appetizers for free then a champagne sorbet to refresh our palettes!.
My steak was really good, again slightly more medium than medium well but good nonetheless. I didn’t like the chips it came with and I wasn’t too fussed about the peppercorn sauce either. For dessert, I got the sticky pudding with cream- amazing, Diane got her cheese (she loves cheese) and Miriam got the pannacotta. We all loved our dessert! Service was great! I really appreciate the fact that they didn’t add the service charge to the bill, they don’t even ask you for it on the card machine leaving you to decide whether you want to or not. We paid the service charge because it was really good service and I usually don’t mind paying it but I just don’t like it when restaurants do that.. anyway I digress
After dinner we went back to Baha for a drink, we missed their live music session (yes I know) so we went upstairs to the 3rd floor to the bar. We didn’t stay too long as we were super tired.
Sunday
Sunday was a chill day, after breakfast at the hotel (lots of choices) we walked around Bowness before going on the lake cruise to Lakeside. It was a 90min cruise non stop meaning you can’t get off and explore lakeside. They have the stopping cruises too but since there isnt really much to do in lakeside we didn’t mind this. Adult tickets are £11.80. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I liked that you get commentary on the history of the lake and a few buildings we went past.
We headed to the village bar and social afterwards for an afternoon snack which was ok but I didn’t really enjoy it. Not sure if I was too tired or cold lol. the squid I ordered was tasteless and had too much coating and the lemonade was flat. The temperatures dropped quickly on Sunday so at this point we just wanted to head back to the hotel and have hot chocolate!
After that, we just chilled at our hotel before we had to leave around 6.30pm. we got a cab from straight to Oxenholme and it costs about £35.
Lake District Windermere recommendations
Stay in Burnside hotel & Spa, make use of the complimentary spa facilities.
Brunch at Baha and if you can go back at night, go and enjoy the live music session
Dinner at MacDonald hotel or Baha. But there are a lot more places to eat and there are all pretty much close to each other.
The cabs are cheaper than the buses. If you get off at Windermere station and are heading towards Bowness, a taxi will cost you £5.70ish and a 10 min drive whilst the bus is £3.10 and about 20 mins.
If you go in the winter, please take lots and lots of layers!
I got my walking boots and thermal leggings and shirt from Sports Direct. My boots were really warm and comfortable to walk in. It’s waterproof to some extent as I walked through a puddle and my socks we dry
Info on Windermere walks here
That’s our 2 days and 1-night itinerary for Lake District, I definitely recommend Lake District. It’s so perfectly picturesque, so beautiful and good for a short getaway. Honestly, I used most of our walks to pray and meditate. I will definitely to return here esp in the summer! I saw a lot of ice cream shops about but it was too cold to try any! I may also visit another small town, there are lots to choose from in Lake District and it was hard to choose where to go. In the end, we decided on Windermere because it seemed like the most popular place to visit first.
Thank you to the amazing staff at Burnside Hotel for making our stay one to remember! I will definately be back!
Let me know if you have been and what you think of it!
Catch you later!
my travel posts are back baby! Stay tuned for more, in the meantime check out these places
sarah fynn 