Lake District Activities
From children to teenagers to adults to OAP's there is something to do for everybody in the Lake District. Below you will find an overview below.
If you are wanting to go and see some breath taking views, experiences and in need of a breakaway then the Lake District is the place for you. It is a beautiful mountainous region where everything is pure, the air is fresh and it is very peaceful.
There are variety things to see and do at the Lake District, you can have fast paced adrenaline sports, historic monuments, walking, cycling, hire boats, fishing, lakes, painting and many more. If you are one for sports then there is an opportunity to go sailing, kayaking or canoeing along one of the lakes.
Sight-seeing is the biggest past time in the Lake District because it looks so beautiful and the views are out of this world. When seeing the views of the mountains you feel like you have been taken out of the mundane routine of life and in a place of utopia. There are so many varieties of walks all with different distances and methods. You can Walk on Water walk which involves walking for 2 miles which you can allow up to 1.5 hours and included is a 20minute boat ride, with this you get to stroll along Coniston Water to Torver Pier. Another is Tarn It! Walk which is a 5 mile walk which gives you the chance to see the stunning views of Tarn Hows. Claife Heights Potter Walk shows you the sights of Beatrix Potter’s house at Hill Top, there is also a gallery there for you to take a look at.
You can also organise your own events at the Lake District whether it be a walk, a picnic or another event as long as you follow the guidelines you can take part.
An additional place you could visit is Coniston Boating Centre, it’s only half a mile from Coniston Village. You can hire all kinds of boats from Self-driving boats, rowing boats, dinghies or sailing boats. If you want to get more out of the experience then you can even learn how to sail a boat. Motor boat hire for 1hour costs £20 for 2 people, £30 for 3 people, £35 for 6 people and £40 for 8 people. You can also hire the boat for 4 hours or for a full day. To hire Rowing Boats for 1 hour it costs £10 for 2 people, £15 for 4 people and £20 for 6 people. Longer hire is available as the same as the motor boats. Canoes and Kayaking boats are available again for 2 or 3 people for 2 hours, 4 hours or a full day. The sailing course costs £360 for Level 1 and Level 2 which takes 5 days.
One way to see the Lake District is to go Horse Riding, Bigland Hall Equestrian provides either a 2 hour Fell Ride which guides you through Bigland Fells and through the Lake District scenery, you can either trot or go into a canter if you feel confident enough. This costs £49.00. For more advanced riders you can take part in the Half Day ride which involves more challenging environments, cantering in open spaces and lasts up to 3 hours costing £59.00. Rides start at 10am or 1pm.
There is something for everyone at the Lake District, give it a try.
Picture above: Canoeing in the Lake District
Picture above: Boating on Lake Windermere.
Beatrix Potter Attraction
A very famous and loved writer was from the Lake District and this was Beatrix Potter, she created the wonderful character of Peter Rabbit. In the Lake District you can bring back all your childhood memories of Peter Rabbit and all his other friends at the Beatrix Potter Attraction. This is an opportunity to see all the magic and life of Beatrix Potter and all of her stories. In order to see all of the attraction you will go through 6 steps and it will take around 45mins – 1 hour.
The first part that you will take part in is being introduced to all of the 23 characters in each of the tales and this is shown in a short film. After this you can see more of a realistic part of the stories because there is indoor recreations of the tales, these include Mr Tod’s Underground Home and Gemima Puddles Woodland Gate. Part 3 of the tour is the most looked at part of the attraction - Peter Rabbits Garden and this was opened in 2009. It has the exact plants to the illustrations from the tales. Richard Lucas is the person who designed the garden spent a lot of time trying to get it just right, the tales highlight the exact fruit and vegetables that were in the garden. There are ‘Tender and True’ Parsnips, ‘Paris White’ Lettuces, ‘Bulls Blood’ Beetroot and many more. The next part is visiting Mrs Tiggy-Winkle’s Kitchen indoors and Jeremy Fisher’s pond. As soon as you have seen these you can then take part in a virtual walk of the life of Beatrix Potter and there is a film of Mrs Heelis tale.
The last and final part of the tour is very special because you get a chance to see Mr McGregor’s greenhouse and an opportunity to see all the mischief that Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Button got into.
If you still want to see more of this attraction then you can have lunch or afternoon tea at the Beatrix Potter Tea Room. All of the ingredients come from the Peter Rabbit Garden and local produce of Cumbria and the Lake District. You can have a choice of a Cumbrian breakfast, lunches including home-made soups, salads or sandwiches, an afternoon tea with 3 tiers stands including sandwiches, cakes and treats.
