Lesser-Known Lakeland: 6 Unusual Places of Interest in the Lake District

“The Lake District is considered to be one of England’s most naturally beautiful regions and is home to numerous lakes, mountains and forests. Unsurprisingly, it’s a popular holiday spot, with Lake Windermere, Scafell Pike and Beatrix Potter’s home at Hill Top some of its most famous attractions. But there’s more to it than these celebrated landmarks. Here are six unusual places to get you off the beaten track in the Lake District.

The Bowder Stone
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This giant boulder balanced precariously on its edge has drawn visitors since local man Joseph Pocklington found it in 1798. You can don your climbing shoes and scale the side, or go up a visitor-friendly ladder to the top. It’s believed the 9m-high boulder came to rest after a glacial rock-fall. It’s located just south of Derwentwater and the village of Grange.

St Olaf’s Church
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St Olaf’s Church is one of England’s smallest and simplest. It’s also close to its deepest lake, Wastwater, and its highest peak, Scafell Pike. Located in the hamlet Wasdale Head, its exact age is unknown. However, its believed that the timber ceiling beams inside are said to have come from a Viking longship.

In the 1970s, it was given the name St Olaf’s after the medieval king and saint of Norway. Church services are held during the summer months, and you can pay homage to several fallen fell-climbers who lie in rest in the churchyard.

Loweswater Rope Swings
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Loweswater is one of the Lake District’s quieter lakes, and on its shores are two practically perfect rope swings. You have to walk halfway along the south shore of the lake to find the rope swings, which are located near the Holme Wood Bothy, a bare-bones cottage that makes for an excellent off-the-grid night’s stay. The swings face out across the lake, with amazing views of Darling Fell and Low Fell to the north.

The Jumble Room
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Most visitors to Grasmere, which was described by the poet William Wordsworth as “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found”, tend to head straight to its most famous eating spot – the Grasmere Gingerbread Shop. Which makes sense.

However, hidden just around the bend on the other side of the village is the quirky bistro The Jumble Room. Both the interior decor and the menu live up to the name: a mix of bohemian wall murals, mismatched dinnerware and bright colours, plus a menu of international dishes, from Malaysian curries to British seafood.

Dow Crag & Seathwaite Tarn
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Two of the Lake District’s most popular peaks are visible from an under-explored walk over Dow Crag. The scramble over the 778m ridge is not an easy walk, but results in amazing views of Scafell Pike to the northwest as well as the towering Coniston fells to the east.

The walk also leads around to the very wild-feeling Seathwaite Tarn, and down through the Duddon Valley, where on a clear day, you can glimpse the Irish Sea.

Old Stamp House
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Wordsworth wrote some of his most beloved poems in the Lake District. If you’ve already been to Dove Cottage, where he lived, and Dora’s Field, the daffodil meadow he planted for his daughter, you can take a deeper dive by having dinner in the basement of the building where he worked.

Wordsworth worked for 30 years as Distributor of Stamps for Westmoreland. The building’s cellar now houses the Old Stamp House, a fine dining restaurant where you can sample Cumbrian specialities made with locally sourced and foraged ingredients.

Find somewhere to stay by checking out our hotels in the Lake District.”