One week road trip in UK - Pennines and Lake District (1)

UK countryside road trip

Last summer I spent 10 days on a road trip around UK. It was the longest holiday I have taken in UK ever and we ended up mostly visiting the places I have already been to before - the Lake District, Scotland and Peak District. But it still felt like discovering the country anew. We stayed in small villages in the countryside, walked around without an itinerary and loved our time exploring it at a relaxed pace. The best part of course was the experience of the English countryside, its charm and quaintness, greenery and freshness which made it enjoyable and refreshing the whole time.

I had booked the trip at the last moment and it turned out to be school holidays week too. So we ended up not getting the closest accommodation to the places we wanted to visit and stayed in places a bit away from the tourist hubs. Which actually turned out to be a boon in disguise, as we saw parts of the country where we would not go otherwise. And because we were far away, we also avoided a lot of the tourist rush, as the typical tourist places were too full of people all the time.

The weather was a mixed bag on the trip. There were days it was sunny and some days got a bit rainy. It was never hot at all even though it was August, mostly warm during the day but cooler by the evening. But given its UK weather we are talking about here, I don’t think I can complain about it, as it was better than average and our trip wasn’t ruined at any point.

Our itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Drive from London to the North Pennines Area of Natural Beauty (AONB) with a stop in Birmingham; stay in an airbnb in the village of Garrigill near Alston Moor
Day 2: Explore North Pennines - Alston village and Hadrian’s Wall
Day 3: Drive to Lake District; visit Ullswater lake, Kirkstone Pass, Ambleside on Lake Windermere and Grasmere village
Day 4: Explore Eastern Pennines - Durham Dales, Stanhope village and High Force waterfall
Day 5: Drive to Blair Atholl, Scotland; explore area around; Stay at River Tilt Parc Royale
Day 6: Spend day at Crief Highland games; Drive by some of the lakes in Loch Lomond and Trossachs Park
Day 7: Drive to Loch Ness through Scottish highlands; Return via stop at Inverness
Day 8: Stay in our Otter Lodge; Shop at House of Bruar
Day 9: Drive to Peak District at Hathersage; Stop at castle in Penrith
Day 10: Trail up to John Stone Carvern near Castleton; Stop at the Ladybower reservoir; Explore Hathersage
Day 11: Stop at Bakewell and Stepping Stones; Drive back to London through Birmingham

UK drive itinerary map




Day 1: Drive from London to the North Pennines AONB; stop at Birmingham on the way; stay at an airbnb in the village of Garrigill

The first day of our trip was mostly spent driving, from London to the Pennines. We drove on the motorway all the way and the traffic was ok generally except from 5-7 pm when it felt like the entire road was full. Also people drive within the speed limit when near the cities but then accelerate above the limit when away. Clearly, they know when they wouldn’t be caught 😜,

The surroundings all around were green everywhere. At places there were yellow and purple flowers on the sides. The landscape was like the typical English countryside - gentle rolling hills in green, small fields dotted with cows and sheep grazing away lazily, and dark clouds showing up at regular intervals, to represent the rainy side of English weather. In between when we crossed the Yorkshire Dales, the landscape did become more dramatic at times, with larger and more rocky hills. But overall, it was quite gentle and low hills.

On the way, we stopped at Birmingham to visit our family friends. It was surprising to see the number of South-east Asians in the city. We drove through the Soho area and it felt like a different world together - all we saw were Indians and Pakistanis there, not a single white person! We had lunch at Red Leaf and loved the food. It was a buffet place and served tasty and authentic Indian food which we don’t find as often in London as we would like.

When I was booking our first stop, I was trying to find an airbnb close to Lake District. The best option I found though was in the neighbouring Pennines Park. I hadn’t realised that time though that it was quite a drive from the Lake District and so far away from the highway. So we had to turn in right from the highway and drive a long way inside the Park, quite late in the day.

View of the Eden valley

It was stunning all the way to Garrigill, driving through small villages going on about their rural life in a lazy manner. We drove up a huge hill and ran into spectacular views of the valley below. There were clouds and the sun was setting, and we could see sunlight filtering through the clouds which made for even more picturesque scenes. And it was all a bright green everywhere, like a sea of freshness everywhere. I later learnt it was the Eden valley surrounding the Eden river, which we saw from the top of the hill. Then we crossed the Alston Moors which were vast empty lands covered by dark purple thistle flowers till wherever the eyes could see. And then it almost felt like we were entering a different world on the other side of the hill.

