How to get to the Lake District

Planning your next trip to the Lake District?

By Car Take a look at the map below and you will see that the M6 motorway is the main route in to the Lake District. However a word of caution, the lanes of Cumbria were built to take small amounts of village traffic, not the masses of visitors it attracts today. This naturally results in traffic jams at some of the Lake Districts more well-known hot spots, especially over Bank Holidays and at peak holiday periods.

By Rail In addition to travelling to and from Cumbria by Train it is also possible to get a rail ranger day and family ranger day rail ticket so that you can explore the Lake District without your car.

By Bus Mountain Goat busesAre a great way of getting across the Lake District without using your own car.

Fly Cumbria is about 1½ hours north of Manchester International Airport. Rail connections are available from Manchester airport to Oxenholme, Kendal, Burneside, Staveley, Windermere, Carnforth, Silverdale, Arnside, Grange over Sands, Ulverston and Barrow in Furness.

Exactly Where is the Lake District?

If you are visiting from outside of England or this is your first time here, maybe you are wondering just exactly where is the Lake District in relation to the rest of England.

The Lake District, England is in the north-west county of Cumbria and is highlighted on the map below by the red circle.



I am sure that you already do most of the following, but to avoid the crowds and the traffic-jams

• If you don't have children, try to avoid the school holidays
• Try to avoid routes through traffic-jam hot-spots such as Bowness on Windermere and Ambleside
• Check for Motorway maintenance before you leave home
• Check out hot-spot webcams for up to date traffic information
• Check for local Highway Maintenance
• Travel midweek if possible