Easter in the Lake District

A guide for visitors to the Lake District this Easter.

Every year milions of visitors flock to England’s Lake District for their Easter Break. I live in the Lake District and here I’ll suggest my top tips for things to do and see in the Lake District his Easter.

The names of the lakes alone- such as Windermere, Grasmere, Derwentwater, Ullswater, just four of the beautiful Lake District Lakes are enough to lift the soul of those planning their Easter visit to England’s Lake District.

The Lake District National Park is the largest in England, home to the highest mountain, Scafell Pike, the deepest lake, Wastwater, and the longest lake, Windermere.

Easter is the first holiday of the year, and in the Lake District this means spring, daffodils, lambs, mountains, lakes, churches and tradition

William Wordsworth, Lake District poet, wrote one of the world’s most famous poems, Daffodils , celebrating the Lake District’s famous flower, and daffodils are everywhere in the Lake District at Easter.

The fields of the Lake District are also filled with lambs at Easter. These are Herdwick lambs, the Lake District’s native sheep. Visitors to the Lake District at Easter love to see the fields of sheep and lambs.

For most visitors, its the first chance of the year to get outdoors in the Lake District. Serious hikers walk the mountains, known as “fells”, and those looking for a more gentle stroll walk around the lakes , maybe stopping at a tea shop or pub.

Whichever way you look, it’s just gorgeous!

Others take to the water, going on boat trips on the lakes or maybe hiring a yacht or rowing boat.

For the traditional Easter church service, the centuries old churches of the Lake District are decorated in spring flowers. All are welcome for the great Easter celebration.

Planning your Easter visit to England’s Lake District.

Tips for your Easter visit to the Lake District.

If you are planning to stay in England’s Lake District for your Easter vacation, it is essential that you book your Lake District accommodation in advance.

A great resource for making a reservation in the Lake District at Easter, isCumbria Tourism’s website, Go Lakes. Here you will find help with finding vacancies. If you are struggling with the website, give them a ring, and ask them to find rooms for you. There’s a small charge , but it could save you a lot of hassle. The Go Lakes website also has masses of information on events at Easter in the Lake District, and lots of suggestions about activities.

Here are some more useful links

Walking in the Lake District at Easter

Everyone loves to get out in the fresh air at Easter in the Lake District

Experienced walkers head for the Lake District in droves at Easter. In late March or April, the weather can be spring like, or snowy, or hot- the Lake District is famously unpredictable. This does not deter the keen walkers They are well equipped, with sturdy boots, and essential weatherproof clothing. The Coniston Fells, Helvellyn, Fairfield, Skiddaw, Scafell Pike, Pike O’ Stickle… the names make their eyes light up, as they plan the day ahead, then relive it in the pub at night, tired but happy.

If you are looking for a more gentle walk, there are hundreds of choices. In 2 hours you can take a gentle walk around Rydal Water from White Moss. Or you maybe walk to Grasmere.

You could walk on the shores of Derwentwater, or “Wander lonely as a cloud” along Ullswater, where Wordsworth saw his daffodils.

There are many books, maps and guides to help you.

The Lake District National Park is the largest in England. The Lake District National Park website has lots of information on where to walk,including their famous guided walks, many of them free.

Lake District Herdwick Sheep and lambs at Easter

At Easter the Lake District is home to Herdwick sheep and their lambs

The Lake District is home to the Herdwick Sheep. These distinctive sheep live outdoors all year round, and have their lambs late, in March or April. The lambs are generally black, changing to a grey when older.

office-supervisor-white-moss

Here’s a Herdwick looking at me through my office window.

For more information, The Herdwick Breeders’ Association will tell you all you want to know.

These sheep are “hefted”, which means they know their own territory, and don’t need fences or walls to keep them in. In fact, fences and wall are not barriers, as even a tiny lamb can scale a dry stone wall.

The local Herdwick sheep at my home in the Lake District, White Moss House are convinced that my garden is part of their grazing land. No amount of chasing them out does any good. Here is a photo I took from my office window in January.

Visitors to the Lake District at Easter love to see the Herdwick sheep and lambs. They are in every field, on every hillside, and often, they are wandering all over the roads- so watch out!

Daffodils at Easter in the Lake District.

William Wordsworth, the Lake District’s most famous poet wrote this this famous poem in 1804, and it was published in 1807.

Wordsworth’s sister, Dorothy, kept a diary, and it was her observation that were the basis for William’s poem. The history behind the poem “Daffodils” can be found on the Dove Cottage website. Dove Cottage was Wordsworth’s home in Grasmere, where he wrote his most famous poems.

Dora's Field, Rydal

Dora’s Field, Rydal

Who does not know the first lines-?

“I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd A host of golden Daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

I’ve put together lots more information and photos about Daffodils here.

Daffodils can be seen all over the Lake District at Easter, throughout March and April.

At Rydal, Dora’s Field is a riot of daffodils. The field is next to Rydal Mount, where Wordsworth lived in later life. He had hoped to builld a house for his daughter, Dorothy here, next to Rydal Church, but it was never built.

At Gowbarrow, Ullswater, you can see the daffodils that inspired Wordsworth’s sister ( also Dorothy, a family name), and more daffodils are to be seen at Coniston, Windermere, Grasmere, Derwentwater, and all around the Lake District at Easter.