The Lake District

Q: When is the best time to walk in the Lake District?

A: Spring is a personal favourite of the Macs team as the nicest time of year to walk in the Lake District. The weather is usually fairly mild (although it is the Lake District so you should always bring your waterproofs!), the flowers are in bloom and lambs dot the fields and pastures. 

Q: Do I need to be able to navigate?

A: Many of the trails are signposted in the Lake District and booking with Macs Adventure you can download our app, which has the routes already loaded, so that we no longer need to use paper and can do our bit for the planet. However as the weather can be rather unpredictable in the Lake District fells we do recommend that you have had some experience in navigating in order to get full enjoyment from these trips.

Q: What are the paths like?

A: You will find a variety of terrain in the Lake District including rocky, mountainous terrain, some boggy sections and lakeside and woodland paths. Most days will involve a couple of steep ascents and descents.

Q: Will there be places to eat on the walks?

A: Depending on the walk, you may pass a small village with a cafe or tempting tearoom. There are other days where the walk will take you into the fells where there are no facilities and on those days you will be able to pick up a packed lunch from your accommodation or the village shop. Our detailed route notes will advise you of the days where this is the case.

Q: How fit do I need to be?

A: All of our Lake District tours are graded moderate and above and pass through hilly terrain, so you will enjoy the walks more if you have a relative level of fitness. However, on the Lake District Trail  and Lake District in Comfort tours you will stay for 2 nights in each place so you can always take it easy on the second day if you would prefer not to walk! 

It's not just the team here at Macs Adventure who think the Lake District is a pretty inspiring place to be! Quite a few film-makers think that's the case too and have decided to film their movies here. Look closely whilst you are out walking and you may recognise scenes from the following;

Star Wars VII The Force Awakens - this blockbuster movie used the breath-taking Derwentwater in some of it's dramatic battle scenes to create the planet of Takodana and Skiddaw peak can be seen clearly in the background. The leading star of the movie, Rey, says when she arrives in the Lake District (or Takodana!) "I didn’t know there was so much green in the whole galaxy” - a sentiment you may also feel whilst walking in the Lake District!

Peter Rabbit - The famous children's writer Beatrix Potter is almost synonymous with the Lake District. She owned several properties and farms in the Lake District, bred Herdwick Sheep and was a passionate supporter of the National Trust. Her most successful story, Peter Rabbit was first published in 1901 and in 2018 it was turned into a film starring James Corden and Margot Robbie. Just like the books, the filming locations for this were all around Ambleside and Windermere

Tommy -  Filming for this 1970's cult classic took place in the Borrowdale Valley, and also near Wainwright's favourite, Haystacks. 

Miss Potter - Yew Tree Farm in Coniston was the star of the show in this 2006 film about the life of Beatrix Potter starring Renée Zellweger. Once owned by Beatrix Potter, it is the scene of her home Hill Top in the film.