As a land of mountains, lakes and coast, the Lake District area is home to a great variety of outdoor activity centres. Many of them are happy to embrace all levels of experience and age and offer everything from short taster sessions to day-long adventures. Here is my pick of the best. There are several holiday cottages in the lake district which would make an ideal base from which to experience these fabulous activities.
Mountain Biking
Whinlatter Forest Park is the place to go if you're a committed mountain-biker. The Altura Trail is one of two routes at Whinlatter, and this one is red-graded, 19km long, and described as suitable for experienced riders with good off-road skills and a high level of fitness. If you can take your eyes off the berms, jumps, rock features, skinnies and cork screws, you'll see fabulous views of Bassenthwaite Lake, Derwentwater, Helvellyn and Skiddaw from your position 500m above Keswick.
The other mountain bike route at Whinlatter Forest Park is the Quercus Trail. This is a blue grade route suitable for moderately experienced riders, with a choice of 3.5 or 7.5km lengths. There are rolling jumps and gradual climbs, and trickier parts that are designed so you can choose them or not depending on your skill level. The route takes you through an oak forest and towering conifer glades.
Bikes can be hired at Whinlatter Forest Park's on-site Cyclewise centre. If you want to record the experience for dull days and doubters, Cyclewise can also hire out head-cameras for the duration of your trip!
High Wires and Cable-assisted Routes
Do you want to 'get in touch with your inner Tarzan'? If so, the two Go Ape courses at Whinlatter and Grizedale will be just your thing - have a go on their high-wire tree crossings, zip wires and 'Tarzan drops'.
The Go Ape Centre at Whinlatter has the highest such course in the country at 360m above sea level, with a zip wire that roves through the forest, over water and clear blue skies (hopefully). The views on a good day can stretch all the way across the county to the Scottish border.
The Go Ape Course at Grizedale Forest travels the side of steep hill, 200m above Grizedale Beck.
The Newlands Adventure Centre has a high wire course, in addition to a wide choice of outdoor activities (see below).
Rookin House also has a zip wire course. They offer a wide range of other activities (see below).
The Lakes' latest high-rise adventure is the Via Ferrata, or 'iron road' at Honister Slate Mines. The route, constructed of rungs and cables, allows you to climb 2,126 feet with relative ease. Combine the trip with a visit to the mine itself, or ramp up the adrenaline further with a trip on their zip wire.
All Things Horsey
If your normal hack takes you across a bit of scrubby ground on the edge of town, you'll love the opportunities in the Lakes.
Low Farm Riding Centre takes riders of all levels out in the fells, or – bliss! – along the beach at Allonby. Short rides are available in the lovely countryside local to Aspatria, too.
Rookin House Activity Centre also offers riding for beginners and the more experienced.
If you used to make an annual appointment with the famous Lowther Show (now sadly defunct), you'll know that carriage driving is popular amongst native Cumbrians... and the royal family. You can try the sport out for yourself at the Lakeland Heavy Horse Centre at Dearham near Maryport. You can also find out all about these traditional breeds and meet some miniature Shetland ponies.
Rough Terrain Driving
Rookin House Activity Centre at Troutbeck, Penrith, is a multi-activity site offering a lot of skill and bucketloads of invention. Here you can trek out on a quad bike or mini quad bikes for 6-11 year olds, try madtrax (rough terrain buggies), JCBs (yes!), an army truck or the 4x4 course.
Rookin House also offers riding, an assault course and zip wire.
Climbing, abseiling, scrambling and walking
Apparently Carol climbs, walks, paddles, scrambles, angles and dangles, or at least, that's what it says on CarolClimb's website! Carol and Richard are based in Wasdale, close to Scafell Pike and Wastwater. They offer guided mountain walks, scrambles up ghylls in full torrent, a spot of abseiling and rock climbing. They also kayak in many of the region's lakes.
The Keswick Adventure Centre is a great one-stop shop for a myriad of outdoor activities. Beginners aged 7 to 70 can join 'taster' sessions or the more experienced can enjoy more challenging sessions. Choose from rock climbing (on the indoor climbing wall or outdoors), abseiling or walking. There are plenty of Keswick cottages in the area as an added bonus.
The Newlands Adventure Centre in the Newlands Valley offers ghyll scrambling, climbing, abseiling and mountain walks.
Paragliding
If you're a lover of the Lake District, you'd really enjoy a new perspective on this wonderful county. Take to the air in a paraglider!
Air Ventures operates from Keswick and flies over the northern Lake District. Kids can join in, too, in special tandem flights.