The village of Garrigill was in a valley and it took us a bit of anxious moments before we got there, as it felt like we were just going on forever with nothing in sight. We reached there quite late, around 830 pm. Thankfully there still was light as it was summer and a sunny day. Once we reached the village, we started looking for our airbnb. And that's when we realised that we had lost our phone signal, so we had to find the place the old fashioned way - asking people around. We ran into one lone person walking on the road and somehow we found the airbnb. It looks like everyone knew each other in the village as the person directed us to the home based on the name of the owner. Even though he did not live in Garrigill but far off in a different village.

The village was very charming and small. It had a row of houses, a red London telephone booth (I finally found a place where it may actually get used!), a post office, a church and that's it. At night we went out for a walk trying to buy some milk and groceries. It turned out that there was no shop in the village, and the one pub they had was being renovated! So we ended up not really being able to buy anything the first day. We even tried asking if the local farmers in the village sold fresh food stuff, but turns out they sell it all to the co-op. So we cooked simple Indian meals in our airbnb and were sorted for the night. By this time, it already started to feel that it will be a very different experience to stay at a place like this.

Our bnb in Garrigill village

The airbnb we were staying in was very convenient and comfortable. It was a split barn with two bedrooms and a kitchen plus living room in the extension. There was too much stuff kept inside the house though, it was totally full and a bit cluttered, It was also full of wood pieces keot outside and inside for the winters. As the owner owned tree cutting services, he had just stacked up the whole place with wood 😊.

Inside it was generally quite cold most of the day, but we made use of the fireplace a bit, even though it was UK summers. All around the place, we had huge green grounds, a small stream running behind it, and then a huge hill. And there was no data or phone signal there. It felt so relaxed, so calm, so free; that as inconvenient as it was, it really felt like a boon. So in the evenings, we actually spoke to each other rather than keeping on checking the phone 😂.


Day 2: Explore North Pennines; village of Alston; Hadrian’s Wall

Our first day in the Pennines, we spent time exploring the area around our village as we did not want to drive much. And we also explored the North part of the Park including Cumbria, Northumberland and Durham county. Our first activity of the day was to walk to the village of Alston. We still had to buy milk which we hadn’t found the previous day and thought we could walk there as it was just a couple of miles away.

Walk to Alston

It was a sunny day and perfect way to explore the countryside. As we started walking towards Alston, we got signal in our phones! So all of us felt like we had got back to civilisation and quickly checked our phones before walking ahead. We enjoyed some impressive vistas along the way, some small waterfalls, a few churches, the usual village stone houses, a small church cemetery and lot of hares running around and sheep grazing lazily - all the typical sights on UK countryside walks. It was all green everywhere, with loads of yellow and purple flowers on the way. And there were lot of farmlands on both sides but surprisingly, there were not many places to sit on the sides of the road. All the farms had stone walls right on the road. It was turning out to be a strenuous walk with the sun being very bright, so we decided to walk back to Garrigill and take the car to Alston. It definitely turned out to be a much quicker drive that way 😊.

Alston was a biggish village and had a Spar and Co-op to shop for groceries, and even a petrol station which is rare in this kind of a place. It was full of tourists at that time and had some interesting things for sale in its shops. After getting our groceries at the local co-op, we explored the church and shops in the village. The local church had an art exhibition with lot of nice paintings. I was about to buy one from there.

They also has a beautiful town hall and a small railway museum nearby. Its so interesting to see that even very small places in UK are made interesting for tourists by adding some new local attractions. At the local library which had been converted to a tourist information centre, we found some maps and realised that Hadrian’s Wall was located very close by. Hadrian’s Wall is the ancient boundary of England and Scotland (and also the inspiration for the Wall in Game of Thrones), and given it was so close, we decided to drive till there.

Purple flowers covered hills

So we took off towards the Haltwhistle part of the wall and the drive turned out to be very refreshing. We passed through bare moors filled with purple flower shrubs till where the eye could see. These flowers may have been thistle, and they covered the entire landscape! And there were some cows in between, dotting the landscape. It also rained a bit and that made the whole atmosphere so much fresher and brighter.

