Lake District Short Breaks – Exploring Ambleside

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My hometown of Carlisle is in the county of Cumbria, where the Lake District is located. Lake District short breaks are the perfect getaway in the Northern part of the UK. It is (in my opinion) one of the most beautiful spots in the whole country. Lake after lake, field after field, and dozens of quaint towns and villages that are some of the most picturesque you will ever see.

Being that the Lake District is so close, it was always the Sunday outing when we would pile into the car and drive half an hour to the Lakes. We would spend the day walking the dog, taking pictures, maybe a picnic, and my favorite – visiting a local bakery. Ambleside has probably my favorite bakery in the world, the Apple Pie. But that’s not the only reason I love Ambleside. I still think it’s one of the best places in the Lake District.

It’s definitely my happy place in the Lake District. The town is pretty small, but so many of the houses seem to have a unique charm. You can see the hills all around you, stretching for miles into the distance, and you can even walk down to the biggest lake in the Lake District, Windermere. But for all my visits to this magnificent National Park, I had never stayed there overnight. What’s the point when it’s so close to my hometown? But when I went back to visit the UK this time I decided that for once I would spend the night. So I went with my parents to stay in Ambleside for our own Lake District break.

A traditional B & B for your Lake District short breaks

Most places in the Lake District are smaller Bed & Breakfast accommodation. Especially if you’re looking at keeping the price down on your Lake District short breaks. There are some really nice hotels, but most come with really nice prices. A lot of them boast lake views and fine dining. We just wanted somewhere nice and cosy to spend the night so we could explore Ambleside more. If you’re looking for great Lake District accommodation, look no further than The Gables B&B on Church Street, Ambleside.

What are the rooms like?

We found free street parking right outside of The Gables, however they have a handful of spaces in their own car park and will point you to other free parking if full. Ambleside is sometimes crazy to get parked so this is definitely a plus. Our host was very welcoming and we were given our rooms on the top floor of the house.

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My parents had a double room with a double bed, and an en-suite bathroom with shower, toilet and wash basin. Their room looked out on the church just behind the B&B. My room was across the hall, a single bed but also had an en-suite bathroom. In my bathroom there was a bathtub instead of a shower, but it was a very nicely modern bathroom. My view was over the lawn bowling club in front of the property looking out onto the quiet side street that leads to the church. Country streets leading to fields and farmhouses went off in every direction.

What other amenities does The Gables offer?

As well as free parking The Gables offers some other perks. If you’re feeling particularly energetic after all the walking you’re bound to do in the Lakes they offer a free day pass for a local gym. The B&B also had a lot of information about places to visit in the area. Great for those who don’t know the Lake District very well. There were also a stack of board games and books downstairs by the check in desk which you could help yourself too. We had a good competitive game of Trivial Pursuit before bed.

In the morning there was a great breakfast spread. Cereals, toast, a variety of juices, teas and coffee. There was also a cooked breakfast option included so we had the Full English. Mine was vegetarian which they catered to really well with veggie sausages instead of meat. Delicious.

Things to do in Ambleside and around

Ambleside is a pretty small town of less than 3000 people. A lot of things are still a short drive or walk away from the town, think of it mostly as a base for your Lake District short breaks. Whenever I go I will make a brief stop of an hour or two in the town itself (mostly due to the parking restrictions).

There are some lovely individual shops throughout the town. Local arts and crafts for sale, a lot of hiking shops selling the latest expensive outdoor gear, and cafes. The good old British tourist can only bear to be a maximum of 100 feet from a place for a cuppa tea so Ambleside caters effectively to this. I can say this because my Mum is one of those stereotypical Brits so we make sure to plan our day well. There are a number of lovely old pubs in Ambleside too, but we’ll save that for later. First I’ll tell you about some of the Lake District attractions in and around Ambleside

Hayes Garden Centre

For some reason this place is way better than it sounds. A garden centre? Sounds pretty boring right? Actually they have way more than plants. There are gifts, clothes, books, things for your pets, and a cafe that does really good food (and a cup of tea). If you head there anytime after October until Christmas, their winter/Christmas displays are awesome. Half of the garden centre is decorated with more lights and decorations than you can possibly need to make your house feel like it’s part of Santa’s wonderland.

Literary connections

If you’ve ever heard of William Wordsworth or Beatrix Potter, you’re going to love this area. Both of them had houses just outside Ambleside and wront some of their most famous works here. A 10 to 15 minute out of Ambleside is Dove Cottage, the home to poet William Wordsworth for about 10 years. It is here he was living when he composed possibly the most famous British poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud” about daffodils. Later he lived in Rydal Mount, just a few minutes along the same road. Both of these houses you can visit.

