Getting Around the Lake District Without a Car

We're keen advocates of public transport here at Cedar Manor, and we wanted to tell you how you can get around the Lake District without a car - on trains and boats and…goats! Some of our visitors choose to travel here by train, and we have our own railway station at Windermere, just a few minutes’ walk from our front drive. We also have a bus stop right outside, offering the chance to take a break from driving and see the Lake District in comfort. But trains and boats and …goats? Let’s take a look.

The Little Ratty: Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

One of the most popular train lines in the UK, not just the Lakes, is known as Ratty. It’s the narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway which has a fleet of heritage steam and diesel engines. They run passengers from Ravenglass on the Cumbrian coast to Dalegarth at Boot in Eskdale, one of the loveliest valleys. It was built between 1873-1875 and was the first public narrow gauge railway in England. The main terminus at Ravenglass lies within two UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Lake District National Park and Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Today, railway enthusiasts of all ages enjoy the seven-mile, 40 minute journey through the most glorious countryside. The line winds through ancient woodlands terminating at Dalegarth, where a revolving track turns the engine round for the return journey.

Travel Back in Time: Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway

Closer to us at the Cedar Manor, just at the bottom end of Windermere, is the next in our list of favourite ways to travel. At Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway you can travel back in time on board a full size steam train. This is a family run business whose steam engines haul traditional 1950s carriages through the countryside of the Leven Valley, to Lakeside Station, where connections are available with Windermere Lake Cruises. The train and the boat connection! The Furness Railway was developed during the 1850s and 1860s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, to take the coal and iron ore from mines in the coastal areas of Cumberland and the Furness district of Lancashire to the heavy industries of the North West and North East of England. And as early as 1847, the Kendal and Windermere Railway Company had opened a branch line from Oxenholme which terminated at Birthwaite (which was later to develop as the modern town of Windermere). Then by 1850, four passenger steamers plied the length of the lake from Waterhead to Newby Bridge (a distance of about 11½ miles).

The Train Meets the Boat: Windermere Lake Cruises

We never tire of our fabulous lake, and the many boats that travel up and down, and back and forth. Windermere Lake Cruises is the most popular tourist attraction in Cumbria. It has transport and pleasure craft of all sizes, and for all kinds of journeys, from 45 minutes to three hours - or you can even spend all day on and around the lake with the Freedom of the Lake ticket. There are evening buffet cruises, and sunset cruises, or you can hire your own electric motor boat or rowing boat. There’s also a cross-lake shuttle from Bowness to Ash Landing. The Windermere Ferry, which takes cars and bikes and foot passengers from Bowness to Sawrey, has been recently upgraded and is re-opening this month (May).

Agatha Christie's Train: Bassenthwaite Lake Station

Back to trains, briefly, before we meet the goat. Up in the North Lakes is the fabulous Bassenthwaite Lake Station with a wonderful cafe that does great lunches. You’ll sit on an actual train, which is permanently halted on what was once the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith railway line, which closed in 1966. Over the years, the sandstone platforms and stately outbuildings of the station became dilapidated, the trackbed buried and hidden by brambles, and the signalmen’s cottages collapsed and became ruins. But then in 2019 Simon and Diana Parums bought the site with the intention of establishing an attraction that would have wide appeal for visitors and locals alike. The station and its outbuildings were painstakingly restored, in keeping with the 1930s era that was inspired by the arrival of the replica train. The French SNCF Class 241 steam engine is the very train that appears in the Kenneth Branagh 2017 film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel Murder on the Orient Express starring Dame Judi Dench and Johnny Depp. It was built a little bit wider than a ‘real life’ train in order to fit in camera crews, which means that today the Restaurant carriage serves as seating for a café with enough room to comfortably accommodate around 30 people. The Salon carriage is reserved for afternoon teas.

Our Own Mountain Goat: The 525 Cross Lakes Experience

And so to the goat, the Mountain Goat of the Lake District, and one of the most ingenious ways of getting around here. The Mountain Goat is a different kind of bus company, established in 1972 with the first minibus, one that could carry passengers over the Kirkstone Pass from Bowness to Glenridding. Over time, more and more visitors wanted to explore the area’s spectacular scenery and history so the company started daily sightseeing tours covering all four corners of the Lake District. Our local one is the 525 Cross Lakes Experience which runs daily throughout the summer, and connects Bowness to Beatrix Potter’s Hill Top Farm House and on to Hawkshead. The 525 service links into other transport services so you can have a real car-free day out. And as champions of sustainable tourism, we applaud the efforts of Mountain Goat to work with their partners and provide sustainable transport in the Lake District. Tickets can be purchased on the day of travel from Windermere lake Cruises ticket office or from the Mountain Goat bus driver.