There’s a strong case to be made that the Lake District is best enjoyed from a bus window. You get the views without the white-knuckle parking, you can stop wherever takes your fancy, and you’ll arrive at the other end having already had an experience worth talking about. The routes serving this part of Cumbria are some of the finest in the country – think Borrowdale, Honister Pass and the southern shores of Windermere. What they lead to is even better.
Here are seven brilliant things to do once the bus drops you off.
Bus and Boat on the Lakes
Routes: Various, into Bowness-on-Windermere, Coniston, Keswick and Ullswater
If you haven’t done a combined bus and boat day, you’re missing a trick. Stagecoach runs joint tickets covering Coniston Water, Derwentwater, Ullswater and Lake Windermere, so you can arrive by bus, step straight onto a steamer or launch, and spend the afternoon on the water before catching the bus home again. No faff, no parking, no driving around looking for somewhere to turn around.
Derwentwater is the classic choice: the Borrowdale Bus (route 78) drops you right in Keswick, and the launches run from the lakeside a short walk away. Combine it with a walk to Friars Crag and you’ve got a very good day.
More info: Stagecoach Bus and Boat tickets
Fell Foot, Newby Bridge
Fell Foot sits at the southern end of Windermere, a National Trust park with a lot going on. You can hire a rowboat, kayak or paddleboard, do a Parkrun, have a coffee at the boathouse cafe or just wander the nature trails at your own speed. At some point, the Lakeside to Haverthwaite steam train will trundle past across the water, which never gets old. It’s a genuinely lovely spot.
Route 6 runs up from Barrow and Ulverston; Route X6 comes in from Kendal and Grange. Both get you there without any hassle.
More info: Fell Foot, National Trust
Lakeland Motor Museum, Backbarrow
Just up the road from Fell Foot, Backbarrow is home to one of the more unexpected days out in the Lakes. The Lakeland Motor Museum has over 30,000 exhibits, including 140 classic cars and motorbikes, a full 1920s garage and a 1950s cafe. There are also period shop displays and fashion exhibits that have nothing to do with cars, which keeps it interesting even for people who wouldn’t describe themselves as petrolheads. Give it a couple of hours at least.
More info: Lakeland Motor Museum
Castlerigg Stone Circle, near Keswick
Routes: Honister Rambler (77/77A), Borrowdale Bus (78), Route 553, Route 554, Route 555, X4/X5 to Keswick
Castlerigg is one of those places that genuinely stops you in your tracks. Thirty-eight standing stones, arranged roughly 4,500 years ago, set on a raised plateau with Helvellyn and High Seat behind them. It’s a short walk from Keswick town centre, free to visit, and on a clear day it’s as good as anything the Lake District has to offer. Half a dozen bus routes serve Keswick, so getting here from almost anywhere in Cumbria is straightforward.
More info: Castlerigg Stone Circle, English Heritage
Rookin House, Ullswater
Route: Stagecoach route 509 to Ullswater
Rookin House is the only activity venue inside the Lake District National Park offering this range of things to do: horse riding, quad biking, clay pigeon shooting, human bowling and the Argo Cat Off Road Experience, alongside a handful of other options most people won’t have tried before. It’s a proper adventure day, good for families with older children and for groups who want something out of the ordinary.
Route 509 serves the Ullswater area. Check the Stagecoach website for the latest timetables.
Honister Slate Mine, Borrowdale
Route: Honister Rambler – Routes 77 and 77A
The Honister Rambler is one of the great bus rides – Keswick to Buttermere via Honister Pass – and it deposits you right outside the slate mine at the top. From there you can tackle the Infinity Bridge, take on the Via Ferrata (Classic or Extreme, depending on your nerve), or head underground for a mine tour covering 500 years of Lakeland history. The combination of the bus journey and the mine makes for a memorable day out. Families should note the Via Ferrata routes work best with older children.
More info: Honister Slate Mine
Whinlatter Forest, Braithwaite
Route: Honister Rambler – Routes 77 and 77A
England’s only mountain forest is worth knowing about. Whinlatter has cycling trails, Go Ape, a good visitor centre cafe and orienteering routes ranging from a gentle loop around the buildings to longer courses heading deeper into the trees. It’s on the same route as Honister, so you can combine both stops on the same ticket: get off at Whinlatter, explore the forest for a few hours, then catch the next bus up to the mine.
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