Eden Soaring takes advantage of the notoriously fierce thermals of the North Pennines in the Eden Valley.Within easy reach of the Ullswater and Penrith area.
Lakes and rivers
Many parts of the Lake District have outdoor activity providers with experienced instructors to teach you basic or more advanced skills. Try these for size...
Derwentwater Marina is a great place to go for all things watery – sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, kayaking, and raft-building. You can learn the skills from scratch, or just hire a canoe, kayak, sailing dinghy, surfboard or rowing boat and set off across the lake.
The Glenridding Sailing Centre, at the pretty village of Glenridding on Ullswater, offers the opportunity to learn to sail dinghies and traditional boats, or more modest, but just as enjoyable, canoes and kayaks. You can also hire craft to take out on the lake yourself.
The nattily-named Platty Plus at Keswick offers something different on the boating scene. Ever fancied going out in a Viking long boat or a dragon boat? Well, here's your opportunity. Platty Plus can also teach you to handle canoes, kayaks and power boats.
Just Plain Bonkers
The sort of people who set up outdoors activities businesses here in the Lake District invariably have a sense of adventure and a well-developed fun muscle. Their imagination knows few bounds...
Ever wanted to walk on water? Well, if you've visited Derwentwater recently, you will have seen people captured in large transparent balls, running across the lake in a manner a hamster would appreciate – these are the Keswick Adventure Centre's Waterwalkerz.
It's hard to know whether the staff at Rookin House had fun, revenge or punishment in mind when they invented human bowling. Perhaps a delicious combination of all three! So, if you have a strong stomach and sense of humour, you can climb into a cage-like, human-sized ball, and allow your friends to bowl you at some very large pins.
There are plenty of self catering lake district cottages across Cumbria which would be an ideal starting point to go and experience some of these great activities. Just follow the link.
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Famous Cumbrians
Cumbria has it’s fair share of famous people, I never realised quite how many though. Friends of mine had came and stayed in a few self catering lake district cottages and we got talking about who we thought was the most famous. I’ll have to let you decide.
1. Joss Naylor MBE (1936- )
Known as the 'King of the Fells', Joss Naylor has been a champion fell runner for nearly fifty years. And yet Naylor, a sheep farmer from Nether Wasdale, was deemed unfit for National Service as a teenager and overcame a series of injuries that would have caused most of us to live life cautiously. At the age of 30, Naylor completed 72 Lake District peaks, over a distance of 100 miles, with a total ascent of 37,000ft in under 24 hours. In 1986, he complete all 214 Wainwrights in a week. At the age of 60, he ran 60 Lakeland fells in 36 hours. At the age of 70, he completed 70 Lakeland fells; 50 miles and 25,000ft in ascent in under 21 hours.
Fans run in his footsteps on the Joss Naylor Challenge – 30 Lake District summits from Pooley Bridge at Ullswater to Joss's house in Wasdale.
2. Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943)
Beatrix Potter was in many ways the ultimate Cumbrian, and yet she was born in London. Unmarried until her 40s, Beatrix struggled initially to make an independent living. She finally self-published 250 copies of 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' in 1901; these were noticed by the publisher, Frederick Warne, and by the end of the following year, they had printed no less than 28,000 copies. Beatrix went on to write another 22 books, and used the proceeds to buy Hill Top Farm, near Hawkshead.
Her legacy to the Lake District is her interest in conservation and traditional farming; she was a breeder of native Lakes Herdwick sheep, and bought many acres of farmland. On her death in 1943, she bequeathed 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust, including Penny Hill Farm Cottage in Eskdale. The 2006 film, Miss Potter, covers Beatrix's early life; Low Millgillhead Cottage in Lamplugh near Loweswater was one of the uncredited sets!
3. St. Patrick (5th c)
Best known as the patron saint of Ireland, most sources agree that St. Patrick was born in Cumbria some time in the fifth century. Opinions are divided as to whether he was brought up at the Roman fort of Birdoswald, in the northeast of the county, or the west Cumbrian coastal village of Ravenglass, site of another Roman fort. Patrick, who had been kidnapped into slavery in Ireland at the age of sixteen, escaped his bondage, landed at Duddon Sands and walked to Patterdale – 'St. Patrick's Dale' near Ullswater. He travelled via Aspatria – ' ash of Patrick' – where the locals took so long to be converted that his ash walking staff grew into a tree! There's also a St. Patrick's Well near Glenridding, where the saint baptised the people of the Ullswater area.
