Wandering Bel — Tips and Tricks

When my friend and I got to the Lake District, we knew we wanted to explore, but we only had one tour planned. I love having things all planned out, but seeing what comes up while traveling is also fun. Who knew I wanted to hang out with Peter Rabbit? I sure didn’t, but that makes traveling magical—the unexpected!

We explored many new places, all thanks to these 3 top Lake District tours that any badass woman will savor!

1. Lake District Cruises from Windermere

In my blog post, "Why You'll Appreciate a Luxurious Stay at the Wateredge Inn in the Lake District," I mentioned that after lunch, we headed down to Waterhead Pier to see if we could catch a boat tour. We did the "Red Cruise," a 75-minute roundtrip cruise on Windermere.

Fun fact:

You don't call it “Windermere Lake” because "mere" is another word for water and lake!

What I really enjoyed about this boat tour is that you can explore each of the stops (Bowness, Windermere Jetty Museum, Brockole, Ambleside, and Bowness) with your ticket for as long as you want, and as long as you make it back to the last boat of the day. I am always a sucker for taking boat tours; they give you a different perspective of that area.

Each trip on the lake takes about 30 minutes, and during that time, your captain gives you a historical tour of Windermere and talks about points of attraction and interest such as Beatrix Potter Cottage.

The cost of this tour was £16.50, which is a good deal since you can explore multiple places and take in the views of the Fells (Fells are mountains), especially if you don't have a car.

When we got there, we wandered the small town of Bowness and its shops. While wandering, we made a discovery that caused us to take an unplanned tour . . . one with Peter Rabbit!

2. The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction

If you aren’t familiar with who Beatrix Potter is, let me give you a quick run down! She is famous for her book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," which was inspired by an illustrated letter she wrote to her former governess's son. She asked for the letter back to be adapted into a book.

But that isn't the only reason she is famous.

Born in 1866, she was ahead of her time and saved the land from developers in the Lake District by buying up traces of farmland to help preserve them for the shepherds’ herds. She also employed those same shepherds to help her Herdwick sheep to be some of the finest in the country!

What a badass woman!

The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction was only £9 for a tour, which took 30 minutes. There are other options, such as seeing the show with the attraction or having an after-tea party with the show and the attraction.

It was super sweet to walk through the attraction and see her works of art displayed in lifestyle form. This tour is geared toward children, but we had fun going through it even as adults!

While we walked, I kept sending my mom pictures since she used to read these books to me as a child. Connecting a book I grew up with to a real-life experience was awesome. Never in a million years did I think I would be doing a tour—let alone exploring an area that made those books famous! It was an experience I shall never forget.

3. GetYourGuide

Once I knew we were going to the Lake District, I only wanted to explore and see the lakes.

I researched, and you can take buses to each small town. At that time, it was £1.50 for each stop, or you could take an Uber for about £ 20-30. My friend found and suggested doing a tour with GetYourGuide. This all-day tour (8-9 hours long) takes you to the fells, valleys, and lakes from the south to the north.

On this tour, you will experience driving the two famous passes, Kirkstone and Hoinister, while enjoying the views. There are even stops to stretch out your legs and explore the area.

Keswick

The longest stop was at Keswick for about an hour. This gives you some time to grab lunch, explore the town, and/or check out the magnificent lake of Derwater.

When my friend and I were there, lunch took longer than expected, so we only had 4 minutes to enjoy this lake before returning to the van. Our tour guide, Carol, took us to one of my favorite spots on the tour called Surprise View.

Getting up here is no small feat; the roads were tight, curvy, and steep! We crossed over the famous bridge, Ashness. When crossing this bridge, we barely had any room on either side of us! Then, once we reached the mountain, the parking was ridiculous because of the limited spots and the lack of mindfulness from people.

I adored Carol for her commentary and how she told people how to park. She was really the highlight of the tour, minus the views! Once we secured a parking spot, we got out to take in the sights of Keswick and the lakes below us. It was stunning how the lakes were so blue against all the greenery.

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Another highlight of the tour is Castlerigg Stone Circle, which is assumed to be one of the oldest circles; most historians believe it's even older than Stonehenge.

Castlerigg Stone Circle stands on a plateau with 360° views of the surrounding fells. There are 38 free-standing stones, and people still do not know their original purpose. The land is owned by the National Trust and maintained by English Heritage. This is where I did my daily headstand near some sheep!

Newlands Pass

The other top highlight of this tour was Newlands Pass. This pass is not as famous as the others I mentioned, but it should be! It is 6.8 miles long and connects Buttermere to Braithwaite.

Honestly, it has the most stunning views of the fells and even has a waterfall—which we stopped at. While everyone was checking out the waterfall, I ran to get to the top of one of the fells. As I was frolicking around, I came across a family of sheep and they didn’t care I was there. But I was giddy to see them!

Running around like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music was purely magical. And it’s even more magical knowing you are only 40 minutes from another country. Carol mentioned that was how close we were to Scotland. I was so taken aback by how close another country was. Something you only get to experience a little in America if you are close to Canada or Mexico.

It was so much fun to run on the fell and take in all the views. Naturally, I was the last one back to the van. I told Carol that was the fastest 15 minutes we ever had as I was out of breath. She smiled and laughed, saying she saw me sprinting back, and I guess the people were quick at the waterfall. As I stepped back into the van, I looked back one more time, thanking the fell for five minutes of being a kid.

Grasmere

The last stop was in Grasmere, where we exited the van to explore for about 30-40 minutes. I told my friend I thought we should split up. She stood in queue for the Gingerbread, and I did a quick pass to see the grave of the famous poet Grasmere, known for, William Wordsworth.

When I travel with another person (which is rare), I love to maximize time. This idea worked well since by the time I came back, she was almost inside the renowned house that serves Gingerbread.

Sarah Nelson created this uniquely spicy/sweet cross-over between a biscuit and cake 1854. This cake is still freshly baked using the original recipe—inside her former home, now the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop.

I bought some of the cake and recommend having it with some tea. I didn't drink tea when I had it, so the gingerbread was a bit hard to chew. But I would highly recommend trying it!

I will say, I wish we had more time here to explore some of the shops, though many of them were closed since it was about 4 pm when we arrived.

The drive back was pretty; driving past the Lake William Wordsworth used to see daily captures your heart and soul. I love going to places that make me wonder what living in those days was like. This is one of them—having so much open land, natural greenery, and freedom in some ways.

As you know, England was and still is a big influence on me. I love this country with all my heart. I am so glad I could visit somewhere new since I last visited outside of London when I was 20. Like London, the Lake District now has a special place in my heart.

I hope you go and visit. Because I surely can’t wait to go back and hike the fells.

Have I convinced you to check out the Lake District? What tour would you do? Let me know in the comments!