Are you looking to treat a loved one for Christmas? Perhaps you’re dreaming of an indulgent getaway from the endless shopping, or maybe you’re simply craving some ‘me-time’ in January?
If so, why not arrange a relaxing bus trip to one of Cumbria’s incredible spas? The county boasts a fantastic selection of top venues, many of which take full advantage of their prime position in the Lake District with breathtaking views across water and fells.
We’ve picked 10 of the best spa destinations across the county. The best part? All of them can be reached easily by Stagecoach bus, meaning you or your loved one can fully enjoy that great spa tradition – a glass of prosecco on arrival!
Lodore Hotel & Falls Spa, Borrowdale
Just being outside in the Lakes can feel like a spa treatment, and Lodore makes the most of this with its outdoor 16-metre hydro pool. Here, you can soak while looking across Derwentwater and the majestic Catbells mountain range.
Inside, the facilities are just as impressive. You’ll find five treatment rooms, a four-person steam-filled rasul mud chamber, salt and aroma steam rooms, a herbal sauna, an ice fountain, and a laconium for sitting in gentle, dry heat. The spa is for over-18s only and even has a champagne bar serving light refreshments. To cap off the indulgence, you could book into the hotel’s Mizu restaurant, which offers delectable dishes from across the Far East.
Bus route: The Borrowdale Bus 78
Bus stop: Lodore Hotel
Armathwaite Hall, Bassenthwaite
Are you an early riser? Our buses start early, so you could book a serene sunrise spa session at Armathwaite Hall from 7.30am to 10am, which includes tea, coffee, and pastries on arrival. Alternatively, spoil yourself at the other end of the day with the sunset spa session from 6pm to 8pm, where breakfast is replaced with a celebratory glass of prosecco.
The facilities here are extensive: an outdoor infinity hydrotherapy pool overlooking the gardens, an indoor 16-metre infinity edge pool, and a wallow pool perfect for people who aren’t confident in water. There’s also a salt inhalation aroma room, a steam room, a sauna, 10 luxury treatment rooms, and a hush relaxation room with a veranda overlooking the nearby fells. The hotel also has a gym and provides changing rooms that cater for disabled people.
Bus routes: X4, 553 & 554
Bus stop: Trotters World/Castle Inn
Book a place at Armathwaite Hall
The Swan at Newby Bridge, Ulverston
The Swan’s Holte Spa boasts a special feature for its guests: a bothy. But don’t think of it as a basic bolthole! With a log burner and soothing salt lamps, the Swan’s take on the Scottish mountain hut is a cosy hideaway perfect for unwinding during your spa visit.
The hotel goes beyond the usual massage and facial with an outdoor Finnish sauna, a 100% humidity steam room, ice buckets, a cold plunge pool, hydrotherapy pools, and showers that can mimic tropical rain, mist, monsoon downpours, or a cold waterfall. You can book specific treatments, a spa day, or even use the venue to host a party.
Bus routes: 6 & X6
Bus stop: The Swan Hotel
Aqua Sana, Center Parcs, Whinfell
You might not have considered visiting this spa since Center Parcs is typically a holiday destination. However, you don’t have to be a resident on the complex to take advantage, and Stagecoach runs a regular bus service right to the doorstep.
The whole point of Center Parcs is to get away from it all, and the Aqua Sana spa is wonderfully hidden away in a beautifully tranquil forest setting. As well as the treatments and facilities you’d expect from a fully kitted-out spa, you can take part in instructor-led wellbeing sessions that include tips on better sleeping, sound bathing with Tibetan singing bowls, and expert skincare advice.
Bus route: 104
Bus stop: Center Parcs Whinfell Forest
Book a treatment with Centre Parcs
Netherwood Hotel & Spa, Grange-over-Sands
Spending time in a luxury spa doesn’t have to break the bank. At Netherwood Hotel, you can enjoy access to facilities starting from just £15 for 60 minutes. Once settled in, you can move between wooden hot tubs, a cold plunge tub, an aroma steam room, a salt inhalation room, an ice fountain, and a monsoon shower.
