« back to British & Irish Tours
Dates: |
April 3rd - 6th 2008 |
Cost: |
£459 per car |
Dates: |
April 5th - 6th 2008 |
Cost: |
£275 per car |
Please note:
A weekend in the stunning English Lake District visiting all of the well-known lakes and crossing all of the famous passes.
Our first tour of 2008 is a combination of our highly popular Lakeland Spring Classic and High Roads Tours. The Lakeland Spring Classic can still be entered as a separate event but the High Roads Tour is designed to make the journey north to the Lake District more enjoyable by being part of the tour. For the spring version however we take a slightly more direct route north than the August High Roads Tour that we have run in previous years. However we still maintain the format of using quiet country roads avoiding the main towns and cities and in particular the busy motorways.
 |
We start in the pretty village of Easenhall , just north of Rugby within easy reach of the M6 and M1 motorways. Accommodation can be arranged for the previous night if desired but we will make a fairly leisurely start to the day to allow people to travel from home in the morning if they prefer. We head north cross country to a lunch stop at Donnington park where there will be time to visit the fabulous Donnington Grand Prix Collection.
We then head north towards Ashbourne and the Peak District. Our route takes us through the picturesque Manifold Valley with its pretty villages, fords and even a tunnel. It is then on into the Derbyshire Dales through more delightful scenery on our way to the spa town of Buxton for our first night stop.
Today we head out onto the wild moors on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border, but first we make a small detour through the Goyt Valley to the Cat and Fiddle Pass. The lunch stop is at Holmfirth, location for the TV series “Last of the Summer Wine”. Here you may lunch at ‘Sid's Café' or one of the many other riverside pubs and bistros.
After lunch we head back into the hills, re-crossing the Pennines and the imposing Saddleworth Moor, which overlooks the urban sprawl of Manchester and surrounding towns. We turn north again to avoid this densely populated area in favour of the deserted moors, on our way to Pendle Hill, famous for its witches! We then head towards the coast skirting Longridge Fell and Beacon Fell where we get our first glimpses of the Irish Sea and Morecambe Bay . The next few miles on the way to a stop for tea are never out of sight of the bay. We actually take a small detour into the town of Lancaster to take tea at the impressive Ashton memorial with its adjacent butterfly house.
The final leg of the route takes us quickly out into the hills north east of Lancaster before we turn west again and follow the edge of Morecambe Bay and the Kent Estuary to our hotel for the weekend, just south of Kendal.
The two day Lakeland event starts here and follows the format of previous years.
After a run up the picturesque Lythe Valley to the shores of Lake Windermere, our first stop, after a mere 12 miles, will be at the Windermere Steam Boat Museum . Here there is a fascinating collection of unusual working steamboats and coffee is available. From here we head north skirting Grasmere Lake and Thirlmere Reservoir on the way to Keswick. Then we travel into the Borrowdale valley, passing the shores of Derwent Water on our way to lunch. Suitably refreshed we can now tackle the spectacular Honister and Newlands passes, and on to Whinlatter Pass after which there is a choice of routes. The longer route goes via some very minor ‘back roads' with views of the Cumbrian Coast and across the Solway Firth to the Galloway Hills (on a clear day). This route also takes us within sight of the little known Ennerdale lake and past the small but picturesque Loweswater. Alternatively, a short cut of 19 miles, rejoins the route at Crummock Water for the reverse run over Honister Pass. Honister Pass is one of the most spectacular passes in either direction, but not the most difficult to drive, therefore we thought you might enjoy it twice! This also means we can return along the west side of Derwent Water along the ‘Cat Bells' road with its panoramic views over the lake to Keswick and Skiddaw mountain beyond.
We return south along the shores of Ullswater before a stop for tea at the Kirkstone Pass Inn, the highest Inn in the Lake District (at the summit of the pass) and one of the oldest. The final leg to the finish is just 20 miles.
MILEAGE (Full route) 142.6
We head off in a new direction to the south of the lakes, near Grange over Sands before climbing the hairpin bends of 'Tow Tops', then descending Gummers How with its views of Lakeside. We then follow the lake (Windermere) north to the little villages of Far and Near Sawrey (Beatrix Potter country) and the tranquil beauty spots of Esthwaite Water and Tarn Hows. We then have a stop for coffee on the shores of Coniston Water, before climbing the flanks of Coniston Old Man on the way to the picturesque Duddon Valley . After crossing the remote Birker Fell we drop into Eskdale and lunch at the impressive Muncaster Castle with its famous Owl sanctuary. The afternoon provides the ‘sting in the tail'. We start with a gentle run to Wastwater and its amazing screes (Britain's Favourite View) before tackling the infamous Hardknott and Wrynose Passes with their severe gradients and numerous hairpin bends. Having saved the 'best to last', we are not finished yet as we climb over the Blea Tarn road and make the spectacular descent into Great Langdale where a stop for tea might be welcome! The final run home takes us via Windermere one last time and a farewell dinner back at base.
MILEAGE 120
Once again we will be based at our 'un-official headquarters' at the Heaves Hotel south of Kendal. However there are currently only 12 rooms available at the Heaves, and as we have had up to thirty entries in the past, we suggest you get your entries in quickly. Rooms at the Heaves will be allocated on a #first come, first served' basis. Later entries will have a choice of accommodation at the Gilpin Bridge Inn (3 miles from the Heaves), or the Crooklands Inn, (seven miles from the Heaves, but less than a mile from the M6). There will be a surcharge for rooms at the Crooklands.
The Gilpin Bridge is a country pub, the Crooklands is a more modern style hotel.
All hotels have websites.
