Eight Lakes Half Day Tour

You can join this tour:

This tour takes you to:

• Lake Windermere views of the largest lake in the lake district, surrounded by panoramic mountain scenery.
• Kirkstone Inn the highest inhabited building in the Lake District.
• Kirkstone Pass the Lake District's highest pass that is open to motor traffic and it connects Ambleside in the Rothay Valley to Patterdale in the Ullswater Valley.
• Brothers Water in the Hartsop Valley .
• Patterdale the village where walkers begin their ascent via the Striding Edge path up to Helvellyn, the third highest peak in the Lake District.
• Glenridding close to the old Greenside Lead Mine which was established in the 1650's but now a peaceful craggy Lakeland village hugely popular with walkers.
• Ullswater with spectacular views of the second largest lake in the Lake District.
• Glencoyne where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy saw the wild daffodils which inspired him to write his famous poem of the same name.
• Scenic drive along the shores of Ullswater.
• Castlerigg Stone Circle perhaps the most atmospheric and dramatically sited of all British stone circles, with panoramic views of the mountains Helvellyn and
  High Seat as a backdrop.
• Ashness Bridge perhaps the most photographed packhorse bridge in the Lake District due to its location and stunning views.
• Surprise View is an extremely popular viewpoint looking out over Derwent Water with spectacular views towards Bassenthwaite Lake
  and the River Derwent.
• Thirlmere the man-made vast reservoir which submerged the settlements of Armboth and Wythburn in 1889.
• Dunmail Raise the low-level mountain pass and legendary burial place of King Dunmail.
• Grasmere one of the smaller lakes of the English Lake District with a small island in the middle, one of Wordsworth's favourite places when he lived at nearby Dove Cottage.
• Rydal Water tranquil and serene with beautiful reflections of Loughrigg fell.

What is included in this tour:

• Half Day Tour
• Experienced driver for your safety on the steep, narrow and twisty Lakeland roads and to provide expert commentary
• Small group of up to 6 people for a more flexible and personalised experience
• Use of personal radio communication technology to keep you in-touch with your guide when you are off the minibus (where applicable)

Additional Features:

• Comfort facilities available at Glenridding
• Suitable for solo travellers

Itinerary

This half day tour will take you to the northern lake district for spectacular scenery, fascinating sites and eight lakes, all in one afternoon. This is one of our most popular tours and gets fully booked quickly so please book your seats early as we have limited places and dates available.

Your afternoon starts with a climb, all the way up to the Kirkstone Inn,the highest inhabited building in the Lake District, for a stop to take in the views back down the valley right the way down to Lake Windermere and Ambleside. This once important coaching inn sits almost at the summit of the Lake District's highest pass that is open to motor traffic.

From here the road plunges down into the Kirkstone Pass properly with the valley walls rising up steeply on either side, past the church shaped rock from which the valley gets its name and on to the viewpoint for a photo stop of the ribbon of road as it descends down to Brothers Water. This lake was one of the first places in the Lakes to be acquired by the National Trust.

The thin strip of road winds past the lake, down to the Ullswater valley and on to the charming and popular village of Patterdale. This the starting point for a number of popular hill-walks, most notably the Striding Edge path up to Helvellyn, the third highest mountain in the Lakes. The only other village in this valley is Glenridding and it is here that we get our first glimpse of the National Park's second largest lake, Ullswater.

We follow the road along the western shore of the vast and sparkling lake almost in the footsteps of William and Dorothy Wordsworth. It was here at Wordsworth Point that they saw the wild daffodils, the inspiration for one of Wordsworth's most famous poems. Your next stop is here to allow you to access the lake shore for some splendid views of what the celebrated Lakeland writer Alfred Wainwright described as "that loveliest of lakes, curving gracefully into the far distance".

At this point we leave Ullswater and head north and west towards Keswick. As we pass the impressive mountains and fells, looking up at Blencathra one cannot help but be moved by its shear scale, and those slender fingers of rock running southwards from its high ridge line must either frighten, or excite. Blencathra is one of the most northerly mountains in the Lakes with six separate fell tops, the highest standing at 868-metres. One of the famous features of Blencathra is the steep ridge called Sharp Edge which you will see as we pass the foot of the mountain. This is a walker's paradise and some of the fells in this area are challenging and difficult even on a mild summer's day. Your next stop is right in among these rugged mountains at one of the most spectacularly located Neolithic stone circles anywhere, Castlerigg.

