English Lakes Tours

About

Discover the Lake District on a guided half-day, full-day or private tour

Scenic Tours

Sit back and enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the Lake District. An expert guide will give you a fascinating insight into the unique culture and life in this most beautiful part of England.

You will see:

~ views of the largest lakes in England, surrounded by panoramic mountain scenery
~ the most atmospheric and dramatically sited of all British stone circles with spectacular panoramic views
~ the beauty of Derwentwater with breathtaking views of the surrounding fells, a favourite inspirational place of Beatrix Potter
~ the most photographed packhorse bridge in the Lake District set in a beautiful location with fantastic views
~ the shop where Sarah Nelson invented the world famous "Grasmere Gingerbread" in 1854
~ the Lake District from a different perspective on a lake cruise

Scheduled tours available from Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Keswick and Oxenholme.
Private tours pickup from hotels, B&B’s or self-catering, well behaved dogs are welcome.
Prices from £52, tour group size is limited to a maximum of 7 guests.

More information on Scenic tours

 

Beatrix Potter Tours

Step into the real world of Beatrix Potter on a tour around the Lake District she knew, loved and helped to save.

You will see:

~ the holiday home where Beatrix Potter spent her 16th birthday and first discovered the Lake District
~ the house which Beatrix Potter bought from the money she made from the publication of Peter Rabbit
~ see original illustrations by Beatrix
~ Beatrix Potter's stunningly detailed mycology illustrations and other artefacts
~ The beautiful countryside where Beatrix Potter owned farms and land

Scheduled tours available from Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Keswick and Oxenholme.
Private tours pickup from hotels, B&B’s or self-catering, well behaved dogs are welcome.
Prices from £52, tour group size is limited to a maximum of 7 guests.

More information on Beatrix Potter tours

 

William Wordsworth Tours

Fascinating tours to places associated with and known to William Wordsworth, his family and fellow Lake Poets, escorted by an expert guide.

You will see:

~ The cottage where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy lived from 1799 to 1808
~ The house where Wordsworth was born
~ The school where Wordsworth carved his name on a desk, which can still be seen
~ Wordsworth's best loved family home from 1813 to his death in 1850
~ Views of the countryside, mountains and lakes that inspired Wordsworth’s poetry

Scheduled tours available from Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Keswick, Grasmere and Oxenholme.
Private tours pickup from hotels, B&B’s or self-catering, well behaved dogs are welcome.
Prices from £52, tour group size is limited to a maximum of 7 guests.

More information on William Wordsworth tours

 

Brontë Tours

Following in the footsteps of Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, accompanied by an expert guide, discover intimate details about their remarkable lives and visit key locations from the novels.

You will see:

~ where the Rev. Patrick Brontë and his children Branwell, Charlotte, Emily and Anne lived and died
~ the romantic ruin which was the inspiration for "Ferndean Manor" of “Jane Eyre”
~ where all the Brontë's except Anne are buried in the family vault
~ the location of the infamous Clergy Daughter's School, the inspiration for "Lowood School" in Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre"
~ the inspiration for "Thrushcross Grange" in Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights"

Scheduled tours available from Windermere and Oxenholme.
Private tours pickup from hotels, B&B’s or self-catering, well behaved dogs are welcome.
Prices from £109, tour group size is limited to a maximum of 6 guests.

More information on Brontë tours

 

Who are English Lakes Tours?

Well, we are a small, family-run business which officially came in to existence in May 2018 but our story goes back further than that. After decades of showing friends and family around the Lake District, our founders, Tim and Gill, took the opportunity fate offered to them to change careers and set up English Lakes Tours so that we can now show everybody around the Lake District.

So far, despite the recent challenges of a global pandemic, our tours have been extremely popular as you can see from our reviews.

What do English Lakes Tours do?

Having evolved over years of showing the Lakes to friends and family, we have developed our own unique type of tours. We still regard you, our guests, as friends and deliberately keep the groups small, around 6 or 7 and to a maximum of 12 for larger, organised groups. This is perfect for creating a unique atmosphere conducive to getting to know each other, chatting and discovering the area with our guides who really enjoy their days spent with you.

As you have probably guessed, we are a specialist tour company; touring is what we exist to do. We care deeply about the quality of our tours and so our team of drivers and guides do not operate a taxi service, their expertise and training would not be utilised to their best advantage. Nor do we do airport transfers, church-to-hotel wedding transfers or any other type of shuttle transport services because we have always been a tour company, first and last, from day one.

How do we operate our tours?

