Where to Stay in the Lake District?
 

Thanks to all for helping me sort out the Cotswolds part of this September's trip. Now I'd like advice on where to stay for two days in the Lake District.

For what it's worth, I changed my itinerary because of ticket costs. I had planned to fly an open jaw route of DTW - EDI then LHR - DTW. When I got into the airline booking site to buy, I found that I could fly from my small regional airport round trip to LHR for $900 per person less (we fly Comfort +), a savings of $1800. So, going in and out of LHR made me change the ground itinerary and we'll go London - York - Edinburg - Lake District - Burford - Bath - London.

We'll rent a car in Edinburg and drop it in Bath. Any suggestions for where to stay in the Lake district?

Depends on what you want from the Lake District really. Ambleside is a busy place, pretty much at the centre of most things you might want to see. Do you want a hotel or a B&B?

Oh and Edinburgh with an h. No hard g in the name either.

There are many hotels in the Lakes, both rural and in the small towns dotted throughout the area. Windermere is the largest lake and has boats running up and down for sightseeing. The main small towns are Bowness, Windermere and Ambleside, all with a good choice of hotels and more dotted between them. Prices range from the very expensive, such as Sharrow Bay, to many B&B's .Towards the southern end of the Lake is Bowness, my personal favourite but that's only a preference. Ambleside is good too. If you want a place with a bit going on I'd stay around Lake Windermere and day trip from there. What sort of budget do you have in mind per night?

We usually stay in the Keswick area, renting a holiday cottage.
However, on shorter visits we have stayed at this farmhouse bed and breakfast. Car essential as a very rural location but Keswick is only a short drive away. Absolutely lovely place, quiet and peaceful with a great breakfast.
Sandhills Farm | Luxury Lake District Farm Bed and Breakfast

There are a huge number of hotels and self-catering options for all budgets and these days a lot with some fine dining. Sharrow Bay was the daddy of them all but sadly closed in 2020.

I thought Sharrow Bay had been taken over and was due to reopen shortly. On checking it has been bought but hasn't opened yet and is undergoing renovation by Ciel Hotels who own Allium (Michelin starred) which they're planning to move to Sharrow Bay. By the time of the OP's trip in September, it could well be reopened.

Weve also previously enjoyed Keswick, which makes for a good base.

I'd stayed in Keswick at the Stonegarth Guest House, and found the village very nice. Enjoyed the walk up to the Castlerigg stone circle, and took public transport to Windermere for Rydal Mount & Dove Cottage. I didn't enjoy my hikes there as much as my walks in other areas of England. But there are some lovely views.

Thank you all for your help. We decided to stay near Ambleside. Tried to reserve at Sandhills Farm using the link but their website didn't function. But we liked the idea and found a similar guest house outside of Ambleside.

Another idea: Which area do you prefer for scenery and day hiking -- The Lake District or the North Pennines AONB? Videos haven't helped me much.