Lake District trip

[THarris123]

I'm going up to Lake District next week for about a week and was wondering what buses should I try out.

Any suggestions?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I'm going up to Lake District next week for about a week and was wondering what buses should I try out.

Any suggestions?

Depends where you are.

Classics are the 555 Kendal to Keswick. Good run to Cockermouth alongside Bassenthwaite Lake on the Gold X4/5. Keswick to Seatoller through Borrowdale (79) and Buttermere (77) are stunners too; back in the day, those were B6s and Merc minis but I think they may be open topped now

Further south try 505 Ambleside to Coniston, 508 Windermere to Patterdale, 6 Windermere to Newby Bridge.

It's not an exhaustive list. Have fun

 

[Tetchytyke]

Depends where you are and what you want to do. Details of all the Stagecoach Cumberland services are on their website here: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promo...ashire/buses-to-the-lake-district-this-summer. They do a good brochure of all the different routes, you can email them and they'll post one to you or you'll usually find a copy on most of the tourist buses and on the main routes (the 554, 555 and X4/X5) into Keswick.

The 73 from Carlisle to Keswick is a nice run over the fells and through Caldbeck. It's then a nice round trip on the 77 from Keswick to Seatoller through Buttermere and up over the Honister pass, taking the open-topper 78 from Seatoller back into Keswick. The 73 and 77 are Solos these days (often the same one as some services interwork). The 508 from Penrith to Windermere over the Kirkstone pass is a nice run too, the short workings Penrith-Glenridding are also open-toppers.

If you're further south, a ride on the open-topper 596 from Windermere to Lakeside and then a ride on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite steam railway is a nice enough afternoon out. The 599 from Windermere to Grasmere is also an open-topper.

A 1-day Explorer is £10.80 and a 7-day all zones Megarider is £27.30.

ETA: It's not a bus and you'd need to get the train to Ravenglass, but a ride up Eskdale on La'al Ratty is a must-see.

 

[Hophead]

If planning a day on the buses, do allocate a fair amount of time for connections. Lakeland traffic can be heavy almost anywhere , while the minor routes can be delayed in the narrow lanes.

 

[KendalKing]

I'm going up to Lake District next week for about a week and was wondering what buses should I try out.

Any suggestions?

Depending on where you are staying, and where you are hoping to visit.

As Arctic Troll says there are various explore tickets available such as Bus only, Bus & Train, Bus & Boat, etc, etc.

Windermere Railway Station, is a good place to go to photo buses, most of the seasonal services, in the Lakes call-into Windermere Station.
Worth hanging around for a couple hours on a nice day. If you are lucky you should see the bus on 755 service from Morecambe depot.

The Routes, which I recommend are:-

Service 6 from Windermere to Barrow-in-Furness.

Service 555 from Windermere to Keswick, and
Service 555 from Windermere to Lancaster, which have brand new enviro 400MMC on it.

My wife and myself, like to catch the open-top bus down to Bowness Pier, then Ferry across to Lakeside, and the steam train to Haverthwaite, where we normally have a meal, before making the return journey.

 

[THarris123]

Thank you all for the details.

I'm heading up to Windermere next Wednesday and heading back the following Tuesday. So have got plenty of plans now. Obviously it will just rain constantly, but I'm hopeful nonetheless. Also hoping to go up Scafell Pike too.

 

[johnnychips]

Thank you all for the details.

I'm heading up to Windermere next Wednesday and heading back the following Tuesday. So have got plenty of plans now. Obviously it will just rain constantly, but I'm hopeful nonetheless. Also hoping to go up Scafell Pike too.

If you're on public transport, the best place to start up Scafell Pike is from Seatoller. Great Gable is also easily accessible from there.

 

[Y961 XBU]

If your looking to travel about a little a ride on the 555 to Lancaster to get some Olympians might be an idea to consider

 

[83G/84D]

Don't forget to visit the pencil museum in Keswick!??????

 

[backontrack]

There's the 516 from Ambleside to Langdale as well! And the 208 from Keswick to Ullswater - though that only runs on Saturdays.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Depends where you are and what you want to do. Details of all the Stagecoach Cumberland services are on their website here: https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promo...ashire/buses-to-the-lake-district-this-summer. They do a good brochure of all the different routes, you can email them and they'll post one to you or you'll usually find a copy on most of the tourist buses and on the main routes (the 554, 555 and X4/X5) into Keswick.

PDFs (including maps) are also available online.

 

[chiltern trev]

X4/X5 Gold. Scania E400 d/d normally run the Workington-Keswick-Penrith services. Scania E300 s/d normally run the short workings Workington-Keswick.