2011 has a lot of events in store at Beatrix Potter, 27th February you can have tea with Peter Rabbit, 12th March you can plant your own potatoes in the garden, 3rd April you can have tea with Benjamin Bunny and for Easter 21st April you can take part in a Peter Rabbit Egg hunt. There are many more events taking place throughout the year.
The attraction is situated in the centre of Bowness-on-Windermere – Cumbria in the Lake District. A ticket will cost you £6.75 for an adult and £3.50 for a child. You can get a Freedom Pass which allows up to 2 adults and 2 children to gain access to the attraction as many times as you want. You also gain benefits of discounts in the shop, the tea room and newsletters.
Pele Towers of Cumbria
Pele towers are a small fortified keeps or tower houses, which can be found along the English and Scottish border, and were intended as watch towers, and could be used to signal, primarily by lighting fires, of any approaching danger. Apart from there primarily purposes as a warning system, these towers were also the homes of the Laids and landlords of the area, whilst the local population often lived behind the towers. Furthermore, during times of cross-border raiding parties arrived, the entire village could take to the tower and wait to the marauders to depart. Pele towers are often found in smaller settlement, often places which did not have a castle.
Edward I determination to conquer and impose English rule on Scotland, making a Carlisle an important centre for government and military base to help ensure English reign over Scotland, ultimately meant that the Lake District was an unfortunate casualty to Scottish determination to resist English rule. To resist English rule, the Scottish would march between 30,000 to 40,000 Scottish men through the Lake District, leaving carnage behind, destroying farms and churches, abbeys were plundered and burned while people and livestock were slaughtered. To resist further destruction and invasion, the people of Cumberland and Westmorland built an average of 90 defensive pele towers.
These small stone buildings were made with walls as thick as 10 feet, many were square or oblong in shape, and designed to withstand siege, many were created with 3 storeys, with a battlemented roof was normally flat and used for as a place for a watchman to keep survey over small villages and the direction of enemy villages. Many of the pele towers can be seen in the outskirts and within the Lake District and remain popular site to visit today. Many have been modified, and many have become stately homes in the many years after they were originally built. Whilst, have become ruins, others still as impressive as when they were first built, moreover, many are now open to the public.
There are many scattered around the Lake District region, but a few of the most popular include the Hutton-in-Forest situated in Penrith, is surrounded by magnificent woodland of the medieval forest of Inglewood, although originally it was only a pele tower, later generations have added to the house, thus creating a variety of architectural styles from the 17th century to more contemporary styles. Also, Isel Hall is an amazing building, which is easy to spot due to its distinct colour and stands two miles away from Bassenthwaite Lake Levens Hall amoungst many other. As well as fortified churches, such as Burgh-by-Sands, Great Salkeld and Newton Arlosh.
The Stone Circles
Experts have agreed that stones are of pre-Christian date, however, have been difficult to an accurate date as to their formation, as radiocarbon dating has produced a wide range of dates depending on the site, a further difficulty in producing an exact date for the stone circle is because there are no other traditional archaeological artefacts, such as pottery shards or bones, as there is no evidence of human dwelling close to where stone circles are found, also, when found do not always match accurately to the results to the radiocarbon dating.
The earliest circles were estimated to have been erected around 5 thousand years ago during the Neolithic period. Many historians and archaeologists find it difficult to put an exact reasoning behind why they were built. A few theories as to why they were built include that they were built for burial proposes, although no evidence of burials have been found, yet some specialists explain that this evidence may have disappeared over time. Another theory is that they may have been used a meeting place for trading or for ceremonial practices such as festivals and rituals. Some specialist have found some substantial evidence which points to out that the stone circles may have been used as a primitive calendar by observing the path of the Sun, Moon and larger stars, although, specialist have agreed that they may have been built for this reason, but were used for other purposes also.
Recently, however, speculation has grown that these Stone Circles are built on Ley Lines, and due to this that they may possess some mystical power, although there has been no evidence for this. Despite not knowing exactly what their purpose was or is to this day, they are still a very popular attract for tourists today. Many can be found within Britain, but none as impressive as the ones found in the Lake District area. Moreover, the Lake District appears to have been important early centre for circle building, possible due to economic power being stronger in this region. One of the most popular Stone Circles is Castlerigg, set in a splendid position, in an open field and surrounded by vast, and towering mountains, it sits 213 metres or 700 feet above sea level.
Though to be the earliest Stone Circle it is estimated to date from around 3000BC. Using 38 stone, they are placed in an a slight oval shape of around 30 metres in diameter and a further 10 small stones are arranged in a rectangle on the south-east side of the oval, a feature that is unique to Castlerigg and cannot be found in any other Stone Circle in Britain. Castlerigg is one of many fascinating Stone Circles found in the Lake District area, others include, Druids Cricle in Birkrigg, Little Meg Stone Circle and Giants Graves.