Luxury holidays in Cumbria

The mountainous county of Cumbria, which borders Scotland in the far north-west of England, is where you’ll find the UK’s most dramatic landscapes and an embarrassment of natural beauty spots: the Unesco-protected Lake District, bits of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the North Pennines and Lake Windermere, to name just a few. Its grassy fells, moody crags and lush lakes will raise the pulse of hardy hikers and adventure seekers; literature lovers can worship Wordsworth and beatify Beatrix and, for the rest of us, there’s the food – Cumbria is home to a treasure trove of culinary hotspots and a cavalcade of country pubs, where even the most die-hard Johnny Town-Mouse will go gooey for the sticky toffee pudding…
See All Villas

When to go

June, July and August will have the balmiest days (relatively speaking – you’re still in England), but that’s when the Gore-Tex gaggles will flock to the most popular lake locations. Spring and autumn are your best bets for wandering lonely as a cloud.

Getting there

  • Planes

    Both Manchester and Liverpool airports are less than 90 minutes’ drive from the southern reaches of Cumbria. Glasgow and Edinburgh airports are a couple of hours from Carlisle, in the north of Cumbria.

  • Trains

    Oxenholme, Penrith or Carlisle are the train stations to aim for, accessible from London, Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh or Birmingham.