The Lake District
2701 | 5 to 12 September | 8 days | maximum number 10
Hutton-in-the-Forest, Holehird, Blackwell House, Dalemain, Lowther Castle, Holker Hall, Yewbarrow House, Levens Hall, Sprint Mill, Brantwood, Galesyke, Craigieburn Gardens…
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The Lake District, this northwest corner of England, is one of the most beautiful corners of Britain and - indisputably - the jewel of the English landscape. I grew up just south of the Lake District and I spent much of my teenage life walking and camping on its mountains, climbing its crags and messing about on its water - it was my home-from-home and I love showing it off to visitors.
This tour takes you to the very best of the Lake District's excellent gardens, it shows off the beauty of each distinct part of Lakeland and it touches upon its unique cultural background, some of its vast history and the lives of some of its more famous residents.
The Lake District
Measuring some 36x36 miles/60x60 kms, the Lake District is a mountainous upland area in north-west England. Its mountains - commonly referred to as fells, or collectively as the Lakeland Fells - were shaped by glaciation and are separated by ribbon lakes radiating outward from a central massif. There is a great deal of information published about the Lake District, but you may like to start here, with some facts and figures and the websites of the Lake District National Park, the official Lake District Tourist Board and an interactive map.
Prices
Per person, sharing
0,000 GBP | 0,000 USD | 0.000 EUR
Prices are per person, sharing a double or twin room
Per person, single occupancy
0,000 GBP | 0,000 USD | 0.000 EUR
Prices are per person, for the single occupancy of one room
Booking, interest, questions and payments
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Please read the Booking & Paying page and the comments in the additional information below.
Itinerary
Scroll down for a tour area map and additional information – accommodation, eating, and other attractions, etc
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D1 Sunday, 5 September
Hutton-in-the-Forest
Tim will meet you at the Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh Airport at 10:00 and, after loading the minibus, we’ll set off south, across the Scottish Borders, to visit the gardens at Hutton-in-the-Forest, an estate in the
Interesting text…
Today's driving is about 200 miles/320 km
D2 Monday, 6 September
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Levens Hall & Sprint Mill
We start the tour at Levens Hall, possibly the most extraordinary garden we visit. It is the oldest, most extensive and quite possibly the finest topiary garden in the world, and it has remained largely unchanged since its creation in the late 17th century. Gillian Boyle, appointed head gardener in November 2026, is the first female head gardener, and still only the 12th head gardener since 1694! The surreal, Alice in Wonderland-esque collection of shaped ancient box and yew trees is underplanted with an ever-changing array of over 30,000 bedding plants and, beyond the old orchard, lie magnificent herbaceous borders and Britain’s first recorded ha-ha!
We’ll have lunch at Leven’s delightful cafe before driving north to visit Edward & Romola’s garden at Sprint Mill – as great a contrast with Levens Hall as we could find locally. Edward and Romola’s restored 19th-century, three-storey mill is the last of a long line of mills in this small wooded gorge on the River Sprint, where cloth has been manufactured or processed since at least the 1400s. Their garden is an unorthodox, organically run affair, set along an idyllic 5-acre riverside plot. It has a large vegetable and soft fruit area, and follows no-dig principles.
We’ll dine at the Punch Bowl in Crosthwaite, one of our favourite Lakeland hostilries, where we’ve dined for many years.
Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km
D3 Tuesday, 7 September
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Brantwood & Galesyke
Our day starts with a ten-minute crossing of Coniston Water on the Coniston Launch to visit Brantwood, the former home of John Ruskin, an eminent Victorian art critic and social reformer. The estate extends to 250 acres, with remarkable gardens created by John Ruskin, including his famous Zig-Zaggy, a mythological garden based on Dante’s Divine Comedy and on the idea of the passage of the soul to paradise, a state where man and nature are working in harmony. His house is a museum and tells the story of this remarkable man whose legacy and influence stretched from Frank Lloyd Wright to Mahatma Gandhi. He championed the welfare state and inspired the founders of the National Health Service, the formation of Public Libraries, the National Trust and many other cornerstones of today’s civil society.
After lunch, at Brantwood, we’ll drive west to Wasdale, home of England’s deepest lake, Wast Water, to visit Galesyke, a 4-acre garden combining formal areas, shrubberies and woodland. It has an impressive collection of colourful hydrangeas and an unforgettable backdrop of the high Lakeland fells, including Scafell, England’s highest peak.
We will make our way back to Grange for dinner.
Today's driving is about 100 miles/160 km
The Lake District
Some interesting, but not too much…P1
D4 Wednesday, 8 September
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Yewbarrow House & Holker Hall
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Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km
D5 Thursday, 9 September
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Dalemain & Lowther Castle
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Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km
D6 Friday, 10 September
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Holehird & Blackwell
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Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km
Title H3
Some interesting, but not too much…P1
D7 Saturday, 11 September
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Dove Cottage & Grasmere
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Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km
D8 Sunday, 12 September
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Craigieburn House
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Today's driving is about 50 miles/80 km
Onward travel
Please let us know if you are staying in Britain and don't wish to return to Heathrow/Edinburgh Airport/Glasgow with the rest of the group. We will assist you, if we can, in getting to your next destination.
Maps and additional information
Tour area map
Additional information
Sleeping
We will stay at the Grasmere Hotel, in the pretty village of Grasmere, for the first four nights of the tour, and at Clare House Hotel, in the seaside town of Grange-over-Sands, for the final three nights of the tour.
Both hotels are listed in The Good Hotel Guide, a trusted and reputable independent hotel guide.
Eating
We will dine at our hotels on the first and last evening of our respective stays, and dine out on three evenings at Billy’s Bar in Hawkshead, The Brown Horse Inn in Winster, and The Punch Bowl in Crosthwaite, a pub we have dined at for over ten years.
Good to know
The Lake District is England’s most mountainous area and is known locally as The Lakes or Lakeland. In its valleys are some 16 lakes, though only Lake Bassenthwaite is actually named a lake; the rest are meres or waters – e.g. Windermere and Coniston Water.
Bedrooms & upgrades
Ordinarily, we book standard rooms (however described by the hotel) for all our customers, and these rooms may vary in size and features from room to room within the hotel.
Single travellers
Single travellers will have their own room, typically a small double room or, occasionally, a twin room.
Upgrades
If you would like to upgrade your room, please look at the hotel’s website and then contact us with your request.
Please DO NOT contact hotels directly.
Group at Chygurno, Cornwall
Joining instructions
The meeting arrangements are set out in Day 1 of the itinerary, above, and will be confirmed by email 13 weeks before the tour starts.
Meeting points
The Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh Airport is on Almond Avenue, just south of the terminal. Click here to see its location in Google Maps.
The hotels we use as meeting points are chosen for their location, the ease of access for the minibus and because they afford our customers, whether staying there or not, a comfortable and secure place to wait.
It is not because we endorse the hotel.
Accuracy & faithfulness
When describing the tour, we try to be as accurate as possible, and when we undertake the tour, we try to be faithful to the itinerary.
However, changes do occur, either necessarily or unavoidably, and we ask for your understanding when this happens.
Useful links
Click here for some useful links.
These links are to notable tourism, heritage, horticultural and cultural organisations, and travel and transport authorities.
Please let us know if any links are dysfunctional.
Acknowledgements
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the assistance of the many guidebooks and websites we use in planning our tours.
Thank you.