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June is the month of maximum light in the Lake District. The days are at their longest — seventeen and a half hours from first light to last on the solstice — and the landscape is at its most fully green, the fells dressed in the deep, slightly waxy colour of established summer growth that is different in character from the fresh, almost luminous green of May.
It is not the most dramatic month. October has the bracken colour and the reflections; May has the bluebell woodland and the new leaves; December has the frost and the low winter sun. June's quality is accumulative and sustained: the sense of a landscape operating at full capacity, with long evenings that turn into long dusks that turn into brief, pale nights.
The longest days — the practical consequence of seventeen hours of daylight is that tours running from 9am to 1pm or 2pm to 6pm are operating in the full light of mid-morning and mid-afternoon. The light is not the low, directional light of autumn — it is higher, more even, less dramatic — but it is sustained and clear, and the far-reaching views that June's clear air produces are among the finest of the year.
The haymaking — the traditional hay meadows of the Yorkshire Dales are in flower in June, before the first cut. The flower-rich meadows around Muker in Swaledale, Gunnerside and the upper Wharfedale farms — which appear briefly each year before the hay is cut in late June or early July — are among the finest surviving examples of traditional upland grassland in England. On the Brontë Country Day Trip, which travels through the Dales, your expert storyteller will identify these meadows and explain the farming system that produces and maintains them.
The osprey — the ospreys fishing Bassenthwaite Lake north of Keswick are at their most active in June, with chicks in the nest and both parents fishing repeatedly through the long day. The Osprey Project viewpoints above the lake are staffed at weekends from April through August.
The fell paths — every route on every fell is open, dry and clear of the winter conditions that make some paths difficult from November to March. June is the best month for high-level walking: the ground is firm, the days are long, the visibility is typically excellent.
June and August are both summer months in the Lake District, but they are different experiences.
August is half-term and school holiday month — the visitor numbers are at their annual peak, the car parks fill earliest, the traffic on the A591 is at its heaviest. The weather in August is not reliably better than June; the Lake District's rainfall is not strongly seasonal, and August thunderstorms are common.
June has the same long days, the same green fells and the same warmth, with noticeably lower visitor numbers. The period before the school holidays begin in mid-July is one of the finest times of year to visit: summer conditions without summer crowds. Our tours in June typically have the easiest access to sites and the most relaxed pace.
What to bring — a light waterproof (showers are possible on any June day), sunscreen (the UV index at latitude 54° in June can surprise people), layers for the fells where the temperature drops several degrees above the valley floor.
Opening hours — most National Trust properties and visitor attractions are on their full summer timetables from June. The Keswick Launch runs its full circular schedule. The Ullswater Steamers are at full frequency.
Booking — June weekends fill our tours. Weekdays in June are easier to book at shorter notice, but Saturdays and Sundays should be booked two to three weeks ahead.
All our tours run throughout June. See all tours and book.