What to Do in the Lake District When It Rains

Nobody promises sunshine in the Lake District, and anyone who has stood under Aira Force after a downpour will tell you they wouldn't want it any other way. The fells generate their own weather, the becks run loudest after rain, and the cosiest pub fire is always the one you've earned by getting wet first. Here are twelve genuinely good ways to spend a damp day here — not just things to do despite the rain, but a few that are actually better because of it.

1. Visit a historic house with a roof that's stood for centuries

The Lake District's historic houses were built to withstand Cumbrian weather long before anyone needed a rainy-day plan. Levens Hall has stood since the 13th century, with Elizabethan plasterwork ceilings inside that are arguably more atmospheric in low grey light than bright sun. Sizergh Castle's medieval pele tower was built specifically to keep people dry and safe; Holker Hall's library and drawing rooms feel exactly as they should on a wet afternoon — warm, quiet, and slightly self-satisfied about it.

For something smaller and quieter, Townend in Troutbeck is a 17th-century farmhouse, home to the Browne family for over 400 years, with a real fire burning in the kitchen most afternoons. Beatrix Potter called the Troutbeck Valley her favourite spot in the Lakes, and on a wet day, with the rain on the slate roof and a fire already lit, it's easy to see why.

2. Hunt for thundering waterfalls

Rain is, in a very direct sense, what makes the Lake District's waterfalls work. Aira Force near Ullswater is fed by rainwater draining off the fells into Aira Beck, and during and after heavy rain it thunders over its 65-foot drop with a force that a dry summer afternoon simply cannot match. The wooded gorge provides natural shelter from the worst of the rain on the walk in, and the sound alone — long before you reach the falls — tells you it's worth the walk.

3. Step into Dove Cottage on a misty morning

William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy lived at Dove Cottage through some thoroughly wet Lakeland winters, and the cottage feels far more authentic to its own era on a grey, drizzly day than it does in bright sunshine. The small rooms, low ceilings, and the adjoining Wordsworth Museum's collection of manuscripts are entirely indoors, and the mist that often sits over Grasmere in wet weather is, if anything, closer to how Dorothy actually described it in her journals.

4. Watch the falls thunder through a 17th-century window at Rydal

On the grounds of Rydal Hall, a small stone building known as the Grot has stood since 1668, built specifically to frame the view of Rydal Falls through a single large window — one of Britain's earliest purpose-built "viewing stations." Wordsworth knew it well and wrote about the scene in his poem "An Evening Walk," and the falls themselves, fed by Rydal Beck, run loudest and most dramatic exactly when the weather is at its worst. The Grot itself keeps you dry while the waterfall does the opposite just beyond the glass.

5. Ride the rails in style — on two heritage railways

Known locally as "La'al Ratty," the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway has run narrow-gauge steam and diesel trains through the Eskdale Valley since 1875. The covered carriages make it one of the most reliably dry ways to see dramatic fell scenery — the line climbs from the coast at Ravenglass up toward the foot of Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain, with the rain doing nothing except making the valley look greener and the waterfalls along the route louder.

At the southern end of Windermere, the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway runs steam locomotives along the old Furness Railway branch line through the Leven Valley, connecting directly with the lake cruise pier at Lakeside. It's an easy way to combine two covered, all-weather journeys — train and boat — into a single dry afternoon.

6. Get vertical at an indoor climbing wall

Kendal is home to one of the tallest indoor climbing centres in the country, with routes for complete beginners through to serious climbers, entirely under a roof. It's a popular choice precisely because Kendal sits just outside the national park boundary on the route in from the M6 and Oxenholme station — an easy stop on the way into or out of the Lakes regardless of what the weather is doing.

In Keswick, Kong Adventure offers much the same idea closer to the heart of the national park: a roped climbing wall, a bouldering room, an indoor caving system, and — for something genuinely unusual — an ice wall held at a constant minus six degrees. There's a hard play area for younger children too, and a café to recover in afterwards.

7. Follow your nose to a proper Lakeland sweet shop, a cream tea, and the UK's oldest coffee roaster

Grasmere Gingerbread has been made to Sarah Nelson's original recipe since 1854, in the same village schoolroom, with the recipe still locked in a bank vault. It is one of the few attractions in the Lake District that works exactly as well — arguably better — indoors on a wet day, queue and all. Kendal Mint Cake, the dense, intensely minty walker's staple that has fuelled Lakeland expeditions for over a century, is sold throughout the town it's named after.