Hadrian's wall

Once near Haltwhistle, there were loads of places to visit all along the wall where there were Roman forts and other ruins of that time. We first stopped near Cawfields Quarry and walked till the wall. Apparently this place was also the Centre of UK (I never realised it would be so North!). The wall that remains isn't much though - what remains is some part of the stone structures and a few foundations which would have been the towers on the wall. The wall was multiple feet wide, and the stones were stuck together with plaster. Even though its in ruins now, its impressive to see that a structure from 100 AD still survives in some form till today, 2000 years later! We drove towards another spot nearby which had ruins from a roman fort, but it closed by the time we got there, so we just decided to come back.

The drive back was through a different route, and as much if not more picturesque. We saw some amazing views of the Pennines park, hills, villages, yellow flower covered hills, farms and so on. On some of the farms, we also spotted some sheep which had black faces and legs. I think I noticed them for the first time, am guessing they are a different type of sheep…?

Back at the airbnb, since we had stocked up on groceries, we were able to cook a more spread out meal. And we also cooked some corn on the cob (makki) outside in the open on a charcoal fire. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing in a data and mobile-free environment.


Day 3: Drive to Lake District; visit Ullswater lake, Kirkstone Pass, Ambleside on Lake Windermere and Grasmere village

We spent the whole day exploring Lake District as it was a bit of a drive far from where we staying. The last time I had visited the place was 10 years ago when it had rained the whole time. This time it was different during the first half of the day but the second half was the same, cold and rainy.

Ullswater Lake

We first drove to Ullswater lake and stopped at a few places along the lake though there weren’t many of them around. The places were all full of people enjoying the summer around. And the lake was full of people sailing and swimming. We stopped at one of the coves for a tea break and enjoyed time just chilling by the river. There was a small stream there right next to the lake and provided a great place to sit next to. We saw a lot of people there with their dogs - looks like lake district is quite a favourite for dog owners. We also spotted 3 fighter plans flying furiously over the lake, snaking through the valleys and practicing their moves. It was a sight to behold, those impressive things, so charming, spectacular and still so dangerous. I am guessing Lake District might by a training location for royal fighter planes, isn't it too scenic for something like this?

Kirkstone Park

Our next stop was the Kirkstone pass which provides panoramic views of the valleys on either side, with both Lake Windermere and lake Ullswater on either side. The drive there is windy along the mountains and it is a worth a stop for the view. Our next stop was the village of Ambleside where we stopped at the northern edge of Windermere lake.

Borrans park in Ambleside

We first drove towards the town of Windermere but then came back to Borrans park in Ambleside as it felt like a better place to stop. We had a nice home cooked lunch sitting on the green grass with a pretty view of the Windermere right in front. We then also visited another Roman settlement ruins just 5 mins from the park. Even though its in ruins, it still had the foundations of the gate to the settlement and some of the rooms. I always wonder how something can last 2000 years, and what all it may have seen...

Roman fort ruins

While driving away from the town, we saw some parts of Ambleside and it felt like a quaint little town. It still had the typical stone houses, but they were made of sharp and black stones, unlike any other place we have seen. I think its definitely a town I would like to visit again.

We then drove to the village of Grasmere driving by a few lakes on the way. By now, the weather had changed and it was raining again. Grasmere is quite a popular village to visit, mostly because of Wordsworth as he used to stay and write in this town. And now, it felt like a small little place with some nice shops for tourists. We bought some amazing warm clothes from there but missed the famous gingerbread pudding shop as it was already closed. We also walked to the Wordsworth daffodils garden nearby which is an ode to Wordsworth.

As most places had closed by then, we left soon enough but I liked my little sojourn here. The village seemed very very charming, with green woods, small streams, dark stone houses and Grasmere lake nearby to walk to. It could be a nice place to stay on my next trip - somehow every trip in the UK gives me even more bright ideas on where to stay the next time 😊.

Sunlight playing games

During our drive back to the Pennines, the weather suddenly cleared and became sunny again. So we again got some spectacular views of the hills and the valleys. As it was earlier than our first day, we stopped at the Hartside summit (at 1800 ft) located in the middle of nowhere on a hill with panoramic views of the valleys on both side. The view was amazing, of the plains in front and sun shining on it through the clouds.

Our day out in Lake District turned out to be enjoyable, unplanned but fun. And we soon retired to our non-data home for the night after another home cooked meal. Lake District has a lot of places to visit, so every trip can be different. The villages of Windermere, Bowness on Windermere, Borrowdale, Buttermere & Honister Slate Mine are all popular with tourists. And if you like activity, then hiking in Great Langdale - Langdale Pikes is a good option or in the Newlands Valley starting in the tiny village of Little Town southwest through Brandelhow Park. Maybe for next time...