73/77 Solos. The 73 and 73A Carlisle-Keswick is/are early morning only and is/are a positioning run for 1 or 2 Solos from Carlisle depot - the return working(s) is/are late afternoon. There is also an early morning X4 (0755) Penrith-Keswick which is also a positioning run for a Solo from Penrith depot (it goes back late afternoon/early evening as a X5). This provides the 2 Solos for the 77/77A and a third Solo for a midday 73 Keswick-Caldbeck-Keswick loop. The 77 has 5 roundtrips and the 77A (otherway round) has 6 or 7 round trips.

 

[backontrack]

Thank you all for the details.

I'm heading up to Windermere next Wednesday and heading back the following Tuesday. So have got plenty of plans now. Obviously it will just rain constantly, but I'm hopeful nonetheless. Also hoping to go up Scafell Pike too.

Great!

If I were you, then I'd want to access the northern lakes. So I'd travel from Windermere via Ullswater and the 508 one way, and via Ambleside the other (or vice-versa).

The 208 does provide a convenient link between Ullswater and Keswick, but it only runs on Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays and school holidays. Still, the X4/X5 doesn't take you too much further out. You basically have to visit Ullswater.

I haven't travelled on the 73 myself, but I'd guess that you don't really need to travel north of Caldbeck towards Carlisle (although this is still better than not at all). There is a daily circular journey on route 73A that you could use, however. It leaves Keswick at 11:30 and, running via Castlerigg, Mungrisdale, Caldbeck and Bassenthwaite, arrives back there at 13:03.

The buses on route 555 are now back to normal between Keswick and Grasmere. Although this leaves out the diversionary loop, it does restore the old frequency and massively speeds up journey time. And it's still a very scenic journey. Grasmere itself has much to be recommended, despite the tourists.

Route 516 from Ambleside to Langdale and back runs 6-7 times a day (the extra journey is dependent on whether or not it's a weekend, school or bank holiday). The bus sets down at Skelwith Bridge, Elterwater, Chapel Stile and Dungeon Ghyll.

Route 505 has a basically-hourly frequency between Ambleside, Hawkshead and Coniston. Most of these buses are extended to Windermere as well, but not all.

So, all in all, I would recommend getting out to Ullswater and definitely on the 77/77A (which is a must) through Buttermere. I'd recommend a venture out to Langdale too, and a gander at both Cockermouth and Keswick. There are quite a few things in Grasmere and Ambleside, but not much in Windermere and Bowness. Coniston is fairly easy to reach (as is the delightful tiny town of Hawkshead), and Caldbeck may be worth the excursion, but I wouldn't bother too badly with Kendal; it's a nice enough place, though, so you always have the option of getting off your train there and perhaps bussing into Windermere.

 

[randyrippley]

don't forget the existence of the "Lakes Day Ranger" ticket - a train ticket which includes all Stagecoach buses
http://www.railrover.org/pages/lakes-day-ranger.html
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/pr569e360a04000400e942d9601c4cf1.aspx

Because it includes a trip across Windermere (either Lakeside - Bowness return, or Lakeside to Bowness / Ambleside one way) you can do some interesting circular trips - including the Haverthwaite Steam Railway (you have to pay a discounted rate there)

 

[route101]

Interesting topic!

Last Friday i took train to Penrith and bought £10.80 NW explorer ticket ( I believe this gets you from Dumfries to Chester !)
From Penrith Station i took the 508 ( A dart) to Windermere . Then i took the 599 open topper to Grasmere . From Grasmere i took the 555 (e400 12 plate) up to Keswick. From Keswick i took the 77A(New Solo) that goes clockwise via Honister . The 77a was one of the most interesting bus routes ive taken , very narrow lanes encountering cars with few passing places ! I imagine the buses get stuck on this route a lot , only seen solos on it ! I didnt get off as i wanted to get back to Keswick but the Honister pass was a highlight along with Kirkstone pass. From Keswick i took the 1820 73a to Carlisle (10 plate solo ) only 2 other people on this bus and they got off after caldbeck . The 73 took an interesting route on a road that skirts the eastern edge of the hills and through small villages , then entered carlisle through the backdoor . Caught the 1950 pendolino to Glasgow .

Great day and with the summer timetable many areas of the lake district are accessiable including rural areas .Did see a R reg Olympian in service at Penrith !1

 

[ashworth]

Last Friday i took train to Penrith and bought £10.80 NW explorer ticket ( I believe this gets you from Dumfries to Chester !)
1

The NW Explorer ticket is fantastic value for the vast area it covers which also covers the Carlisle to Newcastle Bus. Even better value is the 7 Day version, covering the same vast area, the NW Megarider Gold at only £27.

