Would like a rain route suggestion beginning London to Lake District, onto a different train line to another village, back to London.. A triangle route. Either May or September, 7-9 days. Looking for interesting destination and nice trainline scenery. We would be staying at a B & B or inn at the two.northern towns. Hopefully those towns would have a way to see the surrounding area without a car (trolley, coach, or short train ride).
Thanks,
Ted

wow, a very interesting question

My starter for 10 would be

Go to Durham, this means you have to cross the Penines, the backbone of England, an interesing "city" good views out the window

rome2rio is useful for this sort of thing as is seat61.com

To get to the Lake District from London you can take the train from London Euston station to Oxenholme and connect with a train to Windermere

There are no direct trains to the actual park, you need to connect somewhere

(@Jamikins! I'm so happy to see you back on the forum! I've been less active on the boards myself, but always lurk for the travel ideas.)

@tburke: I did the Lakes by public transport back in 2016. I stayed in Keswick so I took the train from Euston to Penrith, and took the X5 Bus to Keswick. I recall Penrith Castle was across the street from a McDonalds where I waited for the bus. In Keswick, I stayed at what is now called Stonegarth Guest House. https://stonegarth-guest-house-keswi...strict.com/en/
In Keswick, I did not eat there, but the Dog and Gun was on my list for goulash. I remember opting for Indian food, instead, as I'm always seeking out curry when in the UK.

I did the short hike to the Castlerigg Stone circle and the longer hike to Ashness Bridge via Walla Crag. I took a bus to Windermere to see Rydal Mount and Dove Cottage (and buy gingerbread). The Keswick bus station is next to a large grocery store (Booth's), which is convenient.

I can't say I liked hiking the Lakes as much as other areas of England. Not my favorite scenery. I prefer Yorkshire, or Peak Districk, or Cotswolds landscapes. So I think, were I to do the Lakes again, I'd maybe focus more on the lakes themselves, and enjoy the sights from the water or lakeside. Have fun planning!

Hello ChgoGal - thanks for the note, I mostly lurk but think I may post more now that some nasties have left! Happy travels!

Could you suggest some alternative attractive rural regions for a third town stopover. Not a big city.

Thanks

I was going to suggest York but you want a smaller place so I'd probably look in the Peak District. Several towns/villages have stations with service from Manchester - Buxton, Hatheridge and a few others. Buxton is the largest but still under 20,000 and is a good base for the area. Hatheridge, Edale, and Hope are tiny places.

Hi, jamikins

I was going to suggest Ashbourne in the Peaks, but you would need to get a bus from Uttoxeter or Derby to get there. You can use buses to get around the Peaks quite well. The Tissington Trail, the old railway line is nice for walking or cycling. If you opt for one of the other Peak District towns have a look at the Monsal Trail.

For the southern lake District, so for Windermere and Ambleside you get a train to Oxenholme and then a bus. Whether you choose north or south depends somewhat on what you are planning to do while there.

Thanks to all.

How do we find out about bus schedules? Is there one consolidated web site for all, like for trains?

https://www.traveline.info/ I use this one
or
rome2rio

busmaps.com covers pretty much the world - https://busmaps.com/en/uk for the UK.

Google maps is what I use often during research phase. If you select the public transport icon when searching Directions from one point to another, you will see a bus icon where the bus stops/bus stands are. Sometimes the bus stops are also numbered if there are more than one stop in a location (like on opposite sides of street). Then you can google the bus number & town to go to the website of the bus operator for more extensive timetables, fare information., etc. Below are examples of that bus stop on Google Maps near Penrith Rail Station. Traveline is also good for longer distances, but google maps has been helpful for me lately, while researching from America.

We took the train from Leeds to Settle to Carlisle. The line from Settle is historic and very scenic, passing through the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines, traversing several impressive viaducts. It was one of our favorite train rides ever.
https://www.seat61.com/settle-and-carlisle-railway.htm

We picked up a car in Carlisle to use during our visit to the Lake District, but there are other transportation options from Carlisle to LD towns.