So what can you do in the Lake District when it rains?

“If we didn’t get the rain, we wouldn’t have the lakes!”

This is a commonly used line up here in the Lake District, and to be fair, Seathwaite in Borrowdale is officially the wettest inhabited place in England with an average of 130 inches of rain per year, however, it is also one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and it’s all thanks to the rain.

If you’ve booked to come to the Lakes, you’re probably expecting at least one rainy day during your break, so what can you do to avoid feeling like you’ve missed out because you haven’t been able to get up on the fells, but doesn’t involve yet another outdoor clothing shop?

Well, as the endless seach engine results will tell you, there are hundreds of options to choose from. So to help narrow the field a bit, here is a rundown of our Top 5 Things to Do in the Lake District when it Rains…

1. Hunker down in the cinema – for those ‘raining stair-rods’ days
   

   The Royalty in Bowness or the Roxy in Ulverston – both fantastic examples of cinematic history with the main screens still in the original 1930’s auditoriums. Settle down in the balcony while the retro adverts play, then soak up the vintage surroundings while watching the latest releases.
   Zeffirellis in Ambleside – With 5 screens to choose from you’re bound to find something you want to watch. There is also a restaurant, café and jazz bar under the same roof, so if it’s really blowing a hooley out there you can just work through them all!

2. Take a boat trip with Windermere Lake Cruises – for those ‘drizzle that gets you soaked’ days

   These guys have a fantastic selection of boat journeys you can take, and if you time it right you can basically boat hop all around the lake. It’s by far the best way to nosey at all the beautiful lake fronted houses rumoured to be owned by Hollywood stars. The Swan, the Teal and the Tern are the main stars of the fleet dating back to the Vicotrian era, and they each have a bar on board.  Bonus!

3. Visit the World of Beatrix Potter – for those ‘should rain really fall at that angle?’ days

   It’s not a proper trip to the Lake District if you haven’t had your Beatrix Potter fix. This is a great wet weather choice for anyone with younger children in particular. Follow the trail through the exhibition meeting all the famous Potter characters, and watching as they come to life. And as befits any Lake District attraction, there is a lovely café and gift shop at the end of the trail.

4. Take a trip back in time at Honister Slate Mine – for those ‘it’ll clear by lunchtime’ days

   The Mine Tour is suitable for all ages, and is the perfect way to get out of the rain. This fully guided tour takes you through the inner workings of the slate mine. If you’re feeling particularly brave (and are over the age of 10), you can also Climb the Mine and follow the original underground passages that the mine workers used 100 years ago, and hopefully the rain will have cleared by the time you pop out at the top of Fleetwith Pike.

5. Just go out and get wet anyway with River Deep Mountain High! – for those ‘we didn’t come here to be put off by the weather’ days
   

   As if we would do a blog post about things to do when it’s raining, and not include our own fantastically fun activities! If it’s raining you might as well get wet, is what we say. But which activity will you choose?
   Gorge Walking is the most obvious activity to do when it’s raining as it involves putting a wetsuit on and getting seriously wet anyway. Kayaking and Raft Building are also ‘wet’ activities that we provide wetsuits for and you would expect to end up getting pretty wet, but all of our activities are accessible in the rain and we provide full waterproofs free of charge for all our customers to borrow during their activities too.

   

   

   

Not convinced yet? Maybe this reveiw of a particulalry wet Mountain Biking session will help you see that the rain most certainly does not stop play here at River Deep Mountain High.

My friend and I celebrated my looming 40th birthday with a half day mountain biking in Grizedale Forest. Driving to meet our guide/instructor we had hoped the rain would abate a little, it didn’t.

Will met us, drove us to the forest, kitted us out in appropriate gear and after a little coaching and gear practise off we went.

It was tough, exhilarating, wet and so much fun! You should have seen us flying down them there mountains! We went to the ‘view point’ but the weather was so vile we couldn’t see a thing (it would have been stunning), so Will got out his shelter, a big tent thing we all huddled in and produced some hot chocolate for us. We sat in that red tent and howled with laughter, luckily there wasn’t a soul about!

The day finished with us back at a nearby hotel so we could get changed, we couldn’t have been wetter if we’d got in the lake. But as we said, we’re not made of sherbet!

Thanks Will, we shall be back, kayaking next time!

 

So no matter what the weather is doing, you can alsways find something to do in the Lake District. If we’ve convinced you just to get out and ignore the rain, you can check availability on our website, drop us an email enquiry, or call Emma and Beth directly on 015395 28666.

You can also like us on Facebook to keep posted with any special days we add as we post these as events.