I would appreciate some advice about the Lake District which is new to us.

We are going to the UK on May 17 and spending a week in London, then going to the north.
I suppose we will take the London, Leeds, Settle route to Carlisle.

My question is: would Carlisle make a good base to explore the LD and Hadrian's Wall, or should we split the stay (say six days) up between Carlisle and someplace further south? I am planning to rent a car while there.

Any hotel or restaurant suggestions?

We will then take the train to some point in Kent for a further 7 days.

We did the lake district last year and split our stay between North and South which I found very usefull. If you are driving up from London by car, remember that it is quite a long drive, but using the AA's web-site will be of great assistance in getting there.
Have a great time

Another good route planner is www.viamichelin.com

Will post more later on the Lake District. Must go to work.

Sandy

Although I like Carlisle very much and have stayed there more than once, I think it would be better to stay in the Lake District when you are visiting the Lake District, Keswick would be my choice, and some place closer to the interesting parts of Hadrian's wall when visiting it, say Hexham or Corbridge. I have stayed in comfortable B&Bs in Hexham (Dukeslea) and Corbridge (The Hayes).

Thanks all. As I am rushing off, I'll keep this brief. We will take the train to Carlisle, then rent a car there.

Based on your advice, I'll look for a better LD base.

ticophile

We stayed at Fair Rigg Guest House, Bowness-on-Windermere and found this to be a good base. Can find on www.smoothhound.co.uk - Wonderful friendly couple Judith and Richard Todd run the place and serve a huge delicious breakfast. Comfortable arm chairs in the bedrooms. We left he car at the B&B and did the easy walk into Windermere where you can catch one of those hop on and off buses or if you prefer a boat. Plenty of places to choose from for eating.

Keswick is lovely. Easily takes an entire day especially if you like to walk. Town is very nice and yes we did go the Pencil museum and actually found it quite interesting. Ron suggested Keswick as a possible base and I think it would be a good choice as well.

At the suggestion of my brother-in-law we had a very interesting tour of a nuclear power station but I can't remember the name of the town but got details at the local tourist office in Windermere.

I am sure you are aware of how quickly the rain showers blow up, come and go in this part of the country. Just be prepared and wear layers. May will be lovely.

Didn't make it up to Hadrian's Wall so can't advise you about that.

Best wishes for a lovely holiday.

Sandy

Thank you very much, Sandy. I will look into your suggestions.

We have found that a fleeze jacket, covered with a windbreaker makes a good combination in Britain; gives you a sort of 3-in-1.

I read that you can rent a U-Drive near the Windemere station. Did you book your before you went to the UK?
David

ticophile:

We have found it much cheaper if you shop around for your car rental before leaving home which for us right now is in the US. It is a big time consumer if you are looking for the best price. Last time we rented thru www.nova.co.uk - You can get a quote directly on their site without obligation. Please note that the quote is in pounds sterling. Go to the bottom of the page and you will find a currency calculator. Nova placed us with Alamo car rental and we picked the car up at Gatwick. We were very pleased with our rental. Yes we will rent thru Nova again if they have the best price but check all the usual sources.

Sorry I don't know about U-Drive near the Windemere Station. Perhaps some one else on the board does. Try a e-mail to the local tourist office in Windermere. Good luck.

Your fleeze/windbreaker combination is a excellent combination.

Sandy