Posted by Andy Morley on April 16, 1999 at 23:35:12:
In Reply to: Re: Visiting the Lake District posted by Brigit Sanders on April 16, 1999 at 20:20:49:
>Posted by Oonagh on April 13, 1999 at 10:36:16:
>Hi everyone. I'm going to be visiting England at the end of the year (December-February) and will
>definitely be making a trip to the Lake District. I'd be grateful if someone could give me some ideas about
>where an Arthur Ranomse fan should stay and places to visit. Is there any sort of Arthur Ransome
>museum in the area ? Also, has anyone done any cycle touring in the area or would this be a bad idea at
>that time of the year ?
It's difficult to advise without knowing the following:
The Lake District is the wettest part of England. "February Fill-Dyke" is the wettest month and the others adjacent to it not much drier. If you want a serious Ransome-related cycling holiday at that time of year, then think about going to East Anglia. Not only will you be going to the driest part of the coutry, but it's also flat in the bits that Ransome wrote about, so good for cycling and lots of good pubs, just as good as any in the Lake District.
But if you're not serious cyclists, you could stay at Bank Ground Farm opposite Coniston village, and hire bikes and maybe if you were lucky get some good weather. You could cycle around the lake in a day. You could 'do' Peel Island (or at least High Peel Near), Nibthwaite, and Octopus Lagoon on another day. You could cycle up to Tarn Hows. Brantwood (Ruskin's home) and the woods behind are a walk from Bank Ground, Coniston Village a rather longer one. If you had good weather for the time of year, you could cycle to Windermere, stopping at various twee little villages on the way, and even maybe get the ferry accross to 'Rio' if it runs then. (It probably does). You would get back, have a bath and nurse a sore behind on the following day.
Accomodation falls into four Categories:
If you're seriously fit, then there's plenty of other outdoor things to do in the Lake District at that time of year that are better than cycling. But do prepare and take local advice or you could end up as a mountain rescue statistic.
Anyway, back to the remains of my Chinese take-away, and watching the bands on Jools Holland's Later. Van Morrison in a few minutes time - might break out the whisky...