England’s Lake District Public Transport

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When visiting England many foreigners never make it out of London. I’m a city girl at heart so I of course love London and recommend you do visit the city if you haven’t already. At the same time I encourage you to get out of the city and visit the beautiful countryside of England. One of the best places you can visit is the Lakes District in the north. You may think you need a car to visit, but you don’t! With some careful planning my mom and I spent a wonderful five days in the southern Lake District without a car and didn’t miss out on a thing! Continue reading to find out everything you need to know about England’s Lake District Public Transport.

If you are looking for what to do in the Lake District check out my Lake District Itinerary post.

Train Travel in England

Traveling by train is generally an easy and nice way to get around the country. The seats are comfortable and WiFi is typically available. Luggage racks are usually in each car, but can get filled quickly.

Tickets

Use National Rail to buy your train tickets. It is best to buy your train tickets ahead of time because you will usually get a better price. If you are looking for options for bus and/or train travel you can search Trainline or similar sites. It is good to check the options there, but I found the prices to always be cheaper when buying directly through National Rail. Through this site you can buy tickets for different train companies.

You can pick up your tickets at any train station. Sometimes you can reserve seats ahead of time. Whether or not you have reserved seats it is helpful to ask a station worker which train car to board.

Rail Cards

Another way to save money on tickets is buy a rail card. There are several different rail cards, so check the options to see if one works for you. My mom and I made up the cost we spent on a Two Together Card by just the one way train trip from London to the Lakes District. Be aware that if you want a physical rail card it will need to be sent to a UK address. We went with the digital card and didn’t have a problem showing it on our phones, even without data or wifi.

Toilets

All the inter-city trains as well as the train stations have free toilets.

Food

Most trains have a dining car where you can buy snacks and small meals. When you make your reservation you can check to see what dining options will be available on your train. Bigger train stations like London Euston will have several different places to eat. Smaller stations might have one basic cafe or only vending machines.

Need Help?

Throughout our time in England we used the trains several times. We often had to make a quick transfer and were unsure which platform to go to because some of the screens only list the end destination and not all the stops. Staff were always friendly and helpful with giving us directions.

Getting to England’s Lake District by Train

Step 1: From Your London Starting Point to London Euston Train Station

London Heathrow to London Euston  

If you want to go straight to the Lake District from the London Heathrow airport you will first need to go into London. The cheapest option is to take the tube. There is a tube station at the airport so it also fairly easy to use with luggage. Buy a ticket at the airport (or an Oyster card if you are planning on taking more transportation in London) and take the Piccadilly line (dark blue) tube line to King’s cross station. It is the only tube line that comes to the airport, so you don’t need to worry about getting on the wrong line!

From King Cross station walk about 10 – 15 minutes to London Euston train station.

London Gatwick to London Euston

If you are going straight to the Lake District from Gatwick airport you will still need to go into London first. Buy a ticket at the airport (or an Oyster card if you are planning on taking more transportation in London).  Take the Thameslink from the airport direct to St Pancras Station. Walk about 10 minutes to London Euston.

Central London to London Euston 

From wherever you are in London take the tube to the Euston Square station by the Metropolitan, Circle or Hammersmith & City lines (pink, yellow, maroon). Then walk 3 minutes to the London Euston train station.

Step 2: From London Euston to Windermere in the Lake’s District

Once you have reached London Euston take a train to Windermere in the Lakes District. You will take a train to Oxenholme and then transfer to a different train to Windermere. When booking your train ticket search for a ticket to Windermere.

If you book an accommodation, like the guesthouse we stayed in, you can walk from the train station. If not several public buses stop at the train station and make stops in Windermere and Bowness (right next to Windermere). You can also take a bus to other cities in the Lake District.

Where to Stay in England’s Lake District

Before knowing how to get around the Lake District you need to know where you are staying. As the directions above show I recommend basing yourself in Windermere. When planning our trip I debated if we should explore a larger part of the Lake District and stay in different towns or base ourself in one town. After hours of research I decided Windermere would be the best place to stay for our entire time in the Lakes District. One of the biggest advantages of staying in Windermere is that there is a train station in the town. To reach most of the other towns in the Lake District you would need to take an additional bus after getting off the train.