4. Helen Skelton (1983- )
That's right,' Blue Peter's' action woman is all-Cumbrian! Born in the Eden Valley village of Kirkby Thore, between Appleby and Penrith, Helen started her broadcasting career in local radio and Border Television before becoming a reporter for the BBC's children's news programme, 'Newsround'. She became a 'Blue Peter' presenter in 2008. Since then, Helen has completed the Namibian Ultra marathon – only the second woman to have done so – and has kayaked the length of the Amazon, gaining her two mentions in the Guinness Book of Records. Closer to home, Helen competed in the annual Muncaster Castle Festival of Fools in 2009. Muncaster's famous seventeenth-century jester, the original 'Tom Fool' was actually Thomas Skelton. Perhaps they're related?
5. Fletcher Christian (1764 – 1793)
It's probably safe to say you're famous if Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando and Mel Gibson have all played you in blockbuster films. Fletcher Christian was born in Brigham, near Cockermouth, where he went to school with the poet, William Wordsworth. Christian had travelled to India and twice with Captain Bligh to Jamaica before they set off on the ill-fated trip to Tahiti in April, 1789. Later that year, 1300 miles west of Tahiti, Christian led the mutiny on the Bounty.
Having married a Tahitian princess, Christian, eight mutineers, six Tahitian men and eleven Tahitian women landed on Pitcairn Island. By 1808, only one mutineer was left alive. What became of Christian? One said he was shot; another variously said he died of natural causes, committed suicide, or was murdered. Rumours persist, however, that he escaped, returned to the Lake District and inspired Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. Who knows?
6. Norman Nicholson OBE (1914 – 1987)
Where the River Duddon meets the sea, under the towering form of Black Combe, lies the former mining town of Millom and life-long home to the poet, Norman Nicholson. Nicholson's Cumbrian connection defined both his reputation and his work, with many of his poems paying tribute to the town, the Duddon Valley, and local sights such as Scafell Pike, Whitehaven, Patterdale, stone circles and the western coast. His words contrast vividly the reality of the declining mining town and the timeless grandeur of the natural Lake District environment.
'There stands the base and root of the living rock
Thirty thousand feet of solid Cumberland.' (To the River Duddon)
7. Stan Laurel (1890 – 1965)
Arthur Stanley Jefferson, better known as Stan Laurel, the skinny half of Laurel and Hardy, was born in Ulverston, where the west Cumbrian coast meets Morecambe Bay. Laurel spent much of his life in the US, meeting Oliver Hardy in 1927 before the 'talkies' had taken over the world of film. Laurel made 190 films in total, including 'Duck Soup', 'Pardon Us' and 'Saps at Sea'. After Oliver Hardy's sudden death in 1957, Laurel never acted again, although he continued to write. A statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled in Ulverston in April '09.
8. Leo Houlding (1981 - )
Leo Houlding attracts many labels. Rock climber, extreme adventurer, mountaineer, base jumper, snowboarder, surfer and skydiver. Brought up in the village of Bolton in the Eden Valley, Houlding is now based in the Lake District but travels the world climbing. He can still be spotted at Lakes events such as the Keswick Mountain Festival, encouraging young people to try out what he loves best!
Houlding was the first Briton to free-climb El Capitan in 1998, at the age of 17. In 2007, he accompanied Conrad Anker on the Altitude Everest Expedition, which traced the steps of George Mallory; this was the first recorded ascent of the North East Ridge of Everest. Houlding is often spotted on TV these days – the BBC's 'My Right Foot', 'Top Gear', and 'Adrenaline Junkie' with Jack Osbourne.
9. Catherine Parr (1512 – 1548)
Queen of England from 1543 – 1547, Catherine Parr was the last of Henry VIII's six wives. Catherine was born at Kendal Castle just south of the Lakes, and was an excellent example of Cumbria's strong-willed, outspoken and fair-minded womenfolk. She had been widowed twice before she caught the king's eye in 1543 and was obliged to marry him despite her relationship with Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of the nine-days' queen, Jane Seymour. For three months in 1544, Catherine was appointed Regent whilst Henry VIII was away in France, and carried out all the king's responsibilities.
In 1547, Henry died, and Catherine was free to marry Seymour; her stepdaughter, the future Elizabeth I, came to live with them. Sadly, the relationship was soured by Seymour's attraction to the young princess, and a pregnant Catherine was obliged to send Elizabeth away. Catherine died five days after giving birth to her only daughter in 1548. And the scheming Seymour? Beheaded for treason one year later.
