16 Best Places to Shop in The Lake District, England

The smells wafting across the churchyard draw many people here. Since 1854, Sarah Nelson's gingerbread has been sold from this cramped 17th-century cottage, which was once the village school. The delicious treats, still made from a secret recipe, are sold by costumed staff and packed into attractive tins for the journey home or to eat right away.

Artisanal cheese and the best of Cumbria's local produce, including the town’s famously good toffee, are available at this mouthwateringly good bakery and deli. The hot steak pie is perhaps the best you'll ever taste.

Between Kendal and Windermere, this bakery, shop, and café is the place to stop for mouthwatering, award-winning bread, cakes, and sandwiches, including an unforgettable bright green matcha tea blondie. It also brews fine coffee.You can take your treats away or go to the café. 

A huge range of delicious cheeses, mostly British, and items to accompany them, can be purchased in this welcoming, pungent little shop. Pizzas are sometimes available on weekends. Free tastings are often available, and you can also find the shop's stall at the Saturday market in Keswick.

This fabulous delicatessen, famous for its award-winning sticky toffee pudding, is also a great place to purchase picnic provisions.

The area's largest and best outdoor equipment store sells sportswear, travel books, and maps. The staff is faultlessly friendly, helpful, and well-informed. Daily weather information is posted in the window, and there's a coffee shop with a selection of local artwork and pottery.

This welcoming little bookshop, hidden on a quiet pedestrian street, has a well-chosen selection of children's books on the ground floor and books for adults upstairs, as well as a lovely stationery and plenty of hiking maps. The shop often hosts book signing events with authors.

The Lake District's mascot, Herdy is a smiling Herdwick sheep, and this flagship store in Kendal sells attractive clothing and homewares featuring the character and/or made from Herdwick wool.

Based at Yew Tree Farm, the farm once owned by Beatrix Potter, Heritage Meats has a conservation-based approach to farming and sells great free-range meat. If you're staying nearby in a self-catering cottage, order online to arrange to pick up some Herdwick chops or wild Lakeland game.

Fine foods and a wide variety of cheeses made in Cumbria are on offer at this specialist cheesemonger. The bakery section sells scrumptious fruit and cheese scones, quiches, and other treats. Wine and gifts are also available.

This company stocks all the best equipment for mountaineering and for rock and ice climbing. They also provide information about local climbing and fell running clubs.

The shop sells the family's designs for a wonderful selection of artworks and gifts featuring the Lake District, with especially good prints, posters, and cards. Other designs show different parts of the country, and cycling and music-related artwork and gifts are another focus.

Penrith's weekly market takes place every Tuesday in the Great Dockray parking lot, but on the third Tuesday of the month, it moves to the market square. Here you can buy local produce and original crafts, and many of the award-winning farmers are happy to talk about what they've grown and raised.

This Cumbrian ceramicist specializes in hand-thrown porcelain and produces a beautiful range of glazed bowls, beakers, and dishes that are sold at exhibitions and her studio. It's a good idea to call ahead before visiting.

This shop, where Queen Elizabeth II used to buy her toffee, may also have England's best fudge. The shop was established by Annie Furnass in 1910, and the toffee has been made in Penrith ever since.

This 19th-century traditional Westmorland barn is home to Wilson Reclamation Services, which sells architectural salvage and antiques; artisans' studios and a gallery; and Harry's Cafe Bar. It's a fascinating place to watch the craftspeople at work, including an artisan blacksmith and a furniture maker. Products on sale include antiques and handmade products, vintage clothing, and housewares. The barn is 3 miles north of Cartmel.