Grasmere is also, conveniently, one of the better places in the Lakes for a proper cream tea — warm scones, jam, and clotted cream, taken somewhere small and unhurried while the rain does its worst outside. Baldry's, in the heart of the village, has been doing exactly this for years, and a pot of tea takes considerably longer to drink than a walk takes to get soaked on.

Kendal has its own claim worth a stop in its own right: Farrer's, on the main street, has been roasting and selling coffee and tea from the same 18th-century building since 1819, making it the oldest coffee roaster in the country. The original 1853 grinder still sits in the middle of the shop, and the smell alone is worth ducking in out of the rain for.

8. Go underground at Honister Slate Mine

At the top of Honister Pass, between Borrowdale and Buttermere, Honister is England's last working slate mine — slate has been extracted from inside Fleetwith Pike for nearly 400 years, and some still is. The guided mine tour takes you deep into the original tunnels, past illuminations and old workings, with the rain outside doing nothing to the experience whatsoever, since by definition you're now underneath the mountain rather than on top of it. For anyone wanting something more adrenaline-filled, Climb the Mine adds rope bridges, ladders, and a zip line through the same tunnels. Honister also runs Via Ferrata routes up the crag outside — cabled climbing along the old miners' track, clipped in throughout — for those who'd rather brave the weather than avoid it.

9. Trace the pencil back to a graphite mine in Keswick

Graphite was discovered in the fells above Keswick in the 16th century, and the world's first pencils were made there as a direct result — a fact most visitors never learn, since pencils don't usually invite questions about their origin. The Derwent Pencil Museum tells the story properly: you enter through a replica of the original mine, trace the industry from cottage craft to the modern Derwent factory, and stand next to a Guinness World Record pencil measuring almost 8 metres. It's an unusual way to spend an hour, and a thoroughly dry one.

10. Cruise the lakes from a heated cabin — or step aboard a piece of history

The cruises on Windermere and Ullswater run with heated, covered seating, and there's a strong case that watching mist roll across the water from inside a warm cabin is a better experience than the same view in flat sunshine. The fells half-disappear into cloud, the colours go moody and dramatic, and you stay completely dry throughout.

For something more specific, Windermere Jetty Museum on the eastern shore holds over 40 historic boats, including the SL Dolly — built around 1850 and recognised as the oldest mechanically powered boat in the world, still running on its original engine. The museum also runs heritage boat trips on its restored vintage vessels, including the Edwardian steam launch Osprey, which is as close as a rainy day gets to genuine occasion.

11. Step into the World of Beatrix Potter

It's worth being clear about what this actually is, since the name causes genuine confusion: the World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere is an indoor exhibition, recreating scenes from the books with models and displays. It is not Hill Top, and it is not the same visit. Hill Top is the real 17th-century farmhouse in Near Sawrey where Potter actually lived and worked, preserved as she left it — a different place, a different experience, and a different part of the lake entirely. For families or anyone who grew up with Peter Rabbit, the exhibition is enjoyable and completely weatherproof on its own terms; it simply shouldn't be mistaken for having "done" Hill Top.

12. Find a fireplace and a pint at the top of a pass

When the rain genuinely sets in, the correct response is the one generations of Lakeland travellers have settled on. The Kirkstone Pass Inn has stood near the summit of Kirkstone Pass since 1496, making it one of the oldest and — at 1,489 feet — the highest inn in Cumbria. It was built to give drovers and coach travellers shelter from exactly this kind of weather, and the fire in the hearth has, by all accounts, barely gone out since. Several reports of ghostly goings-on only add to the appeal on a properly wild evening.

There is genuinely no such thing as bad weather in the Lake District, only the wrong clothing for it. A proper waterproof and a decent pair of boots turn a rainy day from something to endure into one of the better stories from the trip.

See all tours — departing Windermere, Oxenholme, Bowness, and Ambleside →

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & further reading

• National Trust — Aira Force and Gowbarrow Park
• National Trust — Townend, Troutbeck
• Rydal Hall — The Grot and Waterfall
• Derwent — The Pencil Museum, Keswick
• Kong Adventure, Keswick
• Windermere Jetty Museum — Stories of Boats and Steam
• The Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway
• Farrer's — The UK's Oldest Coffee Roaster
• Wordsworth Grasmere (The Wordsworth Trust) — Dove Cottage
• Honister Slate Mine — England's Last Working Slate Mine
• TheLakeDistrict.org — The Kirkstone Pass Inn
• Lake District National Park Authority