Guide Lake District
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Manchester is closer to the Lake District than most Mancunians realise. The direct train from Manchester Piccadilly to Windermere takes between one hour forty minutes and two hours. By car, Windermere is about an hour and a half away in light traffic, and significantly longer in the summer congestion that affects the approach roads from June to August.
The practical result is that the finest National Park in England is directly accessible from Manchester for a day trip, a long weekend or a week — and that the journey itself, by train past Lancaster and the edge of Morecambe Bay, is worth having in its own right.
Direct services — TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast both operate services from Manchester Piccadilly to Windermere, some direct and some requiring a change at Oxenholme Lake District. Journey times are 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes. Check the timetable for direct services, which are available throughout the day.
The route — the train runs north through Preston and Lancaster on the West Coast Main Line. About three miles beyond Lancaster, at Hest Bank, the line comes as close to the coast as it ever does, and for a minute or two Morecambe Bay opens on the left-hand side of the train (heading north), with the Lakeland fells across the water on a clear day. This stretch was engineered by Joseph Locke and opened in 1846.
The branch line — from Oxenholme Lake District, the branch line to Windermere descends through farmland and woodland, arriving at Windermere station. The branch line was opened in 1847 and is the reason Windermere became the main tourist entry point to the Lakes.
Booking — National Rail and Trainline are the main booking platforms. Advance tickets from Manchester to Windermere start from around £15–25 each way. Same-day fares are significantly higher.
A day trip from Manchester to the Lake District is one of the best uses of a free day available to any Mancunian.
Take the first available morning train — departing Piccadilly around 7.30–8am, arriving Windermere by 9.30–10am. Join our 8 Lakes Morning Tour from 9am (or the afternoon tour at 2pm if you prefer a slower morning start). Return on an early evening train; you are back in Manchester by 8–9pm.
The 8 Lakes Morning Tour covers eight Lake District lakes, Castlerigg Stone Circle, the Kirkstone Pass, Surprise View, and Grasmere Gingerbread — more of the Lake District in four hours than most visitors who stay for a week ever see. For a Mancunian who has never been to the Lakes, or who last came as a child, this tour is the most efficient possible introduction.
A Friday to Sunday weekend from Manchester gives you approximately two full days in the Lake District.
Friday evening — take a late afternoon train from Piccadilly after work; arriving Windermere around 7pm. Dinner in Windermere or Bowness.
Saturday — a full tour day. The 10 Lakes Full-day Tour (9am–6.30pm) gives you a comprehensive single-day overview. Alternatively, a morning Beatrix Potter tour and an afternoon 8 Lakes tour covers the main ground in two half-days.
Sunday — independent exploring in the morning, then a 3 or 4pm train back to Manchester arriving by 6pm.
If there are several of you, or the day marks an occasion, any of our tours can be taken privately: the same route, with your own guide and nobody else in the vehicle. The price is for the group rather than per person — half days from £459 and full days from £915, for up to seven guests.
The day still begins in the Lakes. We do not collect from Manchester, for a plain reason: Windermere is about an hour and a half away by road, so a vehicle sent to fetch you and take you home again would spend three hours of your day on the motorway. Take the train instead and we will collect you from Windermere station, or from Oxenholme Lake District on the main line, and set off straight away. At the end of the tour we take you to your accommodation in the Lakes.
Tell us your train times and where you are staying when you enquire, and we will tell you which tours fit. If you need something different, ask. For six or seven people a private full day usually costs less than the same number of scheduled seats; for a couple it is a premium, and a scheduled tour may suit you just as well. What a private tour costs sets out the sums, and the private tours page has the rest.
The most common response we hear from Manchester guests who come for the first time — particularly on day trips — is disbelief at the proximity. I had no idea it was this close, is the standard version. People who have grown up in Manchester, who have spent their weekends in the Peak District or the Yorkshire Moors, sometimes reach their thirties without having been to the Lakes. When they come, they understand why it was worth the slightly longer journey.
The M6 north from Manchester reaches the Kendal turning at junction 36 in a little over an hour in light traffic, and Windermere is about twenty-five minutes beyond it. The A591 from Kendal runs through the Lake District to Keswick. In summer, particularly on Saturday and Sunday mornings in July and August, the roads from the M6 into the Lakes are significantly slower than the map suggests. The train removes this problem entirely.
Pickup from Windermere station on all our tours. Tell us your train time when booking. See all tours.
Once you’ve planned the journey:
Between 1 hour 40 minutes and 2 hours by direct train from Manchester Piccadilly to Windermere, or about an hour and a half by car in light traffic.
Yes — genuinely comfortable, given the direct rail and road links.
Yes. Any of our tours can be taken privately by a group of up to seven, from £459 for a half day and £915 for a full day. The tour starts in the Lake District rather than in Manchester: take the train and we collect you from Windermere station or Oxenholme Lake District, then take you to your accommodation after the tour.
The minute or two beyond Lancaster where the line runs close to Morecambe Bay at Hest Bank, with views across the water to the Lakeland fells from the left-hand side of the train heading north.