Reading time: 3min

Last visit: May 2017

Having visited England several times and having experienced the weather, I expected rain, rain, rain and cloudy days when I visited Cumbria for a few days 🌧️ But I was in luck and had more or less perfect weather for hiking and exploring the beautiful nature of Cumbria – I even got the see the sun ☀️

As I went during the week nowhere was crowded = way easier to get those beautiful shots 📸

English Country Side

Cumbria is proper English country side, where everything is green and beautiful. Driving around the area you will see beautiful green fields, old stone walls and small cute towns. If you are looking for the proper English country side, then Cumbria is the place to go!

Cute towns

The English countryside is filled with cute towns all over. All of these small towns are picturesque and I must admit that I wanted to stop in every single one of them to take a walk and enjoy the beauty. But to do that I would need more than just a few days…

Bahh… Sheep 🐑

In Cumbria you find sheep everywhere – like as in EVERYWHERE! You think I’m joking, but I’m not. They are on the hills, in the fields, on the roads, EVERYWHERE 🐑 I quiet like sheep, so being able to see them wherever I went in Cumbria – that was pretty cool 🙃

Walks 🥾 Hikes

Cumbria is an area filled with walks and hikes everywhere you look. There is no limit as to where, when or how – It is just doing it! Trying to reach your 10.000 steps a day becomes a pleasure when surrounded by the beauty of the nature of Cumbria.

Buttermere Bluebell Walk

Buttermere is this small place in the Northern part of the Lake District. There are several walks you can do, so it is just picking the one(s) that look(s) most appealing to you. I did a route of 5 miles, which took me up on the mountains (from where the view is gorgeous 😍), down to a beach, next to the lake and through a bit a forrest. And ofcourse I got to see some bluebells on the way 😉

Hadrians Wall

Hadrian’s wall is the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain. It stretches 73 miles and is surrounded by beautiful green fields. It is possible to do a walk, following the wall and end up at the fort and the museum.

Sycamores Gap

When following Hadrians Wall, at some point you will reach Sycamores Gap. This place or rather this tree 🌳 is mostly known from the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner. When walking from the museum to Sycamores Gap and back, this is a good place to take a break and eat lunch, while enjoying the beauty of the gap and the tree. I got to see it during the day, which is beautiful. I plan on going back some day to watch the sunrise or sunset from this point.

The Lake District

The Lake District is the largest national park in Britain and was established in 1951. It covers more than 2.000 km2.

The whole area around the Lake District is absolutely stunning! It is definitely a place I would like to return to some day. It is basically a big lake, surrounded by beautiful mountains, trees, waterfalls, green fields and sheep 🐑

It is possible to sail up the lake on a steamer, which can be combined with a hike in the area.

I was really lucky and got to go for a sail on a private boat, which was amazing! We sailed from Ullswater Sailing Club and sailed for a few hours, where I got to experience the sunset and the beautiful mountains surrounding the Lake. Watching the sun set behind the fields and the golden colors on the mountains was absolutely breathtaking!

Aira Force

At the Lake District you find this beautiful waterfall (probably one of the most famous waterfalls in the Lake District), which is easy to get to and doesn’t require heaps of walking. You basically have the option to do as much (or as little) of the walk as you like, as the waterfalls are in the beginning of the roundtrip walk.

Right next to Scotland

The Cumbria area is bordering onto Scotland. It is worth checking out, if it’s cheaper and easier to fly to Scotland from where you are and then catch the train or bus down.

I flew to Glasgow and catched the train down, as it was way cheaper than flying to England.

I on purpose flew to Prestwick Airport, which is about a 40min train ride outside of Glasgow. The reason being that I wanted to to see a bit of the Scottish countryside – and hey, why not 🚂

So I catched the train from Prestwick Airport to Prestwick Town (1 stop), where I had to pick up my reserved ticket, then catch the train to Glasgow Central. I had a bit more than an hour in Glasgow, before my train to Cumbria, and of course I spent that time sightseeing in the city 😉