Crosthwaite · the Lyth Valley
Things to do near the Punch Bowl —
a local guide
From the people who drive these roads every day
Crosthwaite · the Lyth Valley
From the people who drive these roads every day
Kendal
5 mileseast
Windermere
5 mileswest
Nearest pickup
Windermere15–20 min
Private full day
£915per group, collected
Damson blossom
Late Marchinto April
Small groups
7guests at most
A private full day from the Punch Bowl
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 Punch Bowl 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 Lyth Valley sits between Kendal and Windermere, and almost everybody drives through it without stopping. That is their loss: this is damson country, and for two or three weeks each spring the whole valley turns white with blossom in a display that would draw crowds anywhere else in England. The Punch Bowl at Crosthwaite is the valley's best-known inn with rooms, and if you have booked here you have picked the quiet middle ground between the two towns.
The Lyth and Winster valleys have grown damsons for centuries — the fruit was carried out by cart to the mill towns of Lancashire, where it was used for dyeing as well as eating. The orchards that remain are the reason the valley looks the way it does: small fields, hedgerows and fruit trees rather than open fell. Come in the second half of April and the blossom is really extraordinary, and largely unvisited. Come in September and the fruit is on sale at farm gates and in every pub kitchen in the valley.
The Lyth and the neighbouring Winster Valley are the quietest inhabited country within easy reach of Windermere. Narrow lanes, small farms, a handful of very good pubs, and hardly a coach in sight. Scout Scar, the limestone edge above the valley on the Kendal side, gives an enormous westward view for a short walk — and Whitbarrow, at the southern end, is a national nature reserve of limestone pavement and rare flowers that most Lake District visitors have never heard of.
Sizergh Castle and Levens Hall are both a short drive from the valley — a seven-hundred-year family house and the oldest topiary garden in the world respectively. We run tours to both, and from a Lyth Valley base they are the obvious half-day.
The real advantage here is the position. Fifteen to twenty minutes west and you are at Windermere with the boats and the crowds; the same distance east and you are in Kendal with the shops, the station and the motorway. You are near everything and in the middle of nothing, which for a lot of people is exactly the right arrangement.
Our small-group pickups are fifteen to twenty minutes away. A private full day starts from where you are staying.
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 Windermere station, fifteen to twenty minutes away.
From a quiet valley base a day of your own suits the mood — planned around where you are staying, no timetable to drive to, and a route shaped around your party. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard by prior arrangement, travelling safely in the crates our vehicles carry.
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.
A car helps. Bus service through the valley is limited; most guests drive, then leave the car for tour days.
The lanes: narrow, high-hedged and lovely, but not quick. Allow more time than the mileage suggests.
Timing a visit: if the blossom appeals, aim for the second half of April — it is brief and weather-dependent.
Ages: our tours suit adults and older children, about seven and up.
At Crosthwaite in the Lyth Valley — roughly five miles from Kendal and five miles from Windermere, which puts it almost exactly between the two.
Our private tours collect in Kendal, Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Grasmere and Oxenholme, and the Lyth Valley 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 Windermere station, fifteen to twenty minutes away.
Damsons. The valley's orchards have produced them for centuries, the blossom in late March and April is one of the great sights of Cumbria, and the fruit turns up in everything from jam to gin come autumn.
Less so than the towns — the Lyth Valley is quiet country with limited bus service. Most guests drive, or use touring of your own for the days out.
Our private tours collect in Kendal, Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Grasmere and Oxenholme, and the Lyth Valley 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 Punch Bowl 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: The Punch Bowl Inn, Crosthwaite; National Trust — Sizergh; Levens Hall.
Lake District Tours is an independent local tour company based in Kendal. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Punch Bowl Inn.
This page was checked by Gillian in .
Levens Hall topiary: Kevin Waterhouse, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Photographs are of the area rather than the hotel itself. Tour photographs are credited on each tour page.