10. William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
William Wordsworth was promoting Cumbria way before Lake District holidays were invented! A leading figure in the Romantic movement, Wordsworth wrote poetry inspired by strong emotion, but 'remembered in tranquillity'. Born in Cockermouth and educated in Penrith and Hawkshead, Wordsworth returned to the Lake District in 1799 to live in Dove Cottage in Grasmere.
Perhaps his most famous words, written about an Ullswater spring, are:
'I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodills...'
Wordsworth also loved the Duddon Valley:
'...Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide...'
He even mentioned some Lake District trees, known to be ancient even then:
'There is a Yew-tree, pride of Lorton Vale
Which to this day stands single...'
'...But worthier still of note
Are those fraternal four of Borrowdale.'
In 1813, the Wordsworths moved to Rydal Mount (also open to the public) in Ambleside. William was appointed Poet Laureate in 1843. He died in 1850, and at St. Oswald's, Grasmere.
There are plenty of holiday cottages in the lake district which are worth a visit so you can follow in some of these famous cumbrian’s footsteps. Just follow the link.
1. Joss Naylor MBE (1936- )
Known as the 'King of the Fells', Joss Naylor has been a champion fell runner for nearly fifty years. And yet Naylor, a sheep farmer from Nether Wasdale, was deemed unfit for National Service as a teenager and overcame a series of injuries that would have caused most of us to live life cautiously. At the age of 30, Naylor completed 72 Lake District peaks, over a distance of 100 miles, with a total ascent of 37,000ft in under 24 hours. In 1986, he complete all 214 Wainwrights in a week. At the age of 60, he ran 60 Lakeland fells in 36 hours. At the age of 70, he completed 70 Lakeland fells; 50 miles and 25,000ft in ascent in under 21 hours.
Fans run in his footsteps on the Joss Naylor Challenge – 30 Lake District summits from Pooley Bridge at Ullswater to Joss's house in Wasdale.
2. Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943)
Beatrix Potter was in many ways the ultimate Cumbrian, and yet she was born in London. Unmarried until her 40s, Beatrix struggled initially to make an independent living. She finally self-published 250 copies of 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' in 1901; these were noticed by the publisher, Frederick Warne, and by the end of the following year, they had printed no less than 28,000 copies. Beatrix went on to write another 22 books, and used the proceeds to buy Hill Top Farm, near Hawkshead.
Her legacy to the Lake District is her interest in conservation and traditional farming; she was a breeder of native Lakes Herdwick sheep, and bought many acres of farmland. On her death in 1943, she bequeathed 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust, including Penny Hill Farm Cottage in Eskdale. The 2006 film, Miss Potter, covers Beatrix's early life; Low Millgillhead Cottage in Lamplugh near Loweswater was one of the uncredited sets!
3. St. Patrick (5th c)
Best known as the patron saint of Ireland, most sources agree that St. Patrick was born in Cumbria some time in the fifth century. Opinions are divided as to whether he was brought up at the Roman fort of Birdoswald, in the northeast of the county, or the west Cumbrian coastal village of Ravenglass, site of another Roman fort. Patrick, who had been kidnapped into slavery in Ireland at the age of sixteen, escaped his bondage, landed at Duddon Sands and walked to Patterdale – 'St. Patrick's Dale' near Ullswater. He travelled via Aspatria – ' ash of Patrick' – where the locals took so long to be converted that his ash walking staff grew into a tree! There's also a St. Patrick's Well near Glenridding, where the saint baptised the people of the Ullswater area.
4. Helen Skelton (1983- )
That's right,' Blue Peter's' action woman is all-Cumbrian! Born in the Eden Valley village of Kirkby Thore, between Appleby and Penrith, Helen started her broadcasting career in local radio and Border Television before becoming a reporter for the BBC's children's news programme, 'Newsround'. She became a 'Blue Peter' presenter in 2008. Since then, Helen has completed the Namibian Ultra marathon – only the second woman to have done so – and has kayaked the length of the Amazon, gaining her two mentions in the Guinness Book of Records. Closer to home, Helen competed in the annual Muncaster Castle Festival of Fools in 2009. Muncaster's famous seventeenth-century jester, the original 'Tom Fool' was actually Thomas Skelton. Perhaps they're related?
5. Fletcher Christian (1764 – 1793)
It's probably safe to say you're famous if Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando and Mel Gibson have all played you in blockbuster films. Fletcher Christian was born in Brigham, near Cockermouth, where he went to school with the poet, William Wordsworth. Christian had travelled to India and twice with Captain Bligh to Jamaica before they set off on the ill-fated trip to Tahiti in April, 1789. Later that year, 1300 miles west of Tahiti, Christian led the mutiny on the Bounty.
