Tourism

Lake District Self-Catering Holidays

February 1, 2012

Loweswater – One of the less-visited lakes Many people today choose to look after themselves on holiday rather than stay in an hotel. There is an extensive supply of self-catering accommodation in Cumbria. Lake District cottages for rent are to be found throughout the region and provide excellent bases from which to go out and [...]

Coach Travel Around England Gets Costlier

October 14, 2011

From the end of October (Yes! that’s this month!) travelling by coach around England will become costlier for many people. Over 60s won’t benefit any longer from the government supported fare reduction scheme for the elderly and disabled. The “coach concessionary discount scheme” which currently allows people over 60 or with a disability to travel [...]

To Protect? Or To Preserve? (Opinion Piece)

September 7, 2011

There are wild places, described by poets, painted by artists and loved by country walkers which must be protected for future generations to enjoy. I suspect that most readers of Around-England will have no difficulty in agreeing with that statement. I fear, however, that this post may lose me some friends as I consider the [...]

A Lake District Winter Break by Ullswater

December 16, 2010

The header photo of this blog shows Ullswater in the summer time. I took it myself three or four years ago during an beautiful week with my wife on a campsite by the lakeside near Pooley Bridge. January and February are not, of course, the months for camping holidays unless you’re really into toughing it, [...]

Changes to Lake District Tourist Advice Provision

December 14, 2009

The Westmorland Gazette reports that plans are afoot for major changes to the provision of tourist advice in the Lake District. Several existing advice centres are to close and in future it looks as though information provision will increasingly have to be funded by the tourist industry. I’m not going to express an opinion on [...]

English Lake District in the World Top-10

November 3, 2009

Yesterday, 2nd November, the Lonely Planet Travel Guide company published its “Best of Travel 2010″ listing. The English Lake District feautures as one of only two European regions in the Top Regions part of the listings. Those of us who know and love the Lake District are not surprised that the listing is merited, but [...]

Muncaster – Overnight at a Lake District Castle

January 28, 2009

Over the past thirty years of driving up to Whitehaven, I’ve often looked across the valley to Muncaster Castle on the hillside above the River Esk not far from Ravenglass. Last week, though, I had reason to stop there. On my way north in the morning, and looking for somewhere to spend the night before [...]

A wet week in the southern Lake District

August 5, 2008

My wife and I have just returned from another expedition to the English Lake District, this time to the southern lakes. We camped near the foot of Coniston Water with the intention of building up a better collection of photos of the Crake valley as well of the Coniston and Hawkshead area. Well, things didn’t [...]

Keswick used to have a railway station

June 19, 2008

What is now the Keswick Country House Hotel was originally built by the company that in 1865 launched the Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway. As their new railway line into the northern Lake District replaced the previous three-hour (minimum!) journey from the Penrith mainline station by horse-drawn coach, the tourist trade expanded rapidly. A new [...]

It’s England This Year

June 18, 2008

It seems that the predictions of British people holidaying in our own islands this year are coming true. For several decades the lure of reliable sunshine in Spain and elsewhere in the Mediterranean has been a greater attraction than the beauties of the English coastline or the grandeur of the Scottish and Welsh mountains. The [...]