Tales of the Lake District: A Windermere, Coniston and Hawkshead driving tour

Soak up the splendour of England’s largest lake, Windermere, on a scenic driving tour of the Lake District. We’ll visit some of the most popular attractions in the National Park, starting near Bowness Bay, where we’ll make an anticlockwise loop around Lake Windermere. I’ll also guide you on an additional loop where you’ll have the opportunity to visit Coniston Village and Coniston Water, the third largest of the lakes. We’ll pause at beautiful Tarn Hows and historic Hawkshead, too. You’ll discover how many of these places inspired Beatrix Potter, the famous children’s author, and we’ll also learn about her many other talents, beyond writing.

I’ll tell you how Windermere and Coniston grew as tourist centres with the arrival of the railways and Victorian tourists. We’ll also delve into Windermere and Coniston’s interesting boating history, and find out about attempts to break various speed records that resulted in both glory and tragedy for brave men like Donald Campbell, who raced the boats. I’ll also show you a number of attractions around Windermere Lake that started out as magnificent private houses for wealthy city folks in the 19th century.

The area has several fabled ghost stories and we’ll hear a couple of the most spooky, including the ‘Screaming skulls of Calgarth’. I’ll share the latest findings about mysterious lake creatures like the ‘Bownessie’ that have allegedly been spotted around Windermere.

Other highlights on this tour include:

• Discovering the quaint historic village of Hawkshead with its William Wordsworth connections
• Enjoying peaceful Esthwaite Water and its fabulous wildlife
• Learning about local mining and sheep farming that shaped the landscape we see today
• Beholding the beauty spot of Tarn Hows, and discovering the human impacts on this famous vista
• Hearing about the ‘Windermere children’, World War 2 holocaust survivors who relocated to Calgarth on Windermere
• Seeing wooden bobbins being made at Stott Park Bobbin Mill, and learning about their crucial role in the historic Lancashire textile industry

Our tour is around 44 miles (71km) long with magnificent lake and hill top scenery throughout. There are 16 main attractions where you can stop and listen to a story or tidbit before deciding if you want to linger longer. Give yourself at least three hours to complete this driving tour, or take your time and stop along the route whenever you see something you like. It’s your adventure!

Refreshments and toilets are available at all the main towns and villages, and additional facilities en route are also highlighted. Please note, car park and attraction entry-fees are not included in the price of this tour.

Redwood Trail by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Redwood Highway by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.