LAKE DISTRICT BUS TOUR

Lifestyle | Travel

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2023

One of my favourite places in the world (but by bus).

I love spending time in the Lake District, and when I was younger we often used the open-top bus.

These buses are the perfect way to take in the gorgeous surroundings and explore the local area.

Having not gone on a bus trip for quite some time, I conjured up the idea of a self-designed bus tour, taking us to a few of our favourite locations.

Particularly if you're staying in the Ambleside region, this bus tour gives you a lovely route through some of the key spots of this incredible location. If you're visiting the Lakes for the first time, it also gives you a small insight as to what is around. I also recommend browsing through my Lake District café recommendations, as this highlights some of the best coffee spots for you to try out.

- BEFORE YOU START THE TRIP -

O Have a quick research to make sure that you have an idea of where you are going.

O Look at the timings of the bus, as this will help you to plan when to leave and when to arrive at each stop.

O Check the weather! This is particularly important if you are hoping to catch an open-top bus.

- THE JOURNEY -

1. starting the day off at Ambleside bus stop

Head to Kelsick Road in Ambleside, and wait at the Bus Interchange Stop for the Lakesider 599 bus. This will act as your first and last stop on our bus tour.

2. Grasmere

Stay on the bus for a few stops and hop off when you get in to the centre of Grasmere - coincidentally right in view of our coffee stop, Mathilde's.

Also make sure to explore Grasmere, and particularly pay a visit to the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop, which is famous for its unique gingerbread, created by Sarah Nelson in 1854.

When you are looking to begin the next leg of the tour, the 599 buses are one of the more regular buses in this part of the Lake District. Therefore, if the first bus you see isn't open top, I would recommend waiting for the next, so that you can enjoy the open top bus views for this next part of the journey.

3. Bowness for lunch

Once we reached Bowness, we headed off to a hotel restaurant recommended by my Grandparents. I often forget that you can wander in and eat in a hotel restaurant, and this restaurant was well worth the journey.

We sat outside and had a beautiful view of the boats passing along the glistening water of

Lake Windermere (as seen at the bottom of this article).

4. Rydal Hall

You will have already passed this stop on the other side of the road whilst heading to Grasmere, however on the way back to Ambleside, you are on the easier side of the road to hop off and pay a visit to Rydal Hall.

Rydal Hall hosts an incredible garden and vast woodlands (free to the public, donations welcome), including an Instagram-worthy waterfall.

A small room was built to frame the waterfall perfectly. This room, named 'The Grot', was built by

Sir Daniel Fleming in 1668, and became a favourite spot for William Wordsworth who found it to be a place of inspiration for some of his poetry.

5. back to Ambleside

The last stop takes us back to where we started (perfect if you have parked your car here).

We hopped off of the bus and grabbed some baked goods from the Apple Pie Shop and Cornish Bakery for dinner, before leaving Ambleside after a long day of travelling and exploring.

I would love to know if you try this bus tour!

I'm also thinking of trying a self-designed bus tour again, finding a new route with new places. So let me know if there's anywhere else in the Lakes that I should look into.