Lake District National Park Transportation

This is a ticket offering unlimited travel within an area bounded by Lancaster/Heysham/Workington/Windermere/Penrith. Includes some Windermere Lake cruises plus all Stagecoach in Cumbria bus services including to Lancaster. Also offers a 10% discount on trains on the Ravenglass and Eskdale and Lakeside and Haverthwaite railways.
In 2010 prices are £18.50 for adults, with a railcard £12.20 and children £8.50. Family £36.00.

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The Lake District is very popular with cyclists and there are many designated cycle routes, ranging from the simple, flat lanes to the very challenging mountain pass routes. Hardknott, Wrynose and the Langdale Passes are all mega attractions for those on two wheels, although these are proper roads on tarmac. The blue cycle tracks are everywhere, often depicting "challenging" routes, over mountains and through rivers etc. Make sure you know what your body can take before opting for difficult challenges.

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Heading out of the Duddon Valley by car north eastwards, there are two options, Hardknott Pass or Wrynose Pass. From Wrynose you can then take the pass over the Langdales. All of these routes are extremely scenic but admittedly, most of the time the driver won't be able to appreciate the spectacular landscape all around, as he concentrates on his driving. The roads are all single track, poorly surfaced in parts and climb some pretty steep gradients. There are also plenty of hairpin bends to negotiate, as well. Do not attempt to take a motorhome over these passes, that really is not sensible with some of the bends and sheer drops into the valley bottom! The rules are simple, if you are coming down, give way to those going up.Do not stop on your ascent. There are plenty of places to pull off the road to admire the views, don't use passing places.

Hardknott is the steepest pass in England, rising to 1291 feet, with a gradient of 1 in 3 and is Eskdale's eastern exit, joining Wrynose Pass and so into major tourist Lakeland at Skelwith Bridge on the A593.It's a most scenic route, taking your breath away as you negotiate the hairpin bends and gradients. Once you have descended Hardknott, you follow the river Duddon for a while, along Wrynose Bottom until you begin ascending again over Wrynose Pass. This is not quite as steep as Hardknott, but extreme care is still required. In the summer months it can take a considerable time driving this route, having to back-up and wait for to pass on the single track road. On the pass, you will notice the Three Shires Stone, where the three old counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and Lancashire met.

Langdale Pass takes in glorious views of the Langdale Pikes and there is a small car park at scenic Blea Tarn.

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To start walking up the path to Hill Top Farm I had to cross Lake Windermere by ferry.
I had originally planned to walk from Windermere train station to the ferry in Bowness, but when I saw the bus waiting outside the station I changed my mind. A good thing I did,as it took longer than I had thought.

From the bus stop at Lake Windermere it is a few more minutes walk to the ferry across the lake. I saw many cars queuing for the ferry, but only a handful of pedestrians, so I was able to get on the first ferry. The journey is only a few minutes.

There is a slightly disturbing sign on the ferry, saying in case of bad weather you are stuck on the other side. It's a good idea to check the weather forecast before, or it might mean a very expensive taxi ride.

I don't know how serious this sign is. The crossing was so smooth that it was hard to imagine a storm so bad that the ferry couldn't run. But I know from Lake Constance that storms on lakes can be as dangerous than those on the open sea.

As a pedestrian I paid 50 pence for the crossing.

Since I didn't rent a car, I depended on public transportation. In summer this was no problem, but from what I read it can be very difficult outside the main season.

From Kendal there is a regular train service to Windermere. The journey is about 15 minutes. Since I had a day pass which I had used for travelling up from London that day, I cannot tell you how much it is.

Windermere is the starting point of several bus services.

I just want to know how to get to Lake District National Park from Nottingham by train. I have a plan for travelling to England and my travelling line is London-Cambridge-Nottingham-Lake District National Park-Edinburgh.

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The Lake District has a mainline steam railway that runs between Haverthwaite and Lakeside at the southern end of Lake Windermere.
The line is not very long but it is quite a scenic ride through pleasant countryside behind a steam engine pulling 1950s style coaches.
The station at Haverthwaite is worth a visit even if you are not travelling on the train just to sample it cafe. The homemade pies and pastries are very good and the old railway tearoom is authentically recreated ( and there are no 3 day old pork pies!).
You can buy an inclusive ticket for the train and lake steamer and transfer from the train at Lakeside to the waiting boat to travel on to Bowness and Ambleside.

One of the UKs best railway companies is now operating services to and from the Lakes. There are direct services using new 2007 trains to Windermere and Barrow on Furness from Manchester. Passengers from the south and Scotland would travel with Virgin and change for Windermere at Oxenholme and for Grange, Ulverston and Barrow ( and the southern part of the Cumbria coast) at Lancaster. Change at Carlisle for the northern part part of the coast.
Transpennine Express trains are clean and punctual. The announcements with destination and safety details are clear and concise and there is catering on many trains.