bakoboy

We are going to go to the Lake District and then into Scotland from June 12-June 27. Coming into LHR, then have 2 nights booked in London. Train to Manchester to rent a car. We have some nights pre booked in Edinburgh.

What are some "must do/see" things and do I need to make hotel bookings for the road trip or will there be availability? I believe the time frame is before general school holidays.

Thanks!

stut

If you're not already booked, you can also look at points further north to pick up a car, like Lancaster, Penrith or Carlisle. All are on the mainline from London, but would avoid Manchester roads, and save you a fair bit of time (especially at the M61-M6 junction!)

Hotels - I'd always book in advance for summer in the Lakes. To be honest, I'm not really a fan of accommodation in the national park. There's an abundance of B&Bs and guesthouses specialising in a particularly stuffy, dusty nostalgia, and others full of the kind of walkers who will look down on you because of the type of gear you're wearing. There are alternatives, but a lot of them are rather expensive.

Personal preference is to stay outside the national park, somewhere like Kendal (which has some substance to it) or in the South Lakes, which are a little quieter than the busy north. It's a shame, I find lovely places like Ambleside and Keswick ruined by their crowdedness.

​​​​​​Last few times, I've found some decent Airbnbs. You have to wade through the ones that only want weekly Saturday turnarounds but don't configure it properly, but you so get there. There's still some stunning, peaceful spots around, always worth seeking out.

Do beware the roads. While the main trunk routes like the M6, A66, A590 etc may be decent enough, things get narrow and winding very quickly. If you're not used to single track roads (i.e. you can only pass a car coming the other way at certain points) then take it easy and plan your route carefully, otherwise you may find your hire car getting intimately acquainted with a dry stone wall.

Also, look out for Booths supermarkets. They're a local chain, and really excellent - great for picnics and self-catesting.

Tocsin

Yes, you're avoiding the main school holidays (from early-mid July onward), but some parents take the fine as a lower cost than the peak holiday rates...
Depending on which way you are heading up to Edinburgh, the Northumberland coastal route has a great set of castles to see - and you could do bits of Hadrian's Wall on the way over

flatlander

I was up in that direction a couple of weeks ago. Starting from Manchester, you can in general go either the east or west side of the country towards Scotland. I would go more to the east side if I were you, because the countryside is way nicer and there is a lot more to see. The roads are good either way, the M74 (and A74(M), you won't notice the difference) is a good motorway and by far the busier. The A1 (and A1(M)) is quieter and still a good road. Fuel prices can vary by more than 10% along the A1 and A1(M), choose the service stations by the side of the A1 dual-carriageway sections rather than the full-on service areas on the A1(M) motorway sections.

So since you will be in the Lake District, I suggest you go north along the M6 through the Lake District, and if you need to stop there then use the Tebay services which are the only privately-run motorway services in the UK and generally considered a lot nicer than most others. Continue on until the junction with the A69 at Carlisle and turn towards Newcastle, then head for Birdoswald Roman Fort museum and section of Hadrian's wall. The museum has a cafe, if you want some food.

Continue on towards Newcastle and take the A1 north towards Scotland. Enjoy the Northumberland countryside as you go, and stop off to look at Holy Island with Lindisfarne castle, if the tide allows you to cross the causeway to Holy Island. Do not cross if the tide is against you and check you can get back! Tide times are posted by the end of the causeway or can be found online here.

Enter Scotland at Berwick-upon-Tweed and continue to Edinburgh. Beware of the high density of speed cameras on the main roads in Scotland in particular those set up to trap you on a clear downhill slope, and the tendency to put average speed cameras on long stretches of inter-city roads like the A9.

In Scotland, I would strongly recommend not driving around Edinburgh itself; park the car and use the public transport or walk. Outside Edinburgh, go towards Stirling and check out the Falkirk Wheel (including a paddling pool for small children and picnic opportunity for all ages on the grass by the Wheel, if you have small children then bring their swimming costumes for this). Go onwards to the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and drive the A85 to A82 route through Glencoe. The scenery is beautiful.

If you want a place to stay in this area, I stayed at "Smiddy House" in Spean Bridge, a nice little guest house. The attached restaurant is definitely finer dining prices and provides a nice meal. The Smiddy House breakfast is excellent; go for the (very good) salmon and eggs with whatever extras you want.

I would recommend booking ahead, summer availability can be tight. Along the roads, the Days Inns and similar will be fine for an overnight stay, but in smaller places in Scotland, availability in June may be thin. Remember the power of a refundable booking, if you want to change your mind you can look for alternative places to stay and if you can find them, book and cancel the first. If you can't, feel pleased your forethought secured you some accommodation.

HIDDY

Regarding the Lake District, it's actually not that big so I would agree with stut about basing yourself somewhere outside the park. I like Kendal and Penrith even Lancaster would do. You might as well hire the car there as well. Scotland on the other hand is massive in comparison. No too many problems finding accommodation especially B&B's there in June. The Visitscotland,com website is worth a browse and will give you ideas on where to visit.

dulciusexasperis

How do you expect anyone to tell you what YOU would consider a must do/see? That all depends on the individual's interests, not someone else's interests. Personally, I find the Lake District highly over-rated by the English, compared to other parts of the world. It's tiny, it's crowded and when driving, the line of cars behind you 'pushes' you up the road to such a degree, the driver has no time to look anywhere but at the road. Even as an avid hiker, it holds no appeal to me as the minuses outweigh the pluses.

I do not see any need to pre-book anything, I've never had a problem finding a bed for the night anywhere in the UK.