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On our way to Ambleside we stopped off at Hill Top, the house near Sawrey where Beatrix Potter lived. If you’re having trouble remembering who she is, you might know some of Beatrix Potter’s characters better. The most famous of all being Peter Rabbit. She wrote almost two dozen childrens books in all, all featuring animals that she saw around the area. We were lucky that while there the original letter she wrote containing the Tale of Peter Rabbit was on display for a limited time including the original Peter Rabbit illustrations. Beatrix Potter’ house, Hilltop, is lovely. Quite small but in a wonderful location surrounded by fields and has a cute little garden where you can imagine Peter stealing vegetables.

Grasmere village

Going back towards Dove Cottage I mentioned earlier is the small village of Grasmere. It’s another quaint village filled with unique shops and views of the fells all around. We had a stop in Grasmere on our way home for some Grasmere Gingerbread.

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This gingerbread is more like a biscuit than a cake, and is only made in the one place. The original bakery located in Grasmere next to the church, the same place it has been made for over 150 years. If you’ve never tried it you have to visit. The shop can only fit a few people at a time and there’s usually a line out the door, but it’s worth it. Pro tip: you can also order online and they ship all over the world. I recently got mine delivered to Canada in 2 business days!

Remember to take a reusable water bottle with you on your travels, like this one from FastTech

Lake Windermere

Windermere is a huge body of water that you can easily walk to from Ambleside. I like to walk down to the water and take photos with the beautiful rolling hills in the background.

There’s a boat that will take you across the water to the town of Bowness at the other end of the lake. The boat is a fun way to travel, and Bowness has a lot of shops and cafes to check out. Taking the boat might even be better because driving into Bowness can be busy. I figured one of the benefits of staying in Ambleside for the night would be seeing the sunset and sunrise. And what better place to check it out than at Windermere.

Sunset at Windermere, Lake District

Since we don’t usually stay late in the day we wanted to take the opportunity of our overnight stay to catch the sunset. It had been a lovely day so we knew our chances of a good sunset were high.

We dropped our things at the B&B when we got to Ambleside and walked down to Windermere. With it being during the winter months the sun went down pretty early so we decided to go there before dinner. We made it in time to get some great photos from the park next to the lake, then down closer to where the boat leaves from. It was worth almost running to get there before we lost the sun for the day.

Sunrise at Windermere, Lake District

My Mum opted out of the early morning wake up call. But my Dad and I got up at 6:30am to walk down to Windermere for sunrise.

We lucked out with a crisp winter morning, some clouds but at least no rain. We first took some pictures from the park next to Windermere, catching the early morning reflections on the lake. The stillness of the lake broken only by the ducks swimming by. The colors in the sky rivaled those of the night before.

Moving over to the landing area for the boats, they provided a unique foreground to the striking backdrop of the Lake District fells. Getting up early was at least worth it.

Country walks and country pubs

What better way to enjoy the British countryside, than to go for a long walk through the woods. We drove to nearby Great Langdale for a nice walk on the chilly but sunny day.

Parking up, we walked the well beaten path past a couple of fields filled with cows. It seems we weren’t the only ones as we passed a lot of others who’d had the same idea on this gorgeous day. Taking advantage of the good weather is something Brits are incredibly good at. You never know when the rain might come again.

We walked alongside the river until we got to Elter Water, a glistening lake with a lovely pebble beach. Everybody seems to have a dog in the Lake District so you have to be quick to get your photos before a happily bouncing canine jumps into your shot.

We then retraced the path and followed the second most popular activity in the countryside – going to the pub. The Britannia Inn on the main road opposite where we parked the car is a 500 year old building. It has the rustic exposed beams and small nooks in the seating area next to the bar. It was such a nice day that people were even sat outside.

Making friends with the locals

Where there are fields there are sheep, and sheep certainly own the land here. Often there are areas where they are not confined to specific fields, but free to roam from one patch of grass to the next.

In some areas we went over cattle grids to keep the sheep from straying too far. But that means there are no fences and you have to watch out as they are prone to wandering in the road. If they do, you just have to calmly wait. Nothing moves fast around the Lake District, especially the sheep.

Bakeries

I briefly mentioned this at the start, but my favorite bakery is in Ambleside. You didn’t think a quick line was all I was going to write did you? Not if you know my love of all things food.

The Apple Pie, is a lovely little cafe right at the edge of Ambleside on the road towards Grasmere. The only thing that competes with the Grasmere Gingerbread shop in my opinion is this place. Yes, you can get apple pie, and I often do, but I always have to get some butter flapjack. SO GOOD!!! I can’t leave without at least a pack of 4, and some apple pie, and some teacakes…maybe a savory pie too. You get the idea.

I very rarely sit in the cafe, but they have some good things for people sitting in too. For me, it’s all about the flapjack. Even if I’m on a brief visit to the UK I will always make sure I get to The Apple Pie. Sure it’s out of my way, but it’s worth it. If not for the sweets then for the surrounding countryside views. But seriously, it’s for the food! This time I found a new sweet to try. The Rocky Road with Kendal Mint Cake. Kendal Mint Cake is basically sugar and mint flavouring. It’s amazing. And these fine people thought of making it into a chocolate Rocky Road bar (replacing the usual marshmallows). Very rich, but very yum!

