The Lovely Lake District

I recently spent the last bank holiday weekend in the Lake District. This is somewhere I have wanted to go for a while thanks to my childhood love of Beatrix Potter. Aside from all of the fun Beatrix Potter attractions, the scenery in the Lake District is absolutely stunning! We were also very lucky to get some amazing weather - I even got sunburnt.

We chose to travel to the Lake District by train and get around on public transport. Several people questioned whether it's possible to really see the Lake District without a car but I can now confirm that it most certainly is. We left from London Euston at 6.30 pm on a Friday night and after a slight delay, arrived at our B&B at 10.30 pm. Despite the mad rush on the train for the long weekend, I still definitely preferred taking the train over trying to navigate motorways in crazy traffic. We chose to stay in Windermere for its accessibility. Our B&B was only a ten-minute walk from the train station, which made arriving and departing simple.

We stayed at The Hideaway, which exceeded our expectations for a B&B. The owners and staff were incredibly friendly and the big English breakfasts every morning were a treat. The main streets of Windermere were only a five-minute walk from The Hideaway and we could walk down to Bowness Pier in roughly 20 minutes.

We visited The World of Beatrix Potter museum on Saturday, which wasn't originally planned, but definitely fun for anyone who grew up with Beatrix Potter's stories. The museum is aimed at all ages and is filled with the characters in her stories with snippets of information about them. Our main plan for Saturday was to go kayaking on Lake Windermere. I was initially a bit apprehensive about this after seeing the forecast for 23 mph winds, but thankfully it wasn't as windy as I was expecting. We kayaked for over two hours and got to see a sizeable section of the southern end of the lake - although nowhere near the whole thing!

Thanks to the Champions League football game on Saturday night, I didn't get much choice in where to go for dinner - a pub showing the football was the only option! If you're ever looking to watch live sport in Windermere, the Queens Hotel seems to be the place to go. It's a beautiful old pub located very centrally.

On Sunday, we went to Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's home and farm, located in the village of Near Sawrey. Near Sawrey is on the opposite side of Lake Windermere to Windermere and Bowness, which is a great excuse to catch a ferry and enjoy the view. We purchased the Cross Lakes Experience, which included the return ferry journey from Bowness and a shuttle bus from the ferry to Hill Top. The walk from the ferry to Hill Top is only 2 miles and personally, I would recommend walking, but unfortunately, my partner isn't a fan of 'pointless walking'.

The village of Near Sawrey is very small but idyllic. It is surrounded by rolling hills and paddocks of sheep - all of the things I expect to find in the English countryside. Beatrix Potter's house was built in the 1600s and is still filled with her old belongings - it really feels like stepping back in time. Entrance to the house itself has a fee and must be booked on the day due to limited space in the house, but entry to the garden and surrounds is free.

We had a somewhat interesting journey back to Windermere due to the car ferry catching fire. This meant that a large number of people who had been removed from the car ferry now needed to catch the same ferry as us - it definitely held things up a bit! Funnily enough, the dogs seemed more upset about the delay than their owners.

We squeezed in a walk to the top of Orrest Head early Sunday evening. This is a short walk and definitely delivers great views for a small amount of effort. The starting point for the walk up Orrest Head was very close to where we were staying, so this can easily be achieved in an hour. After reaching the top, we wandered through a paddock and made our way back down. There are several different paths up Orrest Head, which cater to those who want to walk off the bitumen as well as those who want a gentle walk.

On our final day, we boarded the open-top bus to go to Grasmere in pursuit of the famous Grasmere Gingerbread. I originally found out about this gingerbread in a list of five things to do in the Lake District and did wonder whether it might be a bit gimmicky, but I'm easily lured by sweet treats. Thankfully, the gingerbread lived up to the hype. This is the most unique gingerbread I've ever tasted. The flavour is spot on and the texture is unlike any gingerbread I've had in the past.

We had a few spare hours in the afternoon on Monday so I decided to go on an impromptu walk to Alcock Tarn. This isn't a long walk - it took us just over two hours including a wrong turn and about 15 minutes rest at the top. It is, however, quite steep on the way up. The views are spectacular and develop as you reach roughly halfway. At the top, not only are you rewarded with an amazing view over Grasmere, but there's also a tarn where you can cool your feet and catch some minnows.