Having never been a bus or taxi company, we have always approached our tours from a unique point of view, centred on our guests’ experience. Way back when we were showing friends around the Lakes, we discovered that the best way to create a tour is to do the one we would like to do. Over the years, this proved to be really successful and we still do it today for you.

When we create a tour, we do months of research, include the iconic bits but also the unusual, just as interesting bits that nobody else does. We find the best views, include the best locations and give you all the best info, insider tips and stories. Routes are travelled at different times of day and in different directions; venues and attractions are visited so that we can be sure you get the best experiences; we check out the cafes, bars and restaurants so that we can take you to places with great food and atmosphere.

We feel very strongly that our relationship with the Lake District, the people and the places, the wildlife and environment is extremely important. We always try to tread lightly on environmental issues and we respect the privacy, property and lives of the local people to make sure that you get a warm welcome wherever and whenever you go.

We also believe that we should put something back into the local economy and not simply take for our own profit. We support many local charities, organisations and societies because without them as our “partners” we would have no venues to visit, no nature to wonder at and no specialist expertise to draw upon to enable us to create outstanding tours for you.

10 great reasons to come on tour with us

It’s easy, just book and go – avoid the fuss of route planning, traffic queues, parking fees and driving on seriously scary Lake District roads by just getting on our bus, relaxing and enjoying the spectacular views. We know where to go and what to do, you just book the day and tour and we will do the rest.

Small groups mean friendly tours – all of our tours are limited to 6-7 guests by design, we even bought the buses specifically with this in mind so that you are part of a small, friendly group of like-minded people with lots of opportunities to talk to us and each other.

Local is important – we are all local and share a passion for the Lake District which we can’t wait to share with you. We have all spent years in the Lakes, exploring, researching, finding hidden gems, secret spots, fascinating facts and fabulous places to eat, sleep and be amazed. We want you to fall in love with the Lakes just as much as we all have.

Happy guides and happy guests – we all had previous “lives” before we joined English Lakes Tours.  Our wide and varied backgrounds mean that we are all very experienced, have very broad range of interests, and are educated to Masters or PhD level. One of the best bits about our job is that we get to talk with our guests and have conversations about all sorts of things and on many levels, it makes going to work something to look forward to. We can’t wait to meet you.

Trained professionals – we are trained on professional courses provided by one of the best guide training companies in the world to keep you safe, entertained and well informed. Also, help with our ongoing research, we have access to our own company library of over 4000 books, online journals and research materials, university library resources and our own developing archive of Lake District images. This is what makes our guides and tours so exceptional.

We care – we listen to feedback from you to make any changes that will make the tours even better because we really care about your experience and your time with us. Our focus is on you and the things that you enjoy.

Unusual and Unique – one thing that makes our tours stand out and be so popular is that they are totally unique. Everywhere you go in the Lake District, the surrounding countryside is breathtakingly beautiful and this is a feature of all our tours. What makes us so different and successful, is that we have the countryside as a backdrop in addition to our themes. So, Beatrix Potter tours are all about Beatrix Potter; our Bronte tours are all about the lives of the Brontës; and guess where we go on our Hadrian’s Wall tours. Our scenic tours are second to none because they concentrate on, yes, you guessed it, stunningly spectacular scenery. We don’t believe in catchy titles just to hook you in. Yes, we take you to see breathtaking countryside but we also actually do what the tour says we do, we go to the places, get to know the people, tell you the stories, give you the facts, show you things that other tour companies miss and give you the Wow moments - all in friendly comfort and style.

Updated and upgraded – every one of our tours is regularly updated, our buses, technology, knowledge and safety. Not for us a tour created years ago and never changed, we keep making our tours better and more successful. To help you keep in touch, we have added phone charging points and Wi-Fi to our buses.

Highlights and insights – unlike many other tour descriptions, ours tell you the highlights and itinerary so that you know what you will see and what to expect, we don’t just make it up on the day. We know that it is easy to just follow a route, visiting a long list of places but that is like watching a film with no sound or subtitles, you just don’t get it. Our tours make the difference with our drivers and guides so you know where you are and why you are there, the best photo spots, best places to eat, all the stories, all the knowledge and those memorable Wow moments.

Giving back – one thing that we are all passionate about is giving something back to and supporting our local businesses, wildlife and attractions. We aren’t the type of company who are happy to exploit the Lake District purely for our own profit. We refuse to expect the people and places we visit to give us so much without us giving them something back in return which is why we are corporate and individual members of over 20 local charities, organisations and societies.

Follow us on social media:

Instagram   Facebook   Pinterest