Lancrigg sits up Easedale Road in thirty acres of garden and woodland at the foot of Helm Crag, ten minutes' walk from Grasmere village and yet completely out of it. What makes it unusual among Lakeland country houses is that you can walk from the front door onto a proper fell without ever touching a road — the paths to Helm Crag and Easedale Tarn effectively start in the grounds. This guide is for guests who chose it for exactly that.
Quick Facts
This is the genuine advantage of the address. Helm Crag — the fell above you, known to generations as the Lion and the Lamb for the shape of its summit rocks — is a couple of hours there and back and delivers a view down the whole vale of Grasmere. Easedale Tarn, further up the valley, is one of the loveliest tarns in the district and reached by a broad, honest path beside the beck. Neither requires a car, a bus or a parking space, which in high season is worth more than it sounds.
Easedale Road brings you out opposite Sam Read's bookshop by the green, which is about as good an entrance to a village as England offers. From there it is a few minutes to St Oswald's churchyard and the Wordsworth graves beneath the yews, the gingerbread shop in the old village school, and Dove Cottage a short stroll beyond. Go early or late — the middle of the day belongs to the coaches, and by five the village is quiet again.
Most visitors see the village, the lake and Dove Cottage and leave. Easedale — the valley you are staying in — sees a fraction of that, despite being the more beautiful of the two. Walk up it in the early evening and you will likely have the beck and the tarn path largely to yourself.
Grasmere rewards walking and rewards staying put, but a week here wants two or three days that go further afield. Our small-group tours carry seven guests at most and pick up at Ambleside library, ten minutes down the valley; private days collect at the house.
The grand sweep: ten lakes, the high passes between them, and an Ullswater Steamers cruise exclusive to this tour. If a celebration stay deserves one great day out, this is it.
See dates & bookCollected at the door, your party only, the day shaped to you — literary landscapes, hidden valleys, or simply the most beautiful roads we know. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard in our vehicle crates.
Enquire about a private dayDove Cottage at Grasmere — entry included as standard — and the valleys that made the poems, with Dora's Field carpeted gold in daffodil season. The right literary day for this most Georgian of addresses.
See dates & bookAcross the lake to Hill Top and Near Sawrey, with our illustration-matching walk through the village lanes — back for a long lakeside lunch.
See dates & bookThe afternoon version crosses the lake by boat rather than by road — worth choosing if you'd like the crossing itself to be part of the day.
See dates & bookA slow hall morning, then eight lakes and their valleys at a seven-seat pace — the most civilised way to spend a Lakeland afternoon.
See dates & bookThe same eight lakes as the afternoon tour, run the opposite way round in the morning — ideal if you'd rather keep your afternoon free for the lawns.
See dates & bookA full literary day east to Haworth — the Parsonage, the cobbled village, and the moors that gave Wuthering Heights its weather, newly magnetic with the recent film. Oxenholme pickup available.
See dates & bookInto the Dales for Grassington's "Darrowby", the Wensleydale Creamery, Kilnsey Crag and Bolton Abbey — filming locations brought to life around you with live scene technology.
See dates & bookFor a walking-led stay, a private day is a good change of pace — collected at the door, no departure time to walk down for, and a route shaped around what your party actually wants to see. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard our private tours, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
Not sure which route suits your plans, or want a day built entirely from scratch — a family reunion, a wedding anniversary, scattering ashes somewhere that mattered? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll design a day around it — see our guide to celebrating a special occasion for ideas, or get in touch directly.
Without a car: genuinely workable — the village is walkable, the 555 bus runs the A591, and tour days cover the distances.
Parking in Grasmere: the village car parks fill by mid-morning in season; walk down from the house instead.
On the fells: proper footwear and a look at the forecast, even for Helm Crag — it is short but steep at the top.
Ages: our tours suit adults and older children, about seven and up.
On Easedale Road just outside Grasmere village, in thirty acres of gardens and woodland at the foot of Helm Crag — about a ten-minute walk from the village.
Ambleside library, about ten minutes down the valley — Windermere station and Bowness Pier 1 are the other two. On private tours we can usually collect you at the house.
Yes — the house sits directly on the routes towards Helm Crag and Easedale Tarn, so you can start a serious walk from the door without touching a road.
About ten minutes on foot down Easedale Road, coming out opposite Sam Read's bookshop by the village green.
We are an independent local tour operator. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lancrigg.