Day 9: Haverthwaite steam train, Lakeside and Lake Windermere

Dollymixture · 25 Jul 21, 10:52 PM

9 days in now on our Land’s End to John O’Groats road trip!

We had a decent nights sleep in the caravan at Haven Lakeland. It’s the same size as the caravan we stayed in at Perran Sands but the layout is much better and seems more spacious. Plus it is a much nicer temperature now at about 22, a little cloudy today but no rain forecast!

Today we had breakfast in the van and then drove to Haverthwaite Steam railway which is about 20 minutes away.
We wanted to get the 9.40 train, and arrived in good time with plenty of parking available.
We purchased combined tickets for the train from Haverthwaite to Lakeside, and the boat from
Lakeside to Bowness (return) - it was about £66 for the six of us.

The station is really lovely - clean, good facilities and lots of pretty flowers. There is also a nice play area and a woodland walk.

The train was already in the station so we boarded after buying tickets, and had plenty of choice of seats - no prebooking available anymore, so I was a bit worried how busy the train may get.

It was lovely on the train but the actual ride is very slow! It took about 20 minutes. Still we enjoyed it and it was nice the dogs could come too.

We got off at Lakeside and straight onto the boat to Bowness. It was very busy and there was no limit to capacity and a bit of a free for all. We were lucky enough to get somewhere to sit as we were mid queue. It was still early so I was surprised how busy it was!

We enjoyed the boat ride but it was quite chilly - we weren’t used to it after 10 days of heatwave! 😂

When we arrived in Bowness we headed for the boat hire, as we had a self drive boat booked for 11.30.
We had to wait a while as there were no boats in, and I overhead them telling people that they were fully booked for the day, so was glad I had precooked. It cost £44 plus £30 deposit for an hour.

Once a boat arrived back, we were given life jackets and a quick explanation of how to operate the boat and where to avoid.
Koolie started us off and then Sonny took over and all the kids had a turn for ten mins each. Lila was a bit nervous and kept oversteering and getting scared if there was another boat in the vicinity, but she gave it a good go, and the older kids loved it!
It was great fun and something a bit different - I am glad we booked it! The dogs absolutely loved it

After our hour of sailing we took the boat back (slight panic of not knowing which direction to go to get back to the pier - I had to get google maps up!) Amber sailed the boat back in.
We were all hungry now so took a stroll up into the town to find somewhere to eat.
We settled on fish and chips at Vinegar Jones - and it was a great choice, absolutely delicious and they had loads of seating upstairs. They also told us to bring the dogs in, although there were no signs saying it was dog friendly! The staff were so friendly and helpful - definitely recommend this place

We had a walk through the shops and then back down to the pier. Bought some ice cream and then boarded the boat back to Lakeside. It was much busier but we managed to get seats downstairs. The boat left really late and I would have been worried about our train connection had I not known that they wait for connecting ferries!

Then it was back on the train (it was waiting for us, phew!) - much harder to get a seat this time and we had to walk to the end of the train, but found a little private carriage that was very Harry Potter like!

Back in Haverthwaite, Lila had a play in the park whilst we took the little woodland walks for the dogs.

We drove back to the caravan and had a Chinese for dinner and an evening of watching ‘The Chase’ repeats 😂

YorkshireT · 26 Jul 21, 06:33 AM

We went on those electric boats at half term, they are quite good for the money. It was lovely and hot when we did it though in the previous ‘heat wave’.
We also couldn’t get back and had to get google maps up, it’s easy to go the wrong side of an island, we then had to turn left and were 15 mins late back but were not charged more.

**margyloveswdw** · 26 Jul 21, 08:31 AM

Great day!

P&S · 26 Jul 21, 08:30 PM

Another great day can't believe you are on day 9 already! It's been such an adventure

Dollymixture · 27 Jul 21, 12:16 AM

Yes it’s definitely good value and I was impressed that the deposit was refunded the same day! Glad it wasn’t just us that got a bit lost - seemed impossible on the way out, but looked completely different coming back! Haha!

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

We went on those electric boats at half term, they are quite good for the money. It was lovely and hot when we did it though in the previous ‘heat wave’.
We also couldn’t get back and had to get google maps up, it’s easy to go the wrong side of an island, we then had to turn left and were 15 mins late back but were not charged more.

Dollymixture · 27 Jul 21, 12:17 AM

It’s flying by! Although some days are very long and tiring, it’s definitely been an adventure so far

Originally Posted by P&S

Another great day can't believe you are on day 9 already! It's been such an adventure

**Mental Minnie** · 2 Aug 21, 01:32 AM

Ah a taste of home, watching the Chase and having a Chinese take away for tea.

Another great day.

**OB1LukeLucas** · 5 Aug 21, 11:19 AM

Another wonderful day, the train and boat looked fun.