I am looking at spending a week in the Lakes at Easter. I would like to stay in a cottage if possible, but not sure which part of the Lakes, although Ambleside looks nice. Has anyone got any helpful tips on how/where is the best place to book them or any general information about the Ambleside area.
I just stayed in the Lakes with friends for a week in September. We rented a cottage in Keswick at Burnside Park, highly recommended. The website does have Ambleside rentals as well so I've copied the URL for that location. Here it is! cumbrian-cottages.co.uk/fram... If you're not stuck on Ambleside I can really recommend Keswick. Loads of good pubs and restaurants and fantastic hiking from town.
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Another good site for finding B&B's throughout the UK is www.smoothhound.co.uk. They have lots of good listings. Googling Lake District England will also bring up lots of useful informatioin about that area.
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Ambleside is one of my favourite towns in the Lake District, and it's a pretty good base for getting to other parts of the area. It has some nice shops and restaurants if you want a break from walking. Coniston is also a lovely village, as is Grasmere (try the local gingerbread!), they are quite a bit smaller than Ambleside. Windermere is larger, but gets very crowded - you'll get a lot more day-trippers there over Easter than in the other places. I have used Smoothhound too and can recommend it for finding b&b accommodation. Hoseasons (http://www.hoseasons.co.uk) also have a nice range of self-catering cottages. Have a wonderful time!
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You can't go wrong wherever you stay in the Lakes. If you like it busy, then try Windermere (gets very crowded at times) Ambleside is a beautiful town & a great base for exploring the Lakes. Grasmere Gingerbread is a must & try to visit Pooley Bridge on Ullswater.
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Got to agree about Grasmere...I liked Conniston as a base....central to everything and got a nice small village feel to it.
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all good suggestions here...Coniston has a cosy feel to it whereas Keswick has more options for hiking and eateries.
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Hi I would also recommend keswick ---This is right in the centre of the lake District with great walks starting here -- you are also in striking distance of Scafell Pike -- England's highest mountain !!! and it is far less touristy that Ambleside / Windermere. My cousin has a cottage to let on her farm -- info and pics on my cumbria page -- Ghyll brow farm -- I Garurentee that she will give you a warm welcome, Any further help I can give then please don't hesitate to drop me a line -- Good Luck and happy travels -- Rob PS -- you might find it difficult to find a cottage over the Easter weekend now -- a lot of the good ones get booked up a long time in advance so best to start looking Soon !!!!
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If you don't mind the crowds any of the afore mentioned places are nice. Remember Easter is the first real holiday of the year here and that tourists will be a plenty. A quieter and I think more beautiful area is the Eskdale Valley in the west of the Lake District. Hope this is of some help, NickandChris.
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