Having married a Tahitian princess, Christian, eight mutineers, six Tahitian men and eleven Tahitian women landed on Pitcairn Island. By 1808, only one mutineer was left alive. What became of Christian? One said he was shot; another variously said he died of natural causes, committed suicide, or was murdered. Rumours persist, however, that he escaped, returned to the Lake District and inspired Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. Who knows?
6. Norman Nicholson OBE (1914 – 1987)
Where the River Duddon meets the sea, under the towering form of Black Combe, lies the former mining town of Millom and life-long home to the poet, Norman Nicholson. Nicholson's Cumbrian connection defined both his reputation and his work, with many of his poems paying tribute to the town, the Duddon Valley, and local sights such as Scafell Pike, Whitehaven, Patterdale, stone circles and the western coast. His words contrast vividly the reality of the declining mining town and the timeless grandeur of the natural Lake District environment.
'There stands the base and root of the living rock
Thirty thousand feet of solid Cumberland.' (To the River Duddon)
7. Stan Laurel (1890 – 1965)
Arthur Stanley Jefferson, better known as Stan Laurel, the skinny half of Laurel and Hardy, was born in Ulverston, where the west Cumbrian coast meets Morecambe Bay. Laurel spent much of his life in the US, meeting Oliver Hardy in 1927 before the 'talkies' had taken over the world of film. Laurel made 190 films in total, including 'Duck Soup', 'Pardon Us' and 'Saps at Sea'. After Oliver Hardy's sudden death in 1957, Laurel never acted again, although he continued to write. A statue of Stan Laurel was unveiled in Ulverston in April '09.
8. Leo Houlding (1981 - )
Leo Houlding attracts many labels. Rock climber, extreme adventurer, mountaineer, base jumper, snowboarder, surfer and skydiver. Brought up in the village of Bolton in the Eden Valley, Houlding is now based in the Lake District but travels the world climbing. He can still be spotted at Lakes events such as the Keswick Mountain Festival, encouraging young people to try out what he loves best!
Houlding was the first Briton to free-climb El Capitan in 1998, at the age of 17. In 2007, he accompanied Conrad Anker on the Altitude Everest Expedition, which traced the steps of George Mallory; this was the first recorded ascent of the North East Ridge of Everest. Houlding is often spotted on TV these days – the BBC's 'My Right Foot', 'Top Gear', and 'Adrenaline Junkie' with Jack Osbourne.
9. Catherine Parr (1512 – 1548)
Queen of England from 1543 – 1547, Catherine Parr was the last of Henry VIII's six wives. Catherine was born at Kendal Castle just south of the Lakes, and was an excellent example of Cumbria's strong-willed, outspoken and fair-minded womenfolk. She had been widowed twice before she caught the king's eye in 1543 and was obliged to marry him despite her relationship with Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of the nine-days' queen, Jane Seymour. For three months in 1544, Catherine was appointed Regent whilst Henry VIII was away in France, and carried out all the king's responsibilities.
In 1547, Henry died, and Catherine was free to marry Seymour; her stepdaughter, the future Elizabeth I, came to live with them. Sadly, the relationship was soured by Seymour's attraction to the young princess, and a pregnant Catherine was obliged to send Elizabeth away. Catherine died five days after giving birth to her only daughter in 1548. And the scheming Seymour? Beheaded for treason one year later.
10. William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
William Wordsworth was promoting Cumbria way before Lake District holidays were invented! A leading figure in the Romantic movement, Wordsworth wrote poetry inspired by strong emotion, but 'remembered in tranquillity'. Born in Cockermouth and educated in Penrith and Hawkshead, Wordsworth returned to the Lake District in 1799 to live in Dove Cottage in Grasmere.
Perhaps his most famous words, written about an Ullswater spring, are:
'I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodills...'
Wordsworth also loved the Duddon Valley:
'...Still glides the Stream, and shall for ever glide...'
He even mentioned some Lake District trees, known to be ancient even then:
'There is a Yew-tree, pride of Lorton Vale
Which to this day stands single...'
'...But worthier still of note
Are those fraternal four of Borrowdale.'
In 1813, the Wordsworths moved to Rydal Mount (also open to the public) in Ambleside. William was appointed Poet Laureate in 1843. He died in 1850, and at St. Oswald's, Grasmere.
There are plenty of holiday cottages in the lake district which are worth a visit so you can follow in some of these famous cumbrian’s footsteps. Just follow the link.
