Lake District sites & Dogs?

[mrcheesbrough]

Wow, great, this thread! We plan to tour the Lake District after Camperjam this year, and these National Trust sites seem to be just 'our cup of tea'. Do you need a membership of some kind to stay there?

Also, the second week of July, is the Lake District still doable, or is it already swamped with tourists, white giants, etc. around that time?

Generally the Lakes get very busy every school holiday. It may be a bit quieter during the second week of July but booking your sites is probably good advice. You get ‘white giants’ around the Lakes but the central Lakes road system is generally narrower and more demanding to drive so less frequented by these ‘whales’. No membership required for NT sites to the best of my knowledge. Don’t dismiss the independent sites too though. There are some crackers if you’re preparers to have a little hunt for them.


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[bvddobb]

Generally the Lakes get very busy every school holiday.

Thanks!

I see the UK school holidays start July16 the earliest, most schools still a week later. We will be home by the 16th, so probably we are on the safe side, still!

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Thanks!

I see the UK school holidays start July16 the earliest, most schools still a week later. We will be home by the 16th, so probably we are on the safe side, still!

I would think so. Still if you want peace and quiet stay clear of Windermere, Ambleside and Keswick. Each is worth a visit but don’t base yourself at them if you want to stay clear of crowds.


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[RedCali]

We live in the south lakes. Generally speaking the school holidays are VERY busy, although l know it is all relative. From Feb half term to Oct half term popular car parks can be full by 10am. I would book for weekend stays all year round, you will find spaces on sites in the week if you can be flexible.
Two important things to note....
The Eskdale site is fab but it only has 3 hardstandings and doesn't accept vans if the ground is too wet,
Wasdale NT site - the van pitches are next to the main CP used by 3 peakers. Unfortunately this makes them unbearably noisy particularly in the summer because huge groups arrive in the middle of the night screeching and shouting ready to go up Scafell. In the winter it can also be noisy at dawn as people make an early start for a day on the fells. The site staff are all too aware of these areas of conflict, but there is little that they can do.

 

[bvddobb]

From Feb half term to Oct half term popular car parks can be full by 10am. I would book for weekend stays all year round, you will find spaces on sites in the week if you can be flexible.

Hmmm... Ok, thanks a lot! If it's that busy, perhaps we should reconsider...

 

[Jason wallace]

Watching with interest as currently trying to arrange 5 nights during the may bh/half term week and struggling badly to find anywhere with electric pitches.

Current plan is to consider going without hookup although some of the sites seem assume that as you have a campervan you'll want it so show no availability.

I guess it would be advisable to call and see if they'll let me book a pitch without electric, for example C&CC Keswick has no serviced, hardstanding etc etc but do list a tent pitch with greater dimensions than the Cali.

 

[MattBW]

Wow, great, this thread! We plan to tour the Lake District after Camperjam this year, and these National Trust sites seem to be just 'our cup of tea'. Do you need a membership of some kind to stay there?

Also, the second week of July, is the Lake District still doable, or is it already swamped with tourists, white giants, etc. around that time?

No membership required and (at least at Wasdale) there is no membership discounts either so not worth joining in that respect.

 

[Bramco]

Try eskdale camp site , a great welcome plus a couple of pubs nearby . Really handy for the rave glass and eskdale railway . Extremely clean well kept site.

Great site with 3 pubs on an hour long circular walk. What can be wrong with that!

 

[Bramco]

The Eskdale site is fab but it only has 3 hardstandings and doesn't accept vans if the ground is too wet,

We were there in October and there were several on a ledge and then room for 4 or 5 near the building. Agree that ideally you'd be on the grass and that probably from September to April it will be too wet but there are a few more than 3 hard standings - maybe 7 or 8.

 

[RedCali]

The 'hardstandings' at Eskdale near the building are actually the carpark for tent and pod campers, so generally only available if pods not full/ tents are more backpacker than family, so freeing up space in the carpark.
The staff are really helpful about squeezing vans on but there isn't a lot of space at busy times.

 

[MrNick]

Going to Wasdale at the end of March, can’t wait! Have previously stayed in Eskdale (and hiked to Wasdale and back) which is great, and the abundance of dog friendly pubs nearby is a massive bonus too!