Wordsworth, who liked to wander around alone as a NIMBY, tried to prevent the railway from coming to his beloved Lake District.
If only he had heard of the A591 earlier on an average summer weekend: a constant stream of SUVs, sports cars and family cars, filled with people taking a hard left off the M6 because they wanted to sample Michelin-starred food, stay in five-star hotels, see William and Dorothy’s quaint cottage and admire the Wainwrights and water features without a care in the world.
“It’s Blackpool, really,” says John Higgins of Barrow-in-Furness’s Dock Museum. The manager of Whitehaven’s Rum Story says the same.
Cumbrians have become accustomed to the influx of wealthy foreigners who flock to a handful of guidebook attractions, but they are convinced that this is bad for the local economy, does not reflect the region well and does not offer the best value for money to visitors.
But avoiding the overtourism in the Lake District is fairly easy. I took the train from Preston to Barrow and then on to Whitehaven and Carlisle, then used the legendary Carlisle to Settle line to get home. It wasn’t without its problems, with trains being cancelled. But it was generally stress-free, and to be honest, you can do the “other Cumbria” by car if you prefer.
When I say Cumbria, I mean Lancashire, of course – at least initially. For the Furness Peninsula is part of that hallowed county, and its industrial history, its mellifluous, hard-to-place accent and its general attitude mean that it has more in common with St Helens than with Keswick.
The Dock Museum is a perfect introduction to iron, steel, shipbuilding and submarines.
Walney Island has a huge beach that is only visited by locals. Piel Island is peaceful and car-free, with a beautiful pub where the innkeeper is a “king” (one of those customs that sounds very old but isn’t) and an evocative ruined castle.
I also visited Furness Abbey, the Tintern of these parts, which inspired two of Wordsworth’s sonnets. Just south of Barrow is Black Combe, a 1,970ft fell that is pretty much lost if you start near sea level. So if your Lake District trip needs a summit, here’s your chance.
I took it easy and rode the Cumbrian Coast Train around the base of the hill on my way to Whitehaven. The view to the right was classic Lakeland: mountains, sheep, changeable weather. To the left was the sea, sandy beaches and clear skies, and also strange little settlements I had never read or heard of before; Nethertown and Braystones looked like Essex plots, but were in fact created from temporary camps for the military and later for contractors at Sellafield.
These modest dwellings offer some of the finest coastal views in England.
As for Whitehaven, I expected little – industrial decline, empty shops, perhaps a fishless harbour. What I found was a sun-drenched, gentrified town, a lovely ball around the harbour and the Raven’s Nest, a newly opened veggie café and cocktail bar run by Bex from New Zealand and Neil from East Yorkshire.
They chose this town because the rents are more affordable than in the Lakes. I stayed in Parton and walked along the King Charles III England Coast Path to Moresby Hall Hotel, a 17th century country house with Grade II listed status. B&B costs around £120. Try getting that in Ambleside.
I love a coal town, so the next day I stopped in Workington. Like Barrow, it used to be an industrial powerhouse, supplying rail lines to Canada, Iran, Sri Lanka and Sudan. Unlike most of the coal-mining towns in the north-west, Workington had access to the sea and had been exporting black gold to Ireland since the 17th century.
The old Oxford Picture Theatre is now the Henry Bessemer pub (I’ll let you guess who owns it), named after the man who transformed Britain’s steel industry. Workington sounded like his name, but his heritage is deep and important.
The line to West Yorkshire from Carlisle offers travellers new views of Cumberland and the Dales, and passes hills on either side, including the tiered Pen-y-ghent and the great Ingleborough plateau, as well as Dent station – the highest railway station in England – and the Ribblehead Viaduct, which arguably looks more impressive than it does on the surface.
A friendly staff member was selling 2025 calendars showing Settle-Carlisle trolley service workers in various stages of undress – a valuable project supporting the air ambulance – but I kept my gaze fixed on the rugged mountain peaks and grassy furrows beyond.
During my trip around Cumbria I came to many places where I could reach lakes and mountains: Ennerdale from Whitehaven; Wast Water from Seascale; Coniston Water and the Old Man from Ulverston.
From Workington you can easily hop on a bus to visit Cockermouth, Wordsworth’s birthplace and much more original than Grasmere.
The west coast of Cumbria is dotted with nature reserves and has great walking trails, beautiful beaches at St Bees, Allonby and Silloth, the community-focused Florence Arts Centre in Egremont, the ancient salt pans at Crosscanonby and many Roman sites. And to top it all off, there are hardly any tourists.
If only there were a railway linking Dove Cottage and Sellafield, via Scafell Pike – linking the fantasies and realities of this misunderstood and sometimes mismanaged county. Would Wordsworth turn in his grave? I don’t think so. He would realise that the hordes that gather in Ambleside and the lines of angry cars that surround it are far more anti-Lakes than railways full of curious walkers.
Don’t be carried away by the current; wander like a confused cloud, alone when you wish, and meet some of the Cumbrian people as you holiday in and around their beautiful national park.
Rail “ranger” passes are available for the Cumbria Coast and Establishment-Carlisle routes, as well as regular tickets on Northern Rail
The downside of four more overtourism hotspots
Yorkshire Dales
Malham, Hawes and Bolton Abbey are the places where your awe and wonder are likely to be drowned out by noise and numbers. But the Dales are, after all, just dales (i.e. valleys).
Why not try Otley, the Washburn Valley and the Valley of Desolation in Lower Wharfedale; the Howgills and Sedbergh (and the extraordinary Quaker meeting house at Brigflatts); or the Bowland fringes of Ribblesdale? A recently launched bus service now links Clitheroe with Settle via Whitewell and Slaidburn, so you can see the best of both the Lancs and Yorks.
South West England
The coast is the main attraction here, but a handful of areas attract crowds, particularly in South Devon, Lynton and Lynmouth, North Cornwall between Padstow and St Ives, and around the Lizard and Land’s End. In Devon, try Teignmouth, an honest seaside resort with good pubs and great coastal walks.
Take a cheap B&B in Newton Abbot and combine the fringes of Dartmoor with beach trips and country pubs. In Cornwall, why not base yourself in Redruth – the Penventon Park Hotel is lovely – and commute to footpaths, historic mining sites and beaches – just like a Cornish person.
West Wales
It is not for nothing that parts of Pembrokeshire are called Little England. But most tourists flock to St Davids and Tenby. Outside these areas it is not so busy. Amroth is the southern end of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. From here walk east to Laugharne and explore the estuary fringes of Carmarthenshire.
In Pembrokeshire, Trellwyn Fach is a lost patch of rainforest that is being revived as part of the Wildlife Trusts 100-year Atlantic Rainforest Restoration Programme; the surrounding Gwaun Valley already has remnants of Celtic rainforest. The nearby Preseli Hills are great for walkers and are unaffected by the traffic of the north coast.
Scottish highlands
The Highland area covers almost 10,000 square miles and is the largest local authority area in the UK. But every summer hundreds of thousands of people flock to its picturesque harbours, photogenic viewpoints and Harry Potter trains, not to mention searching for a non-existent monster.
Head northeast and explore the Flow Country, a vast expanse of peatland that was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 26. It’s uninhabited, undeveloped, in recovery, and backed by a few remote Munros and Corbetts in Sutherland – should you need that aerial view. Wick and Thurso in Caithness lie at the northeastern edge of the moors and are great for walking, whisky drinking and wildlife watching. Find out more here.