You mention a 'road trip' but as far as I can see, that only involves the road from the Lake District to Edinburgh. That's all of a one day drive, so where's the 'road trip"?

Without knowing your interests or when you have booked in Edinburgh, you really aren't giving anyone much info to work with.

Scots_Al

stut

I think, with the Lake District, it's important to plan ahead, and understand the busy times. Yes, there's lots of accommodation, but as it's primarily smaller hotels and B&Bs, you're likely to find that it's the dregs that's left over if you leave it to the last minute.

It can get horrendously busy, particularly in the Windermere - Ambleside - Keswick axis. Not without reason, of course, there's some lovely stops round there (and it's definitely worth stopping into Grasmere for some gingerbread). However, there are still some quieter spots. Head over to the other side of Coniston, or round Cartmel, for example.

If you go the direct route from the Lakes to Edinburgh, it's a short journey. But a circuit could be very rewarding. Northumberland, for example, is one of the most underrated counties in the country: Hadrian's Wall, Kielder, Rothbury, the castles along the coast, Druridge Bay, Alnmouth, Lindisfarne... And, of course, Newcastle itself!

HIDDY

Yes in certain tourist hot spots like Skye it's advisable to book ahead even outside of peak season if you want to secure the best B&B's or self catering accommodation....some of then can get booked many months or even a year in advance. If not booking ahead it's best to arrive at your destination in the afternoon. If it has one, the local tourist office is a good place to find a bed for the night as they keep an updated list of available rooms in the area. Having a car gives you more leeway as the last rooms to go are usually the ones outside of the tourist spots.

dulciusexasperis

Well, 'absolutely' is a pretty strong word and 'some parts' covers only.......some parts. I have visited Skye in the summer months several times. I've never booked ahead and never found myself sleeping in the back seat of my car or in a village hall. How can that be if you 'absolutely need to book ahead on Skye' as you are implying? The truth is that what you are saying is only applicable to specific popular locations, SOME of the time. It might be true on a Friday or Saturday night and no issue at all on a Wednesday night when all the tourists from Glasgow are at work, not visiting Portree for the weekend. Even then, while every hotel or B&B you tried in Portree might be full, a 10 minute drive north on the A855 might find you a B&B around Achachork. Personally, I would never want to stay in Portree itself.

The funny thing is that this fear (for that is what it is) that you must pre-book or find yourself with nowhere to stay, is a self induced condition. It assumes that on any given night in any given location, every available room will be booked. Now without getting in to higher math, how can that be if the average occupancy even on their best month (August) can't get Skye above 70% room occupancy even on weekends?
http://www.visitscotland.org/pdf/201...0and%20B&B.pdf

Yes, a specific hotel or B&B may be full all month if it's popular and does a superior job of marketing itself online etc. but that 70% number means there are plenty of other rooms that will still be empty. Numbers don't lie but FEAR is a powerful thing. So people say, 'oh you have to book or you could end up sleeping in the village hall', and they ignore the reality of the numbers. I have no doubt whatsoever that even on a weekend in August I could find a perfectly acceptable hotel or B&B within a half hour's drive of Portree.

Think about it, 70% full on their best weekends. How likely is it that you couldn't find an acceptable room?

lwildernorva

I think it's possible to fly by the seat of your pants in many places, but convenience influences me to book accommodations at almost any time of the year before my trip. On a 2000 trip to Ireland, done in May before the full tourist season arrived, I found myself wandering around a busy Killarney looking for a room for the night. It took me a couple of hours to find a hotel with an available room, but I struck the jackpot because after ten days staying in B&Bs and hotels with single beds, I got a truly king sized bed. But I probably paid more than I should have, and I spent time looking for a room that I could have spent enjoying a pint or two. I've been in Edinburgh twice for the International Festival, and there have been some accommodations available even on the day I arrived, but I'm sure most of the rooms were either very poor or overpriced.

Hiddy's advice to find the local tourist office straightaway is sound, or if you have internet access, use that tool to book rooms as your itinerary unfolds. I think most travelers have a pretty good idea of which town they're going to visit within the following 24-48 hours, and I've found that sites such as booking.com are excellent at providing options even in the smallest towns.

big_mac

I'm sure that the OP has been sufficiently warned that there is at least some risk involved and they can decide for themselves if they want to check it out further.
(with hotels.com as an example, there is nothing on Skye available for tonight, and nothing for next Saturday).

DYKWIA

Good to see the OP got some great recommendations

If you want a nice drive, start from Kendal and head up the the A6 (Shap Road) and through Shap. Turn off when you see the sign for Askham.

You'll eventually see signs for Pooley Bridge, so head towards there.

At Pooley Bridge, you then follow the A592 alongside Ullswater lake. There are some places along there to stop and have refreshments.

Keep following the A592 which then becomes the Kirkstone Pass. You'll eventually come to Windermere.

From Windermere, you can head down to the Lake at Bowness, or back towards Kendal.

It's about 3 hours from what I remember, with some great scenery.

stut

Enough. Thread closed pending moderator review.

stut
Moderator
UK & Ireland

stut

Right. Have cleaned up the thread. I don't have the time or frankly the energy to go and edit individual posts so apologies for any non-sequiturs. We can quite happily accept that there is a difference in opinion about whether or not advance booking is necessary and whether necessary and desirable are the same things. However, this is not the place to divert a useful topic into a pedantic mud-slinging session, so let's leave it at that and move on.

Thread reopened.

stut
Moderator
UK & Ireland