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Top Ten Spas in the Lake District
Let the long autumn and winter ease by and indulge yourself at one of the local spas the lake District has to offer. We have reviewed our top ten spas to help you have a relaxing break and don’t forget there are plenty of holiday cottages in the lake district to make it that little bit extra special.
1. Armathwaite Hall, Bassenthwaite Lake
There could be no more relaxing location for a spa than this spectacular country house set in 400 acres of parkland on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, one of the beautiful but least busy parts of the Lake District.
The Spa is brand new, and fully kitted-out with an infinity pool, hydrotherapy suite, wallow pool (what a lovely idea!), sauna, aroma room, steam room, tropical shower and a gym. All the usual beauty treatments are offered.
A full Day Spa, including lunch, treatments, and use of facilities costs from an affordable £65 to a luxurious £270. If you just fancy a spruce-up after a day out on the fells, try their Evening Spa (from £70) for four hours in their fabulous facilities plus a beauty treatment. Groups of ladies can book special 'Girls' Day Out' evening packages, which include the usual, plus champagne, canapes and chocolate-dipped strawberries – all enjoyed from the comfort of the outdoor hot tub!
2. High Head Spa, Ivegill, Eden Valley
This spa is located in High Head Sculpture Valley, a park well known for its large sculptures displayed along woodland paths. It hosts indoor exhibitions throughout the year and the occasional big 'do in the summer – and now, it has a luxurious beauty spa.
So – we say let the kids and chaps take to the park, and the ladies can go for High Head's 'Million Dollars' beauty package (£75), or, if pushed for time, a Half Day for just £45. There's a full range of treatments including aromatherapy, hot stones massage, reflexology and manicures – after which, I suggest retiring to the Farmhouse Tea Room for something delicious!
3. Lodore Falls Spa, Borrowdale
Perhaps you've visited the Lodore Falls themselves on a trip to the Lake District – wonderful frothy waterfalls tumbling from the Borrowdale fells towards Derwentwater. Well, did you know that you can take a refreshing dip there, then retire to the Lodore Falls Spa for a sauna and warming massage? (Waterfall Days from £179.)
They have a pool, sauna, tennis and squash courts, a hot tub and the usual range of treatments, including the rather lovely Exotic Lime & Ginger Salt Glow Body Treatment – heaven!
There are a number of offers starting from a Spa Evening, including nibbles and wine, for £45. Parties can book a Ladies' Day, where you can enjoy treatments, lunch and use of the pool and tennis courts for just £69pp. Even youngsters are catered for, with their 'Top to Toe' package for ages 14+, including hands, feet and a facial for just £35. Sounds like a mums' and daughters' day out to me!
4. Langdale Spa, Great Langdale, nr. Ambleside
The Langdale Spa is wonderfully located in the 35-acre, wooded Langdale Estate. It has a 20 metre swimming pool, whirlpool spa bath, steam room and tropical shower and a full selection of Elemis, Guinot and Anne Semonin treatments, including facials, massages, scrubs, polishes, wraps and manicures. The Exotic Frangipani Body Nourishing Wrap sounds wonderful.
They offer a number of Spa Day treatments, from special offers at £59 to £195, and include a special day for pregnant ladies called – wait for it – 'Blooming Marvellous'.
5. Amethyst Health & Beauty, Cockermouth
Let's face it, there are times when you're up for a full day's fluffy-robe-and-slippers, and other occasions when all you need is an efficient brush-up by an expert.
Amethyst is just right for this – a full range of scented Decleor skincare, plus reflexology, indian head massage and aromatherapy. Men can have a traditional wet shave, and ladies can choose anything from a well-priced one-and-a-half-hour massage (£40) to an express manicure (just £10). Feet no longer sandal-worthy after a day in the fells? Have a Spa Foot Treatment (£27).
6. Netherwood Spa, Grange-over-Sands
This Spa is based at a former country house with lovely gardens, overlooking the sands of Morecambe Bay. It has all the facilities you'd expect: a pool, jacuzzi, steam room, gym and lots of treatments. A Mini Pamper (£45) will buff up your eyes, face, hands and feet (just what you need before a big night out) or push the boat out and take a full Deluxe Pamper Day (£153) with a swim, massage and treatments.
7. North Lakes Hotel Spa, Penrith
Okay, so you've just got to the Lake District, after a long travail along either the M6 or A66. Well, guess what? There's a spa to greet you – the North Lakes.
