North Wales and the Lake District

itinerary map

Table of Contents

  • 34 days
  • 2022 Fall

On our first trip to Great Britain we hit many of the typical highlights and  focused more on cities and towns. This trip was more about walking and nature; villages and small towns. (And castles.) I’ve always been interested in the Lake District but had never found the time to get there. And since Arthurian legend is one of my minor obsessions, I wanted to see North Wales. (It turns out Ambleside has a connection there too, being a possible site of Count Ector’s holding.)

We balanced that with a week of more cultural and entertainment pursuits in London. Since we’d seen highlights the first time we could relax and take in more specialized options. We’re finding that’s one of the nice things about revisiting a place: We feel less compelled to check must-sees off a list and more freedom to just be there. That’s also why we make an effort to expand our time in each location, so we don’t feel rushed and have time to just relax.

Food & Beverage $41 per day*

Average per person per day. Breakfast was included everywhere we stayed, and since it was an English breakfast, we only needed one more meal per day!

Lodging $83-$142 per night*

London was the most expensive. Carlisle and Llandudno were both $83 per night. The rest ranged from $107-113. Breakfast was included everywhere we stayed. We stayed at B&Bs

Transportation $356 per person*

We used trains where we could (London to Conwy, Llandudno to the Lake District, Carlisle to London) and buses otherwise. We used Oyster pay-as-you-go in London. We bought senior railcards so we got discounted fares.

Entertainment $580 per person*

Entertainment included tickets to two plays in London, three scenic trains in Wales, the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and a handful of castles, museums, and other sights.

* Costs in US dollars at time of trip

Days 1-3: Conwy

The Plan: The photos of the castle are stunning, and the Bodnant Gardens sound really interesting too. Since both Conwy and Llandudno sounded like great places to stay, though very different, we’re going to stay at both of them. 

The Reality: The castle was stunning. Bodnant Gardens looked difficult to get to using public transportation, so we opted to take the scenic train through the Conwy Valley instead. Conwy and Llandudno are very different and we enjoyed both. 

  • Conwy Castle
  • Bodnant Gardens
  • Conwy Valley train +

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 4-9: Porthmadog

The Plan: Originally it was all about the scenic train. But after reading about Portmeirion, that also became a must-do. Other than that we’ll do some walking or hiking in the area.  

The Reality: We skipped Barmouth because the coastal train and viaduct were closed for construction but were still able to hike while in the area. 

  • Ffestiniog Railway scenic train
  • Walk to Portmeirion
  • Walk to Borth-y-Gest
  • Beddgelert and walking
  • Criccieth

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 10-12: Caernarfon

The Plan: Another great castle to check out. We’re also using this as a base for Mt Snowdon. We’d originally planned on a day trip to Beaumaris but decided it was too out of the way.

The Reality: Things went as planned other than skipping Segontium Roman Fort, which was outside of town and therefore more hassle to get to than we were looking for. 

  • Welsh Highland Railway scenic train
  • Day trip to Snowdon
  • Caernarfon Castle
  • Segontium Roman Fort

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 13-15: Llandudno

The Plan: Checking out a classic British seaside resort, including a great Victorian pier. Also some hiking on the Great Orme, and depending on the weather, either sitting or walking on the beach. Or both! 

The Reality: We didn’t end up doing any hiking on the Great Orme, though we did go up and wander around. And the weather allowed us to walk on the beach though it did not encourage sitting on it. The pier wasn’t that exciting. The jelly fish and the Victorian architecture were.

  • The Great Orme
  • The pier
  • Hanging out at Walking on the beach 

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 16-19: Ambleside

The Plan: Walk or hike every other day, interspersed with sightseeing. 

The Reality: We opted to walk every day, and skipped the sightseeing, other than whatever we ran across while walking or wandering around a village. We just weren’t in the mood.

  • Dove Cottage
  • Rydal Mount
  • Walk to Rydal Water
  • Walk around Grasmere
  • Walk Loughrigg Fell

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 20-22: Keswick

The Plan: Walk or hike every other day, interspersed with sightseeing.

The Reality: We went for walks every day and combined the boating by taking the boat to the Catbell’s trail head. 

  • Boating on Derwent Water
  • Walk Castlehead and Friar’s Crag
  • Walk the Catbells terrace
  • Walk around Buttermere

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Days 23-24: Carlisle

The Plan: We’re spending the night here in order to catch the Settle-Carlisle scenic railway. We’ll continue on by train to London. 

The Reality: We ended up spending two nights here due to a rail strike that prevented us leaving the day we planned. I was able to rebook the train tickets for the next day at no charge, and our host was kind enough to let us stay an extra night even though she wouldn’t be there. So we missed another excellent breakfast.

  • Carlisle Castle
  • Carlisle Cathedral
  • Settle-Carlisle Railway

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Day 25: Skipton

The Plan: We originally planned to go straight to London from Carlisle but found ourselves with an extra day or two in order to save on a flight. So here we are. 

The Reality: A rail strike forced us to stay another day in Carlisle and taking a later train, so we ended up not having enough time in Skipton to do anything, really. 

  • Skipton Castle
  • Narrowboat ride
  • Walking

Days 26-34: London

The Plan: Hit some of the things we missed the last time we were here. We’d originally planned on four days but have doubled it so we can get to everything on that list. 

The Reality: We didn’t get to everything on the original list but we added a couple of entertainment options like the Harry Potter Studio Tour and two plays. This vist felt like less of a whirlwind than our last one.  Which was also fun. 

  • National Gallery
  • Cutty Sark, Greenwich
  • Tate Britain
  • Tate Modern
  • Windsor Castle pub
  • Hampstead and Highgate
  • Day trip to Brighton
  • Portobello Road +
  • Victoria & Albert +
  • Theater +

Related Posts: The first post describes daily activities and the destination. Other posts cover anything that generated lots of photos!

Resources

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Christmas Ornaments

The queen died the day we arrived so a queen ornament seemed appropriate. The train is a model of a heritage steam engine. The snitch speaks for itself.