Although it covers a huge area of the NW of England, because of the huge distances and time it takes to travel, you can only really use it to travel in the area where you are based, although that can still be quite a wide area. If you are based in Cumbria you wouldn't really manage to travel down to Merseyside and Cheshire and back in a day and vice versa. I suppose if you don't mind spending hours on buses you could just about manage the whole area in a week if you were based somewhere around Lancaster. It must also be remembered that in Lancashire and further south Stagecoach don't have the almost monopoly that they have in the Lake District and in some areas their services are quite sparse.
I have found the NW Megarider Gold to be a very useful addition to the NW 7 Day Railrover as it enables you to visit places especially in Lancashire and Cumbria that are not accible by rail. It's also useful to be able to cut a few corners where the train journey goes a long way around like Penrith-Workington, Windermere-Barrow and is especially useful for Preston to Southport.

 

[THarris123]

Well it's taken a little while for some spare time, but thought I'd go through what I did in the end

Day 1 Monday 11th
London
first of all up to Bath on 69445 on 174, then to Bristol on X39. After that up to London by train. Stayed at a cr*p hotel next to Kings Cross. Saw plenty of vehicles, including Borismasters and even a few darts. Walk around British Museum

Day 2
Peterborough
Into Kings Cross caught the Virgin train at 10.08 up to Peterborough. Walk around Peterborough, then to the B&B to check in. Walk around the cathedral, then walk along the river. Nice evening meal and nice sleep.

Day 3
Nene Valley/Windermere
As I had a voucher for a steam train ride, I had to go to Wansford and catch the train from there. Check out of B&B. Then bus to Wansford village on a centrebus MCV and a half hour walk to the train station which was great fun. Onto the 0-6-0 and down to Peterborough. Got back into Wansford. Walk around the engine shed (actually got a guided tour). Then back to Peterborough to catch the train to Lakes. First of all Virgin to Doncaster, then First Pennine to Manchester (which was a stunning scenic journey). Then up to Oxenholme and change onto train to Windermere. All worked out well with a nice night's sleep to end.

TransPenine - it said the train to Windermere was Northern, not TransPenine, can someone explain?

Day 4
Windermere/Ambleside
Started off in Windermere, then caught Plaxton Trident open topper X702 on 599 to Bowness. Walk around and then boat to Lakeside. Swapped onto train to Haverthwaite. Lunch at Haverthwaite, then back to Lakeside. Boat then up to Ambleside. Walk around then a dart on 505 back to Windermere. Very pleasant day.

Day 5
Lancaster/Kendal
First of all 555 to Lancaster in the hands of a new 16 E400MMC. Very pleasant ride and a nice machine. Rain all day, so didn't spend long in Lancaster, but seems to be quite a nice place. The bus station seems to be well run too. A couple of old Olympians around. Then back up to Kendal via M6 on 555. Kendal seems very nice and had a walk around Kendal castle too. Although raining it was a nice enough day.

Day 6
Scafell Pike
Bus up to Ambleside on 555, then 516 to Dungeon Ghyll on a very rattly 34801. Walk up and back to Scafell Pike. Views in the first hour really stunning then after the boulders and the cloud at the top not the best. Coming down very tiring. 3.5 hours up and 3.25 hours back just in time for 516 back. Food in Ambleside and back on 508 to Windermere.

Day 7
Keswick, Penrith
Up to Grasmere on 555, walk around Grasmere. Then up to Keswick on 555. Meal and walk around Keswick. Then X4/5 to Penrith. A very nice comfy Gold E400. Nothing open in Penrith and spent all of 10 mins there. Then onto 505 back to Windermere on a dart. Really stunning views all the way along.

Day 8
Circle around lakes
First of all up to Keswick on 555, then X5 to Workington. Not very nice in Workington. It was an E300 on X5 too, which wasn't very comfy (non gold). So then caught the train to Ravenglass heading along the coast, which was really nice. Swapped onto the Ravenglass railway, which actually wasn't really spectacular. Back to Ravenglass, then train to Barrow, train to Lancaster, train to Oxenholme and finally train back to Windermere. Overall really nice anyway.

Day 9
Back home
Left Windermere early. Change at Oxenholme, then Lancaster, then Birmingham and onto the Cross Country HST (which is very nice) into Bristol. Normal Streetdeck back home. Trains were pretty late all the way, but I managed the connections just along the route.

Overall a really stunning and scenic holiday, really enjoyable and I highly suggest to anyone to go there.

 

[KendalKing]

TransPenine - it said the train to Windermere was Northern, not TransPenine, can someone explain?

The Windermere branch use to be part of the TransPennine contact, but that was changed back in April, with new contacts. As Northern is short of trains, they had some class 185 DMU's "On Hire" from TransPennine.

 

[THarris123]

The Windermere branch use to be part of the TransPennine contact, but that was changed back in April, with new contacts. As Northern is short of trains, they had some class 185 DMU's "On Hire" from TransPennine.

Oh thanks!