Cartmel · the main street
Things to do near the Cavendish Arms —
a local guide
From the people who drive these roads every day
Cartmel · the main street
From the people who drive these roads every day
L’Enclume
Next doorthree Michelin stars
The priory
2 minon foot
Nearest pickup
40 minnorth
Private full day
£915per group, collected
The racecourse
In the villagefields
Small groups
7guests at most
A private full day from the Cavendish Arms
A full-day private tour, collected where you are staying, for your party alone — or a bespoke tour planned around your stay. Tell us you are staying at the Cavendish Arms and we confirm the pickup and times.
Book a private full day Plan a bespoke tourPrivate full day £915 per group · bespoke from £459
The Cavendish Arms is the oldest inn in Cartmel, a sixteenth-century coaching house on the main street that has been run as a proper village pub for a very long time — and which happens to stand directly beside one of the three or four best restaurants in Britain. It is dog-friendly, unpretentious, and about as central as Cartmel gets.
Cartmel is a really odd and rather wonderful village: a few hundred people, a priory the size of a small cathedral, a racecourse in the fields, and — since 2022 — three Michelin stars at L'Enclume next door, with a fourth at Rogan & Co up the street. The Cavendish Arms predates all of it by four centuries and carries on being a pub, which is the correct response.
It is also the sensible base if you want one very good dinner and four ordinary ones. Book L'Enclume months ahead; eat here the rest of the time.
Founded around 1190 and saved from the Dissolution because part of it was the parish church — the villagers argued they could not lose their church, and won. The monastic buildings went, the great church stayed, and it is still in use today. Free, open, and with a fifteenth-century east window worth the walk on its own. Ask about the misericords under the choir stalls.
Cartmel Racecourse runs a handful of National Hunt meetings through the summer, and the whole village turns out. If your stay coincides, go — and book everything else well ahead, because the place fills. Holker Hall, a short drive away, has award-winning gardens, a fine Victorian interior and one of the largest lime trees in Britain. We run tours there.
Our nearest small-group pickup is around forty minutes north; a private full day starts from where you are staying. From Cartmel a day planned around where you are staying is the easier arrangement.
From here, any of the full-day tours can run privately, collected where you are staying, and the morning and afternoon tours pair into one full day; or we plan a bespoke tour around your stay. If you have a car, our nearest small-group pickup is around forty minutes north.
From Cartmel a day of your own saves the drive north entirely — planned around where you are staying, no departure time, and the route shaped around your party. It also means nobody has to think about driving home after dinner. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard by prior arrangement, 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.
It is the oldest inn in Cartmel, occupying a sixteenth-century coaching house on the main street.
Effectively next door. It holds three Michelin stars and books months ahead, so reserve well before you travel.
Yes. Well-behaved dogs are also welcome on our private tours by prior arrangement, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
Our private tours collect in Kendal, Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Grasmere and Oxenholme, and Cartmel sits outside that. From here a private tour runs as a full day, from £915 for the group, collected where you are staying; or we plan a bespoke tour around your stay. Tell us where you are staying, and we confirm the pickup and times before anything is booked. For a small-group seat, our nearest pickup is around forty minutes north.
Our private tours collect in Kendal, Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Grasmere and Oxenholme, and Cartmel sits outside that, so from here a private tour runs as a full day, collected where you are staying, or we plan a bespoke tour around your stay.
A private full day is £915 for the group, your own guide and vehicle, with nobody aboard you did not bring. Tell us you are staying at the Cavendish Arms and we confirm the pickup and times before anything is booked.
Arriving by train? We can collect your party at the station, go straight out on tour, and bring you to the inn at the end of the day.
Book a private full dayTailor-made for each booking, half day from £459 or full day from £942 per group: the places and the people you most want to see.
Plan a bespoke tourSources: Cartmel Priory; Cartmel Racecourse; Holker Hall & Gardens.
Lake District Tours is an independent local tour company based in Kendal. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Cavendish Arms.
This page was checked by Gillian in .
Photographs are of the area rather than the hotel itself. Tour photographs are credited on each tour page.
