Cumbria and the Lake District is famous for breathtaking mountains, exciting walks and wonderful lakes, however, most of these are enjoyed best in good weather and with our British summertime being a little bit unpredictable, people often ask us what there is to do if they get a rainy day on their visit. Well, not to worry, Cumbria is #NotJustLakes and there is an abundance of things to do when we do have a bit of a drizzly day!
Only 10 miles away from Chimney Gill is The Rheged Centre where you’ll find exhibitions and art, all linked to Cumbria and often by either a Cumbrian artist of a leading cultural organisation. There is also a huge, iMax cinema screen, which is the largest north of Manchester, showcasing documentaries exploring nature, wild places or rural life, children’s movies or specially made films about Cumbria. Whilst watching, you can enjoy traditional sweets and locally made ice cream! For the shopaholic, there are lots of shops at Rheged too, ranging from the ‘’Made in Cumbria’’ collection to the Wool Shop, Toy Shop and Outdoor shop. Once you’re all shopped out, you can then recuperate in the Spa facilities there! For the little ones, there’s the family Theatre, showcasing touring productions whose shows are energetic inclusive and fun, and an indoor play area! You can see why Rheged is one of our favorite places – rain or shine for that matter!
If you’re set on seeing the Lakes, but the weather just isn’t pulling through for you to go on a walk, why don’t you take a boat tour along Coniston, Windermere or Ullswater? These tours are undercover, have interesting commentary and some of the boats even have a bar!
The boat tour of Windermere starts at either Bowness, Ambleside or Lakeside and Windermere Lake Cruises offer trips from 45 minutes to 3 hours – or even offer a hop on hop off ticket!
Coniston Launch offers regularly scheduled cruises of two different circular routes on Coniston water. You can either stay on the boat for the full cruise or stop off at any of the jetties to catch a later boat back.
Ullswater Steamer has connections at Glenridding, Howtown, Pooley Bridge Piers and National Trust Aira Force Pier and their cruise times vary from 20 – 120 minutes.
Not far from us at Chimney Gill, there’s also the Lakes Aquarium – located on the southern shore of Lake Windermere at Lakeside, Newby Bridge. Here you can see fish, walk through underwater tunnels, learn about otters as they are fed and get hands on with snakes and giant snails! The aquarium is also involved in conservation projects on a local, national and international basis, for example, they have recently welcomed four baby dwarf crocodiles! A great day out for kids and adults alike!
Just a snippet of our favorite things to do if there’s a rainy day in Cumbria!