The North Lakes has a gym with all the latest equipment, a whirlpool, steam room, a swimming pool, tanning booths and lots of treatments. No need to worry about hubby and the kids, either – there's a children's activity room and splash pool, and a range of treatments for men.
There are full Day Spas (from £75) with access to facilities, and, depending on the package, treatments; a Holistic Day Spa (£105) includes back, face and scalp massage, exfoliation and hands or feet. There's even a Pregnancy Package focussing on feet – an area that becomes hard to reach!
8. Elements Beauty, Cockermouth
Elements is just the sort of handy, expert place you need when the rest of your group is heading up Pillar Rock and your muscles have had enough. Try their Swedish Massage to assuage your aching parts, or indulge in some relaxing aromatherapy. A leg and foot treatment (£18.50) is wonderful if your tootsies have spent the rest of the week in walking boots, or go for the full monty – a full body massage (just £30).
After all this indulgence, I dare say the men will be jealous. No need – there's a full range of treatments for men, too.
9. Oxley's at Underscar, nr. Keswick
The two Blue Fish Spas (the other's in Ambleside) are favourites with locals. Oxley's at Underscar is located in 40 acres of woodland on the slopes of Skiddaw, a couple of miles from Keswick; it feels like you're really out in the wilds, but it's convenient for much of the north and west Lake District.
Here you can have the usual options including Decleor scented facials, indian head massage and reflexology. Spa Days start from £65, although I find myself drawn to their 'Earthly Pleasures' (£99) and 'Dreaming' (£150) packages. How lovely. There are plenty of Keswick cottages in the area as an added bonus.
10. Aqua Sana, Whinfell Forest Park
Whinfell Forest Park is best known as a wildlife park and red squirrel sanctuary, but it also has a wonderful spa with extraordinarily-named facilities such as the Balinese multi-steam bath, the zen garden, the Greek herbal bath, the ice fountain and multi-sensory showers. You can just spend a few hours trying all these for £69 – with a glass of champagne and lunch – or you can spend a little more and enjoy some of their specialist treatments.
Aqua Sana uses Decleor products, including the Madagascan Red Island Ritual – a spicy-scented scrub, with warming fragrant oils. Top of the range? A Decleor Quartz Lift Facial, which, they say, has been proven to reduce wrinkles, for a little while, at least. Can't be bad.
Please note all details are believed to be correct at the time of writing, but please check the establishment's website for prices, package details, opening times and terms & conditions.
To find self catering lake district cottages within easy reach of one of thes spas just follow the link.
1. Armathwaite Hall, Bassenthwaite Lake
There could be no more relaxing location for a spa than this spectacular country house set in 400 acres of parkland on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, one of the beautiful but least busy parts of the Lake District.
The Spa is brand new, and fully kitted-out with an infinity pool, hydrotherapy suite, wallow pool (what a lovely idea!), sauna, aroma room, steam room, tropical shower and a gym. All the usual beauty treatments are offered.
A full Day Spa, including lunch, treatments, and use of facilities costs from an affordable £65 to a luxurious £270. If you just fancy a spruce-up after a day out on the fells, try their Evening Spa (from £70) for four hours in their fabulous facilities plus a beauty treatment. Groups of ladies can book special 'Girls' Day Out' evening packages, which include the usual, plus champagne, canapes and chocolate-dipped strawberries – all enjoyed from the comfort of the outdoor hot tub!
2. High Head Spa, Ivegill, Eden Valley
This spa is located in High Head Sculpture Valley, a park well known for its large sculptures displayed along woodland paths. It hosts indoor exhibitions throughout the year and the occasional big 'do in the summer – and now, it has a luxurious beauty spa.
So – we say let the kids and chaps take to the park, and the ladies can go for High Head's 'Million Dollars' beauty package (£75), or, if pushed for time, a Half Day for just £45. There's a full range of treatments including aromatherapy, hot stones massage, reflexology and manicures – after which, I suggest retiring to the Farmhouse Tea Room for something delicious!
3. Lodore Falls Spa, Borrowdale
Perhaps you've visited the Lodore Falls themselves on a trip to the Lake District – wonderful frothy waterfalls tumbling from the Borrowdale fells towards Derwentwater. Well, did you know that you can take a refreshing dip there, then retire to the Lodore Falls Spa for a sauna and warming massage? (Waterfall Days from £179.)
They have a pool, sauna, tennis and squash courts, a hot tub and the usual range of treatments, including the rather lovely Exotic Lime & Ginger Salt Glow Body Treatment – heaven!