Pay a little more, and you can choose from a long menu of treatments that include body scrubs, massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing, and tinting. You could even make a night of it and book a room or self-catering lodge at the hotel, and order an evening meal in the restaurant, which has stunning, sweeping views across Morecambe Bay.
Bus routes: X6 and 530
Bus stop: Grange-over-Sands railway station
Book a break with Netherwood Hotel
Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa, Windermere
Many venues put their personal spin on the spa experience, and at Low Wood Bay, that includes spinning the decks with Sunset Sessions featuring a DJ beside the outdoor infinity pool. The huge range of thermal features, both indoors and out, are music to your ears, too.
These include hot tubs, a fire pit, saunas, an indoor vitality pool, a mud room, a herbal-scented lounge with suspended loungers, and a dry salt sauna lined with Himalayan salt bricks. Low Wood Bay makes the most of its location right beside Lake Windermere, and if you’re feeling revived after your spa day, you could visit its watersports centre for some paddleboarding, wakesurfing, or waterskiing.
Bus routes: 505, 516, 555 & 599
Bus stop: Low Wood Bay Hotel
Bannatyne Health Club and Spa, Carlisle
As part of the Bannatyne gym chain, this spa has a natural emphasis on fitness and health. You can book a full range of treatments that include reiki therapy, a Swedish full body massage, an Indian head massage, and body scrubs in single or dual treatment rooms.
Beauty treatments are a speciality here too, with manicures, pedicures, waxing, and even facials designed specifically for teenagers aged 13 to 17. Bannatynes has wetside facilities alongside its swimming pools, including saunas, steam rooms, and spa pools. You don’t have to be a gym member to take advantage—treatments can be booked online, and the spa facilities can be used by buying a day pass from reception.
Bus routes: 62 & 79
Bus stop: Moorville Terrace
Book a treatment at Bannatyne Club & Spa
Brimstone Hotel & Spa, Great Langdale
The Brimstone is a truly top-end destination—and only hotel guests can access the spa. But if you’re in the market for some super luxury, this is it. You can enjoy an outdoor relaxation pool with a swan neck fountain, a Finnish sauna, a foot spa and ice fountain, a Himalaya salt steam room with 100 per cent humidity, a lava sauna, a mineral steam bath, a herbal sauna, and relaxation zones inside and out where you can order drinks. Treatments, some by candlelight, cost £125 and upwards.
The hotel itself, which looks like a billionaire’s ski chalet from the outside, sits within the picturesque Langdale Estate. Rooms are vast, featuring private terraces and personal butlers to provide five-star service.
Bus route: 516
Bus stop: Langdale CofE Primary School
Book a top-end stay at Brimston Hotel
North Lakes Hotel & Spa, Penrith
You can make a night of it at North Lakes with a fantastic one-night spa break package—arrive, unpack, then head straight to the spa for a treatment and use of the spa’s whirlpool, sauna, steam room, and pool. Facials are a speciality here, with five different treatments offered to boost your skin’s vitality, and you could combine one with a full body, back, or shoulder massage.
Plus, if you enjoy your trip, you could buy an annual membership that includes one spa taster treatment and light lunch plus six visits to use the spa facilities each month.
Bus routes: X4, X5 & 105 (or 106, 508, 509 from Penrith railway station)
Bus stop: Skirsgill Gardens
Book a one-night spa break in Penrith
Appleby Manor Hotel & Garden Spa, Appleby-in-Westmorland
Just two hours is all you need to experience the calm of Appleby Manor’s garden spa, and with package prices starting at just £45, it’s a cost-effective way of getting some luxury ‘me-time’. The spa’s staff have a journey mapped out for you: begin in the aroma salt inhalation room, enjoy the massaging jets of a pedidarium on your feet, then move on to the steam room and sauna.
Cool down under a rain, sky, and monsoon shower, then soothe muscles in the hydrotherapy pool before refreshing yourself in the outdoor spa bath. If you want more, pick from a menu of treatments that include massages and facials, plus you can order lunch or afternoon tea.
Bus route: 563
Bus stop: The Sands
Book a package from just £45 with Appleby Manor Hotel
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For your next relaxing trip, ditch the driving stress and let Stagecoach take you there. You can plan your journey and find tickets on our dedicated bus travel pages.
Aqua Sana cavern spa
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