From Windermere you can reach all the surrounding towns in the southern Lake District in less than an hour by bus. It was easy enough to visit a different town every day without spending too much time on the bus or having to change accommodations. You can also easily walk to Bowness-on-Windermere which is on Lake Windermere.

I would highly recommend where we stayed in Windermere, the Lingmoor Guesthouse. First of all the location is perfect. It is less than a five minute walk to the train station, which also has the bus stop to all the other towns in the area. The guesthouse is also slightly off the main drag of the town, but still very close to all the restaurants and stores.

The Lingmoor Guesthouse itself is also wonderful and one of our favorite places we stayed throughout our UK road-trip. It was one of the cleanest places I have stayed all year….and I have stayed in a lot of different accommodations around the world this year! It is small, but oh so cozy! The accommodations and the owners make you feel that you are staying at a friend’s house. Breakfast is made to order every morning with hot items.

Lake District Public Transport

I was told by an English guy that it is hard getting around Lake District without a car. Being the persistent person I am I clearly wasn’t going to take a local’s advice, I would figure it out! And that I did! With some careful planning you can reach anywhere in the southern Lakes District on foot or by bus.

On Foot

The Lake District is a walker’s paradise. If you love exploring on foot you are planning a trip to the right place! There are paths connecting all of the towns so if you have the time and ability to walk you don’t need to take a bus. This will cut into your time to explore the attractions, but the Lake District has some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. The area is worth it just to visit and walk around.

If you are coming from the United States, the country that is designed for cars, you may be skeptical about walking between towns. Don’t worry, there really are paths between the towns and a lot of avid walkers are using them. We found that the signs were not always 100% accurate though, so you may end up discovering a different place than you intended to! Many of the signs tell how many miles left you have to go. Let’s just say they are an estimate!

Visitor centers, like the one near the train station in Windermere, sell detailed walking guides. If you are planning to get around primarily by foot you may want to buy one of those.

On our first day out and about in the Lakes District we learned very quickly that we needed to open up gates to continue on our paths. Coming from the USA where most gates signal, do not enter, this was very counter-intuitive to us. We discovered the gates were to keep the sheep out and not us.

By Bus

Stagecoach is the main bus operator that goes between the towns in the Lake District.

Bus Tickets

You can buy individual, daily or weekly bus tickets when boarding the bus. At the Windermere train station where you will take buses to other towns, there was always a transit worker in the mornings available for questions. He was very friendly and willing to give advice on the best ticket option.

Bus Routes & Schedules

We didn’t have a problem using buses for all our transportation, but we did need to plan ahead because some buses only run once or twice an hour. When you arrive get a bus schedule that has all the bus lines and times in it. Some buses don’t run too late at night so it is best to leave by at least 10am in the morning to have enough time in the day. Here are some of the bus lines you may need if you are staying in Windermere. Please note that I didn’t include all the stops or the lines.

• 599: Kendal –> Bowness –> Windermere –> Ambleside –> Grasmere
• 555: Kendal –> Windermere –> Ambleside –> Grasmere –> Keswick
• 505: Kendal –> Windermere –> Ambleside –> Hawkshead –> Coninston
• 006: Kendal –> Windermere –> Bowness –> Ulverston –> Barrow

Bus Stops

There is typically one main bus stop in every town. If you have a general idea of your route, it is pretty clear when you arrive at each town. Many people get off at these stops and the bus often waits a few minutes as well. Some sights and many of the hikes start outside of the towns. There are bus stops in the countryside, but the buses don’t stop unless someone pushes the button or if there is someone at the stop. If you don’t have phone service or a map it can be a little tricky to judge where your stop is. Simply ask the driver when you get on, or when you are getting closer to your stop to let you know where it is. You simply need to tell them where you are headed and they will let you off at the closest stop.

By Tour

If you aren’t up for walking or using the public buses, there are many tours you can join to see the sights of the area without needing a car. As the Lake District is clearly known for it’s lakes you may want to take a lake cruise. Seeing the Beatrix Potter sights are a must when you are in the region. You can also head further afield to the western Lake District on a full day adventure tour.

Now that you know how to get to the Lake District and how to get around the Lake District, you want to know what to do, right? Find the best Cumbrian towns to visit and the must-see attractions in my England Lake District Itinerary. 

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