Least busy place in Cumbria for week long break?

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We are travelling via train and plan to do some brisk, chilly walking whether hilly or flat.
Stuck choosing between Windermere and Grange over Sands, which offer what we like at a decent price, but which would be the least busy in Nov?
My Dsis says Windermere is busy as heck all year round now, but neither of us are familiar with Grange.

Will be choosing central properties since not taking car so imagine we will still experience some traffic noise and whatnot.

Would prefer the less busy one!

I don't think Windermere is ever not busy!

Grange over sands was rather disappointing and pretty flat, with unwalkable salt marshes as I recall. Not on my list of places to go back to. With a car it would be Ok and I assume there would be buses to get to other places. A lot closes down over the winter I guess there will be more to do in and around Windermere if the weather is bad.

Live in Cumbria , could you perhaps come further in ?
There is a train station at Penrith and you are on the edge of the Pennines which will be much quieter for walking .

If

Grange Over Sands would give you access up the coastline, but if you're looking for not busy and access to walks, I'd go for Staveley personally.

It's on the train route to Windermere, and you can get the bus or train into Windermere or Kendal, and the 555 goes right through the heart of the Lakes. Really thriving village with a lot more shops than you'd expect, but easy access to walks and the popular areas. Kentmere valley is a hidden gem accessible from the village.

Grange over sands won't be busy. It's not a place I like but it will be quiet and there are walks to do. Just not fells.to clamber up.

South Lakes are definitely less busy but if you want really tall fells they are not there. Plenty of walks though.

I would also look at Arnside and silver Dale.

Grange over sands is South Lakeland and there are plenty of decent walks.
You can get a train to Ulverston ( 15 mins) just along the coast which is an unspoilt market town with an artisan feel. Also has a Booths, the Waitrose of the north. Cartmel is near by, home of the sticky toffee pudding, and has a number of gastro pubs. Holker Hall is worth a visit if it is open.
You can walk along the coast but beware of the sands they can be dangerous.
You can probably get a train to Kendal, or a bus. Again plenty to explore, there is a good museum and lots of independent shops.
To get into the edge of the western lakes you can get a train to Foxfield and walk along the old railway track to Broughton-in-Furness. The track actually continues all the way to Coniston. The last train back is around 9pm so enough time for a decent walk although Coniston and back may be a stretch. Broughton has a beautiful village square with a well known real ale pub. Not much else but there are some circular walks from there is you do a bit of research.
If you want you can travel by train all the way up to Carlisle and just enjoy the coastal scenery and the Western fells from the comfort of a train.
It’s not a journey I have done by train but having recently travelled back from Cornwall by train the coastal line there is great.

I recently turned 60 so can have a senior citizens rail pass. DH and I are planning a trip to the Lakes ( we used to have a house up there until recently and miss it) neither of us enjoys driving long distances and after DH had a stroke we can no longer walk so I want to do the coastal rail journey then return via the Carlisle to Settle line to take in the Dales as well.

This is great, thanks!

We have done the larger fells during summer, so looking for easy walks and peace and quiet more than anything. Not so interested in travelling about, more of a chill out and a good walk each day.

Am very familiar with the more southern areas (Keswick, etc) but never been to Grange.

There's a lovely, large flat in the centre of Grange but near the co op, so worried it might be too noisy with people parking etc.

The tourist hot spots are never actually "quiet" especially at weekends. I live fairly close to Keswick and the town was packed this weekend. However, at this time of year it's a lot quieter on week days and I would expect the Windermere area to be similar. So if you arrive on a Saturday it will probably be full of people, but from Sunday evening, whilst you won't have the place to yourself, it will settle down considerably.
So I wouldn't rule out the central Lakes - it won't be Summer holiday type busy, and has the advantage of (by Cumbrian standards) better public transport than a lot of more isolated places. Also, if you get bad weather and don't want to walk every day there's a bit more by way of indoor attractions in the main holiday areas. Even if the weather is good, it will be dark by late afternoon so if you want to go out in the evening, you'll have a bigger choice in a more touristy destination. A lot of the pubs and restaurants in more out of the way places aren't open every day, or at all, in the Winter months but the footfall doesn't drop off as much in the more popular areas so more stay open.
People do describe Bowness as the Blackpool of the Lakes and it's true that in the Summer holidays it's unpleasantly busy. However there's plenty of good reasons why the Windermere area is so popular, and if you want to visit when it it's not crazily busy then this time of year is probably your best bet.

Windermere is awful for the train. The train station is at the top of a hill and the lake is about 30 minutes downhill. Not great with suitcases. But if you can deal with that then windermere is great. You can get the ferry to a few places including ambleside. I always did kendal when traveling by train

I used to visit windermere in winter quite a bit and never found the distance to Bowness a problem, but I am a huge fan of walking so love the fresh air!
I do feel it would be a bit busier than I was looking for though, but yes it does have great access for transport and shops.

I am worried that Grange might be boring, since there's probably just a promenade.

Another thing that never gets mentioned much is how the places are tiny and more and more people drive now - so a small cottage can be surrounded by huge cars up to the doors.

It's a tricky one for sure!

We were on holiday in Cumbria a few weeks ago. We stayed just outside Haverthwaite and visited loads of places in the southern lakes. We went to Windermere and of course it was rammed. We also went to Grange, which was pretty quiet - we often visit and we love it for the views over Morecambe Bay.

I think you will have a lovely time wherever you go. Grange is good for exploring the coast, which we did. Also good for the Buddhist temple, which is lovely, and Ulverston.

I was going to suggest Arnside too. That area is much quieter than the Lakes (most people zoom by on the m6 without realising it's there!) and it has an abundance of interconnecting footpaths. Coastal walks, limestone pavements, lovely woods. Fabulous views across to the lakes, Howgills and dales from Arnside knott for a modest climb. There's a big RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss near silverdale station which iirc is free or reduced price if you arrive by train, foot or bike. And you could get the train over to grange etc from there for the day, or back down to carnforth for that end of the silverdale area.

I second Staveley although the Beer Hall has recently sadly closed. You could get train to Ravenglass which is stunning, small and on coast- take a few hours from Lancaster but great train journey. My partner hates Windermere with a passion but good transport network to quieter places. Grange is lovely but a place I pop to for a day trip rather than a week. If you don't have to stay in Cumbria, a train to Settle is fun and is a lovely place to visit and stay. Also second Ulverston.

...of course if you stay in grange it'd be possible to take the train to Arnside /silverdale for the day too.

Staveley is great. Grange is ok but quite boring tbh.

Intrigued by Staveley, I haven't found any holiday cottages there.
Arnside would be lovely, not many there either, only a couple of flats.

Years ago we stayed in a lodge on a holiday park near Carnforth. From there we did Arnside but also Yorkshire Dale's and the southern lakes. It's a good location - and much cheaper than Cumbria.

Theres always coachloads of Asians in Winderemere. Dunno why but they seem to love UK water.

Get to G-o-S but its a depressing place.

It depends how fussy you are about the location you're actually staying in, as opposed to the places in the area you want to visit. Staveley is really nice in its own right. Carnforth really isn't very nice and it's right on the M6. Grange is pretty in an old-fashioned way. The promenade is nice, but the town itself hasn't got much going on. Arnside and Silverdale are both lovely villages with lots of beautiful walks, both coastal (estuary) and woody. They both have really nice cafés too, and you can get the train from there to Grange among other places, including into Lancaster, which is very near too.

There's a really, really good bakery in Grange over sands, it's bloody brilliant

Hazelmere cafe and bakery

Make sure you're looking at the right Staveley!