Lake District - where to stay

[Candide]

Going this summer with DCs - 5 & 7. We all like walking - kids can manage 6 miles. Want to rent cottage in good location for walking plus also to see the lakey sights (probably will go for boat trip etc).

Would like a place which has some amenitites e.g mini supermarket type shop, pub with garden but probably not a main town.

Where would people recommend. We are prepared to pay a bit more to stay in a good location as its our only holiday this year.

oh now here's a race to 1,00 posts - there are so many lovely places.

My mum lives in ambleside - it has to be our first choice, lovely town, waterfall, loads and loads of child friendly walks(there are even books written on it), Beatrix potter stuff on the doorstep, and enough to do if it's raining. As long as it's not raining, there's a lovely park. And of course the lake. Ahhh. We're going up on friday and counting the days

er meant 1,000, obv...

take a look

Where are you travelling from, btw?

further north, penrith is lovely, so is Coniston.

And Ullswater! You are going to be so spoilt for choice! We used to stay at the Ullswater Hotel - well before the dreadful tv series "the lakes" got there
It really is beautiful.

have you checked out hoseasons? We have seen several of the parks and they look lovely - and in all the right locations too.
The other thing worth looking into is the Langdales, it's not by a lake but in a good position to get at lots of places.

Oh Ullswater is my favourite too. So beautiful. Have a lovely time

Depends when in the summer you are going, if during peak season then I would say avoid the most popular areas (Ambleside, Windermere, Grassmere and the Langdales) as they will be heaving. I prefer the Northern Lakes (around Keswick) or the Western Lakes, somewhere like Eskdale where you have a village shop a couple of very nice pubs and of course the Ravensglass and Eskdale railway - even a beach at Ravenglass.

Just about anywhere in the lakes will provide you with walks of that distance, thats is probably worth making one day a special day where you attempt something big and high (well not that high this is England after all) to give a sense of achievement. Depending on where you are then Sca Fell Pike, Blencathra, Coniston Old Man (again will be crowded) are all options.

Oh thanks for all the replies - especially gigglewitch (lakes guru perchance?). The links are really helpful - Ullswater looks especially lovely.

Where do you think of the places you suggest would be least traffic laden? (We will be there probably peak time - August)

I am only an occasional driver and useless parker so would prefer to avoid places where I will have to do difficult parking (sounds pathetic doesn't it but its the main cause of holiday disputes). Like the look of open topped buses - then could avoid parking altogether.

Am travelling from the south but don't mind driving a few more miles to get somewhere nice.

pmsl @ lakes guru!!

if going in Aug, take the bug repellent. Not to deter you at all, but by the nature of it being lakes, i.e. damp, Aug is Bugfest, just get some junglejuice, squirt the dc with it in the mornings and you'll be fine

Plenty of buses around, just go somewhere relatively civilised and you will find a good number of buses. As far as 'peak' time goes, we spend most of August up in Ambleside and have done so for about 20yrs, I don't find it that crowded tbh, though we are always doing it on foot - I can imagine getting into the more popular places might be an issue at turn-up time like 10am. We usually go to Kendal for shopping and stuff, again not usually particularly crowded. The main causes of traffic jams in Cumbria are that there are single main routes between places, and obv large lakes and mountains "in the way" as it were, of going any clever cut through's The bonus of staying in a town is that (like us) you need not move your car from one week to the next, unless you particularly want to!!

Buses!

btw, if you fancy Ullswater, look at Pooley Bridge and Glenridding.

Windermere/Ambleside/Bowness/Grasmere etc will all be heaving. The traffic in and out of Ambleside is awful.

Staveley (between Kendal and Windy) is quite a nice village with supermarket, kids play area, pub etc. It's out of the tourist trail though so you'd have to drive a bit further for lakes but tehre are some nice walks.

if it's chocolate box you're after and don't mind the summer traffic you could try Hawkeshead or Langdale?