Grizedale Forest

If you are looking to book a break in the Lake District through Cumbrian cottage and hotel comparison chances are you love the outdoors, maybe due to the beauty of nature or maybe because of the adventures that are available through sailing, exploring and getting to grips with the countryside.

If you are visiting the Lake District for the adventure side of nature then you are well catered for with a range of activities and one we would particularly recommend is Grizedale Forest!

Grizedale Forest and Visitors Centre welcomes 200,000 visitors per year and is a forest covering 25km² located in the South of the Lake District, conveniently situated between two popular lakes; Coniston and Windermere!

Overall the forest is a combination of pine trees and broadleaf woodland areas alongside miles of bike trails, walking trails and adventure zones. There are lots of things to do at Grizedale Forest:

Cycling

This is the perfect place to cycle with miles of different cycling routes available, these cover a range of skill levels so even beginners can get involved and cycle through beautiful fresh scenery. There are five cycle trails to choose from and these are colour coded throughout the park and following the markers can be part of the fun! They all differ in length and ability with the easiest only taking 30 minutes compared to the more demanding 3.5 hour trail which in parts is known to be quite thrilling! All of the routes go through stunning scenery and as the forest is located on the side of the hill you will feel higher up than you actually are and get the chance to take a breather and admire the spectacular unspoilt views across the countryside.

You don’t need to worry about transporting your own bike to the forest as a range of bikes and accessories are available to hire!

Go Ape

Grizedale Forest is home to the popular Go Ape adventure trail which involves a range of platforms, rope bridges and a range of adrenaline fuelled ways of getting from one tree top to another. Overall the course will take about 3 hours to complete and is open to anyone over 1.4m tall and 10 years of age!

While you are travelling through the forest, whether on foot, bike or via zip wire 200 metres up in the air you can marvel the stunning views over the Lake District and admire the 60 hidden sculptures hiding in the woods! The sculptures are a collection that is part of the Art Roots programme which has been developed in order to add further art pieces and give a new dimension to the forest.

The forest has facilities to make your visit go smoothly; toilets, learning zones and food which available in the shop or in The Café. You can also bring your own food and go for a fun picnic in one of the designated picnic zones which are scattered throughout the park.

The Lake District is actually a large region located in the mountainous area of North West England (Cumbria). Before going, you should know that the mountains there are referred to as fells. Whereas fells was meant as grazing land in the past, it has come to mean any high ground in North West England, thus a hill may be a fell, or a mountain may be a fell. The 19th century poet William Wordsworth wrote a tremendous amount of his poetry about the Lake District. Scafell Pike is the highest mountain there and that is also where the longest and deepest lakes can be found, Windermere and Wastwater respectively.

The area does boast some major settlements such as Bowness-on-Windermere, Ambleside, Windermere and Keswick all of which are within the boundaries of the national park. Outside the national park are assorted towns, villages, hamlets and even many isolated farmstead, all of which play an important role as a component of the tourist economy of the area. Many of the smaller communities are served by a very intricate network of minor roads, but road growth is certainly not in the best interest of the Lake District. After all, its main attraction is to commune with nature.

Seasonal passenger ferries are available in Ullswater, Derwent Water and Coniston Water. All together, there are 92 different lakes to be found in the Lake District. There are plenty of Lake district hotels as well as bed and breakfasts and self catering accommodations.

How the Area was Formed

The major valleys and lakes are said to have been formed by repeated glaciations. Geologists speak of approximately 2 million years for the Lake District to become what it is today. The higher fells in the Lake District ordinarily have rocky ground, but when a lower altitude is encountered, the ground may be in the form of moorland or even boggy. There is a lot of rainfall in the lower areas, but even when the higher slopes receive rain, the native oaks as well as the conifers allow the rainwater to be driven below.

Lakeland Fells and Valleys

There are a number of valleys known specifically by their names. For instance there is Borrowdale, Derwent, Buttermere, Lorton Vale, Ennerdale, Wasdale, Eskdale and Dunnerdale valleys, moving counterclockwise from the North. Other valleys are known as Kentmere, Longsleddale, Haweswater, and finally Ullswater. The high fells, going from the lowest to the highest are named Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Scafell and finally Skafell Pike which has a 3,210 ft. elevation.

What to Do In Lake District

Whether you are a child or an adult, Mother Nature calls to you from here. Gardens are everywhere, blossoming with magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias, euphorbia, and azaleas. The lakes themselves abound with fish, and everywhere you turn are awe-inspiring vistas. Swifts, martins and swallows build nests and give song, while badgers, rabbits, foxes and deer move through the forests. There are boats of all kinds, some large and some that only fit one human being on the lakes. Swimming is everywhere, as are bicycles and horseback riding.