Section I · The Ranked Twelve
From best to twelfth.
Sorted by what each pocket does well at its price point. The number-one pick is the one we would book first given a free pick from all twelve.
No. I
The Windermere and Bowness lakeside house, six-bedroom.
Typical: 6 BR, sleeps 12. Pocket: the shores of Windermere, Bowness. Peak rate: $16,000 to $26,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds, parking. Usually not: chef, daily staff.
Why it ranks here: Windermere is the largest lake and the heart of the district, and the shore around Bowness holds the grandest lakeside houses, with water frontage, boathouses, the steamers, and the best restaurants and access in the park. It clears the rest because no other pocket pairs the lake frontage, the house quality, and the access at this scale.
What we would change: Windermere and Bowness are the busiest part of the district in summer, so the best houses sit on the quieter west shore or up the lake away from the town. Take a shore house with its own frontage rather than one near the Bowness pier.
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No. II
The Ullswater valley house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Ullswater, Glenridding to Pooley Bridge. Peak rate: $14,000 to $24,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds. Usually not: chef, the village on foot.
Why it ranks here: Ullswater is the second-largest lake and the most dramatic, a curving water under Helvellyn between Glenridding and Pooley Bridge, with the Ullswater Steamer, the Aira Force falls, and quieter shores than Windermere, the pick for a group that wants the grandest scenery with fewer crowds. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the most striking lake.
What we would change: Ullswater sits on the eastern edge near Penrith, so it is a little apart from the central lakes, which are a drive over the passes. Book it for the drama and the quiet, with the central district a scenic drive away.
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No. III
The Grasmere and Ambleside house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Grasmere and Ambleside, the central lakes. Peak rate: $13,000 to $22,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds, parking. Usually not: chef, lake frontage.
Why it ranks here: Grasmere and Ambleside sit at the center of the district, the Wordsworth country of Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount, with the best position for reaching every lake and fell and a good run of restaurants and shops, the pick for a group that wants the most central base. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the heart of the lakes.
What we would change: the central villages are popular and walkers fill them in summer, and most houses sit above the lakes rather than on them. Book it for the central position and the literary country, accepting that the lake is a short walk rather than the garden.
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No. IV
The Keswick and Derwentwater house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Keswick and Derwentwater, the north. Peak rate: $13,000 to $22,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds. Usually not: chef, the town on foot.
Why it ranks here: Keswick is the main town of the northern lakes on Derwentwater below Skiddaw, with the Borrowdale valley running south into the high fells, the pick for a group that wants the dramatic northern scenery and a market-town base. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the north and the Borrowdale walks.
What we would change: the north is a 30 to 40-minute drive from Windermere and the central lakes, so this is its own corner of the park rather than a central base. Book it for Borrowdale, Skiddaw, and the northern lakes, accepting the distance from the center.
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No. V
The Coniston Water house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Coniston Water, the southwest. Peak rate: $12,000 to $20,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds. Usually not: chef, the village on foot.
Why it ranks here: Coniston Water sits below the Old Man of Coniston in the quieter southwest, the lake of Ruskin's Brantwood and Donald Campbell's speed records, with the steam yacht Gondola and good fell walks, the pick for a group that wants a calmer lake with real character. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the southwest and the Coniston fells.
What we would change: Coniston is smaller and the village modest, so the appeal is the lake and the fells rather than the dining and shops, which are better at Ambleside. Book it for the quiet water and the Old Man, with the central villages a short drive.
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No. VI
The Great and Little Langdale house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: the Langdale valleys, central west. Peak rate: $12,000 to $20,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds. Usually not: chef, a lake, a village on foot.
Why it ranks here: Great and Little Langdale are the fell valleys west of Ambleside under the Langdale Pikes, the pocket for serious walkers and climbers, with stone farmhouses, the old inns, and the highest country in England close at hand, the pick for a group whose week is about the fells. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the walking and the climbing.
What we would change: the Langdales are valleys rather than lake shores, so this is fell-and-farmhouse country, not waterside, with the lakes a short drive out. Book it for the peaks and the trails, accepting a valley setting over a lake one.