There are a number of offers starting from a Spa Evening, including nibbles and wine, for £45. Parties can book a Ladies' Day, where you can enjoy treatments, lunch and use of the pool and tennis courts for just £69pp. Even youngsters are catered for, with their 'Top to Toe' package for ages 14+, including hands, feet and a facial for just £35. Sounds like a mums' and daughters' day out to me!
4. Langdale Spa, Great Langdale, nr. Ambleside
The Langdale Spa is wonderfully located in the 35-acre, wooded Langdale Estate. It has a 20 metre swimming pool, whirlpool spa bath, steam room and tropical shower and a full selection of Elemis, Guinot and Anne Semonin treatments, including facials, massages, scrubs, polishes, wraps and manicures. The Exotic Frangipani Body Nourishing Wrap sounds wonderful.
They offer a number of Spa Day treatments, from special offers at £59 to £195, and include a special day for pregnant ladies called – wait for it – 'Blooming Marvellous'.
5. Amethyst Health & Beauty, Cockermouth
Let's face it, there are times when you're up for a full day's fluffy-robe-and-slippers, and other occasions when all you need is an efficient brush-up by an expert.
Amethyst is just right for this – a full range of scented Decleor skincare, plus reflexology, indian head massage and aromatherapy. Men can have a traditional wet shave, and ladies can choose anything from a well-priced one-and-a-half-hour massage (£40) to an express manicure (just £10). Feet no longer sandal-worthy after a day in the fells? Have a Spa Foot Treatment (£27).
6. Netherwood Spa, Grange-over-Sands
This Spa is based at a former country house with lovely gardens, overlooking the sands of Morecambe Bay. It has all the facilities you'd expect: a pool, jacuzzi, steam room, gym and lots of treatments. A Mini Pamper (£45) will buff up your eyes, face, hands and feet (just what you need before a big night out) or push the boat out and take a full Deluxe Pamper Day (£153) with a swim, massage and treatments.
7. North Lakes Hotel Spa, Penrith
Okay, so you've just got to the Lake District, after a long travail along either the M6 or A66. Well, guess what? There's a spa to greet you – the North Lakes.
The North Lakes has a gym with all the latest equipment, a whirlpool, steam room, a swimming pool, tanning booths and lots of treatments. No need to worry about hubby and the kids, either – there's a children's activity room and splash pool, and a range of treatments for men.
There are full Day Spas (from £75) with access to facilities, and, depending on the package, treatments; a Holistic Day Spa (£105) includes back, face and scalp massage, exfoliation and hands or feet. There's even a Pregnancy Package focussing on feet – an area that becomes hard to reach!
8. Elements Beauty, Cockermouth
Elements is just the sort of handy, expert place you need when the rest of your group is heading up Pillar Rock and your muscles have had enough. Try their Swedish Massage to assuage your aching parts, or indulge in some relaxing aromatherapy. A leg and foot treatment (£18.50) is wonderful if your tootsies have spent the rest of the week in walking boots, or go for the full monty – a full body massage (just £30).
After all this indulgence, I dare say the men will be jealous. No need – there's a full range of treatments for men, too.
9. Oxley's at Underscar, nr. Keswick
The two Blue Fish Spas (the other's in Ambleside) are favourites with locals. Oxley's at Underscar is located in 40 acres of woodland on the slopes of Skiddaw, a couple of miles from Keswick; it feels like you're really out in the wilds, but it's convenient for much of the north and west Lake District.
Here you can have the usual options including Decleor scented facials, indian head massage and reflexology. Spa Days start from £65, although I find myself drawn to their 'Earthly Pleasures' (£99) and 'Dreaming' (£150) packages. How lovely. There are plenty of Keswick cottages in the area as an added bonus.
10. Aqua Sana, Whinfell Forest Park
Whinfell Forest Park is best known as a wildlife park and red squirrel sanctuary, but it also has a wonderful spa with extraordinarily-named facilities such as the Balinese multi-steam bath, the zen garden, the Greek herbal bath, the ice fountain and multi-sensory showers. You can just spend a few hours trying all these for £69 – with a glass of champagne and lunch – or you can spend a little more and enjoy some of their specialist treatments.
Aqua Sana uses Decleor products, including the Madagascan Red Island Ritual – a spicy-scented scrub, with warming fragrant oils. Top of the range? A Decleor Quartz Lift Facial, which, they say, has been proven to reduce wrinkles, for a little while, at least. Can't be bad.
Please note all details are believed to be correct at the time of writing, but please check the establishment's website for prices, package details, opening times and terms & conditions.
To find self catering lake district cottages within easy reach of one of thes spas just follow the link.
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