Castlerigg Stone Circle stands on a superb natural plateau commanding a superb 360 degree view over the surrounding fells. Made up of 38 free standing stones, some up to 3 metres (10 feet) high, it is one of Britain's earliest stone circles dating back to the Neolithic period 4000 to 5000 years ago. The spectacular and atmospheric location will take your breath away but we only have a short stop here before we head onwards to the shores of Derwentwater for your next destination.

Our journey now takes us along the eastern shores of Derwentwater, one of the principal bodies of water in the Lakes. Visitors have flocked here for generations to admire the beauty and climb the fells. Two of the favourite holiday homes of Beatrix Potter, Lingholm and Fawe Park, lie on the shores of Derwentwater and even scenes from Star Wars have been filmed here. Driving along the wooded eastern shore of the lake, our road suddenly forks off and we climb up a narrow, steep track into the wooded fell side. Suddenly, the trees clear and your next destination, Ashness Bridge appears.

Ashness Bridge is the most photographed bridge in the Lake District and once you se it, you will understand why. This extremely popular viewpoint looks out over Derwent Water with spectacular views over Bassenthwaite Lake and the River Derwent. After taking your photos of the scenery, we will then take you further up the fell to another well-known beauty spot, the Surprise View where you can see how great ice sheets carved out this impressive landscape: you have an uninterrupted view across Derwent Water to Bassenthwaite and onto the Solway and the distant shores of Scotland.

After you have taken all the photos you want of the spectacular view, we head back along the shores of Derwentwater and start to head back down towards Ambleside. On the way you will pass Thirlmere, which was originally two smaller lakes, which were purchased by Manchester City Corporation Waterworks in 1889. The area was dammed with a dam whose greatest height is 104 feet, and the area became one vast reservoir. In the process, the settlements of Armboth and Wythburn were submerged.

At the foot of the water, we then head back along the mountain pass of Dunmail Raise. This is the flattest of the mountain passes in the Lake District running down towards Grasmere. Dunmail Raise is also the name of a large cairn which stands on the top of the pass, on the central reservation between the two carriageways of the road. Legend has it that Dunmail, the last king of Cumberland, is buried beneath the cairn at Dunmail Raise after having been slain by the English in battle.

Now the road drops steadily down from the fells and before long, we drive along the shores of Grasmere, your seventh lake. William Wordsworth lived here at Dove Cottage and as we continue on, we pass Nab Cottage, the home of his friend and author, Thomas de Quincey. The road winds along the shore until we come to Rydal Water, your eighth and final lake. The water here is often mirror-like still with beautiful reflections of the surrounding fells. We pass Wordsworth's last and favourite home which is situated off the road at Rydal as we return to Ambleside for the first of our drop-off points.

Additional Information

• The English Lake District weather can change quickly, even in the summer months. Please bring a waterproof coat with a hood in case of rain or windy weather.
• As there is some walking involved in the tour, some uphill and on uneven or wet terrain, please wear suitable, comfortable shoes.
• No food or drink is included in the tour price.
• Suitable for solo travellers
• This tour is not suitable for children under the age of 5.

Check the availability for Eight Lakes Half Day Tour

To display the available dates for this tour please answer the questions below.

Number of people in your party: 1234567

Please select where you will join the tour:
Ambleside at approx. 14:19 returning around 17:54, travel by     £65.00 per person
Bowness at approx. 14:08 returning around 18:12, travel by     £65.00 per person
Windermere at approx. 14:00 returning around 18:22, travel by     £65.00 per person
We don't charge extra for any of the pickup points where you travel only by  

We can accept bookings up to 30 minutes before the departure time from your chosen pickup point, provided that we have availability.

You will not need to print anything out. Just book, read the confirmation email and wait at the pickup point!

Dates that are available for your group size are highlighted below in Orange. To book, simply click on one of these dates and complete the next page with your details.

November 2024 - NO TOUR THIS MONTH

December 2024 - NO TOUR THIS MONTH

January 2025 - NO TOUR THIS MONTH

February 2025 - NO TOUR THIS MONTH

March 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

April 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30

May 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

June 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30

July 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

August 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

September 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

October 2025
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31