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No. VII
The Cartmel and southern lakes house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Cartmel and the southern fringe. Peak rate: $12,000 to $20,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds, parking. Usually not: chef, a lake at the door.
Why it ranks here: Cartmel is the village at the southern gateway with its medieval priory and the L'Enclume restaurant, the pocket for a group that wants the best dining in the region and an easier arrival from the south, with the lakes a short drive north. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the food and the southern access.
What we would change: Cartmel sits below the lakes proper, so the scenery is gentler and the water is a 20-minute drive north. Book it for the dining and the easy arrival, with the central lakes a short run up.
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No. VIII
The Hawkshead and Esthwaite house, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Hawkshead and Esthwaite Water, the central south. Peak rate: $11,000 to $18,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds. Usually not: chef, a big lake at the door.
Why it ranks here: Hawkshead is the old village between Windermere and Coniston near Beatrix Potter's Hill Top farm and the small Esthwaite Water, a central pocket of farmhouses with both big lakes a short drive, the pick for a group that wants a quiet central base off the main road. A four-bedroom here is the value pick for the central position.
What we would change: Esthwaite is a small lake and the village tiny, so the appeal is the central position and the Potter country rather than a marquee waterside. Book it for the quiet and the access to both big lakes, accepting a modest local water.
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No. IX
The Buttermere and western valleys house, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Buttermere, Crummock, and the west. Peak rate: $10,000 to $18,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds. Usually not: chef, a village, restaurants near.
Why it ranks here: Buttermere and Crummock Water lie in the remote western valleys reached over the Honister and Newlands passes, the quietest and most striking corner of the district, with few houses and fewer crowds, the pick for a group that wants real solitude and the high western fells. A four-bedroom here is the pick for the wildest, quietest lakes.
What we would change: the west is remote and the passes are narrow and slow, so the towns, shops, and restaurants are a real drive away. Book it for the solitude and the scenery, accepting the long, winding roads and the lack of services.
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No. X
The Eden Valley and eastern fringe house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: the Eden Valley, east of the fells. Peak rate: $10,000 to $18,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, grounds, parking. Usually not: chef, a lake, the fells at the door.
Why it ranks here: the Eden Valley runs east of the high fells around Penrith, gentler farm country of sandstone halls and manor houses with the lakes a short drive west and the Pennines east, the pick for a group that wants a country-house base with more land and easier weather than the central lakes. A five-bedroom here is the value pick for the calmer eastern country.
What we would change: the Eden is outside the lakes proper, so the water and the high fells are a 20 to 30-minute drive west. Book it for the manor houses, the land, and the gentler skies, with the lakes a short run into the park.
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No. XI
The Bassenthwaite and northern fells house, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Bassenthwaite Lake, below Skiddaw. Peak rate: $10,000 to $16,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds. Usually not: chef, a village, restaurants near.
Why it ranks here: Bassenthwaite is the northernmost lake below Skiddaw, a quiet water of ospreys and forest north of Keswick, the pocket for a group that wants the northern fells and a calm shore away from the busier south. A four-bedroom here is the pick for the far north and the Skiddaw country.
What we would change: Bassenthwaite is at the northern edge, so the central lakes and most of the dining are a 40-minute drive south through Keswick. Book it for the northern quiet and the fells, accepting the distance from the center.
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No. XII
The Lakeside and Newby Bridge house, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: the foot of Windermere, Newby Bridge. Peak rate: $10,000 to $16,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, hot tub, grounds, parking. Usually not: chef, the town near, the high fells at the door.
Why it ranks here: Lakeside and Newby Bridge sit at the southern foot of Windermere where the lake meets the River Leven, the gateway from the M6 and the southern steamer pier, with woodland houses at the lowest rates near the big lake, the contrarian pick for a group that wants Windermere access at a lower number. A five-bedroom here is the lowest-number pick near the largest lake.
What we would change: the foot of the lake is woodland and a little apart from the main villages, so Bowness and the central lakes are a 15 to 20-minute drive north. Book it for the easy arrival and the Windermere access, with the busier center up the lake.
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