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On my latest trip I found that they actually have a B&B there. Imagine staying at your favorite bakery. I think I have a goal for my next UK visit. Plus they offer a discount in the shop. Win-Win!

Where to eat in Ambleside

But enough about cakes and bakeries, it’s time to get serious… about dinner! After our efforts to catch the sunset on Windermere, we’d worked up an appetite. I know you wouldn’t believe that after all the food I’ve mentioned, but it’s true.

Ambleside has a lot of wonderful restaurants, but for us we just wanted a quiet, cosy pub with a good pint of beer and hearty food. As a vegetarian I kind of worried about this in such a meat and potatoes country. Variety is not often there for vegetarians, but I was pleasantly surprised. The UK is getting better since I left for Canada and expanded their offerings from merely a salad. On a cold night we sought solace and warmth at the Queen’s Hotel along the main street.

I’ve passed this place more times than I can count on my one way mission for baked goods. But I’ve never been in. Usually the amount of time I had in Ambleside didn’t warrant a pub meal, but here we were. Nothing but time. With a warm friendly atmosphere, and a comfy window seat we settled into the pub within the hotel. It was a Sunday night and not too busy so we could just relax and feel at home. I got myself a local beer, a deliciously cloudy cream ale. Cozy pubs are a winning part of all Lake District short breaks.

Good ol’ local Cumbrian pub food

The menu was expansive and there were more veggie options than I’m used to, so I actually had choices. I went for the veggie Bangers and Mash. British food with a veggie twist. Veggie sausages, mashed potato and veggie gravy. Now that’s a hearty filling meal. It was delicious. It’s been a while since I had something like that. In Canada, veggie sausages are usually modeled around hot dogs, not actual sausages.So this was a nice change.

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Of course it wouldn’t be a pub meal without having more than you can eat, then ordering dessert (or pudding as we say in the UK). Between my good choice of beer and my stellar main meal selection I was two for two. The only thing that could make this more British was sticky toffee pudding and custard.

So I got some. And another beer, this time a lovely crisp Amber ale. We stayed in the pub for a couple of hours, the perfect way to unwind and really spend some quality time with my parents. I now live in Canada, so this whole weekend was just really good quality time with them.

Bridge House, Ambleside – room for a family of 8?

Along from The Apple Pie bakery we visited Bridge House, a tiny stone house built over a river.

The building is iconic and always crowded. The good thing about staying overnight meant that I could actually take photos early in the morning with nobody in them. Over 300 years old the house was built over the beck and is a very simple place. An upstairs room and a downstairs room. It is free to go check out and a wonderful little building now home to the National Trust information center.

Castlerigg Stone Circle

That’s right, Stonehenge isn’t the only ancient stone circle in the UK. Turns out a bunch of people liked to move giant heavy rocks into circles just to mess with people of the future.

OK that’s not the real reason, but it would make sense. How many times have you looked at Stonehenge and just said “Why?”. Well one thing Castlerigg has Stonehenge beat on is the price. It’s free. Just park your car on the side of the road, and walk into the field. You can walk right up to the stones and touch them. And if you’ve got a clear day you’ll find a ton of people with cameras around sunset as they wait for the sun to reach that perfect level.

That’s what happened to us and we weren’t even trying. It just happened to be on our way home and one of the only days I haven’t had to traipse through mud on a rainy day to see the stones. Now Castlerigg is not at Ambleside but is about half an hour away on the way back to Carlisle. It’s kind of the halfway point for us at Keswick, another lovely town. It’s unclear how long the circle has been there but estimated at least 3000 years. Go there if you have the chance, it’s pretty cool.

Home to Carlisle

After an action packed weekend in Ambleside and all around, we were back in Carlisle. The guest house we stayed in was lovely, the activities in the Lakes were a lot of fun. Lots of outdoor activities, beautiful weather and some good exercise. The food we had was delicious and wholesome comfort food. Perfect for a winter’s outing. But most of all it was a wonderful weekend with my parents.

We don’t see each other as much anymore with me living in Canada. It wasn’t easy making the decision to leave my family behind to pursue my dream of living in Vancouver. My parents usually come to visit me in Vancouver once a year, and I try to get back to the UK every 12-18 months. Even when I do get back to Carlisle though, there are so many people to catch up with, and I don’t always get the quality time I would like with my Mum and Dad. This weekend away was the perfect way to spend time catching up. And what better place to do it than beautiful Lake District short breaks with exquisite scenery…and cake!

If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Have you enjoyed any Lake District short breaks? Would you like to visit this beautiful National Park?