Day 4: Explore Eastern Pennines; visit Durham Dales, Stanhope and High Force waterfall

This day we explored the Eastern part of the Pennines and kept it quite ad-hoc and relaxed. I marked a few places that we could go to and then kept striking off some of them as we kept spending more time at the first few places we went to 😊. We drove a lot and all the way there were hills and greenery and small picturesque villages, any of these could be a picnic stop. We started driving towards the Durham Dales and first stopped at Nenthead for groceries. Even such a random village on the way had a tin mine museum from old times, for people interested in museums.

St Johns village

Then we stopped at a random village in between, St Johns which looked charming enough to stop. It had better houses than some of the other villages on the way and we could see that the people staying here were richer than the others. We took a small walk around, walked through the fields to a bridge on a local stream. It was sunny and felt very fresh and fun, even though it was a random walk. And then we stopped at another bigger village for a walk, Wearhead where lots of people were walking their dogs. The whole place felt so relaxed and nice, that you could stop anywhere you want to enjoy the sun and take a break.

Stanhope village

Our major stop of the day was the village of Stanhope where we stopped for a couple of hours. It was a captivating village and had a lot to offer. We found some cute shops there and bought purses, pottery, show pieces, farm produce and so on. We went to the local church, spoke to a few of the local people and spent some time just taking in the sights. As we drove further, we found a place next to the river - Kingfisher leisure park which was perfect for a lunch break. There were loads of trailers there and we took a short walk next to the river. It kept raining regularly that time, so we ended up seeing the rainbow also.

High Force waterfall

We were planning to go all the way to Durham and see the sea but we spent so much time in between that we had to turn back by this time. While coming back, we drove back through a different road and again passed by many purple flower coloured mountains. We passed through the pretty valleys of Meardale and then drove through Teesdales. On the way back, we stopped at a waterfall called High Force, which was pretty average but a good walk anyways.

The driving was slow as the roads were narrow and there was some traffic at least but it felt very enjoyable and fresh everyday. We also ran into bikers driving very fast all the time. Maybe this is the only place they get their way and space. And the locals also drive too fast. They are really used to the narrow curvy roads, but not for me, as I drove quite carefully and much slower than them.

Rainbow on the way

And soon we were back in Garrigill. Coming back to Garrigill everyday that week almost started feeling like coming home 😊. As today was the last day, we thought we would cook food in the angithi. We made rotis and sabzi outside on the charcoal fire in the angithi. And the outcome was amazing. The food tasted yummy and a different kind was tasty - it felt almost like eating Indian food in a village, it was so simple and tasty. By this time, it started raining (again!) which was a spanner to the works, but we had cooked most of our food, so were still able to enjoy the meal.


Day 5: Drive to Blair Atholl, Scotland; explore area around; stay at River Tilt Parc Royale

It was finally time to leave Garrigill and early morning, we left for Scotland. We mostly drove on highway A74 and then took the smaller road all the way to Blair Atholl in Cairngorms national park. On the whole, it was quite an uneventful drive except at one point near Lancaster, we were able to see the sea on one side from the car itself, which looked striking. We spent most of the day driving and reached our place only in the evening, with limited time left to explore much.

Our Scottish abode next to the river

We were staying at the River Tilt River Park which had a lot of small cute trailer homes located right next to the river. It was near the village of Blair Atholl, in the southern tip of the Park. It was a lovely location with views of the river, and an ideal place to relax and chill (especially with a book). You could just sit outside forever, with the gurgling of the river providing the background music.

View from the river

Since we reached there so early, we decided to just take a stroll nearby. It was very green and fresh all around, and as it had rained a bit recently, the brightness was more than usual. First we walked to the Blair Atholl village, which was very striking. It was full of grand grey stone buildings lining the road. We then went down to the river from where we got a view of our huts on the other side.

We next took a walk down the old Atholl road which went to the old village. and the old bridge on the river Tilt. The place was located right next to a huge camping ground which is quite popular with camp loving tourists. Blair Atholl castle is also located there, which was gearing up for upcoming Highlands games. And right near the turn to Parc Royale, there were a few restaurants and clubs which played a lot of music all night. The walk was interesting and we realised, that even though it was a very small village, there was loads to keep tourists busy.

As we had had a long day of driving, we again cooked food in our airbnb and had it sitting outside next to the flowing river. The presence of a water body makes so much of a difference to your experience, doesn’t it?


Map of Pennines and places around



Part 2