July 18, 2025 • 8 mins
"It’s undoubtedly Britain’s equivalent to our Queenstown Lakes district. Windermere and the Lake District is England’s favourite national park, a sprawling tourist honeypot that stretches across hundreds of square kilometres of rugged Cumbrian countryside, woodland valleys, shimmering tarns and lakes – all backed by strikingly craggy mountains. It was the 18th century Romantic poets who captured the world’s imagination, igniting the region’s first tourism wave. Since then, the stature of the Lake District has only grown as a getaway destination, the wave has never crested, culminating in the district securing World Heritage status just eight years ago."
Read Mike's full article here.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks AB Mike Cardle.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
He's travel correspondent. He's here this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Hey, good morning, Jack.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I was just saying to Libby since Antonio Prebble was
on your show a couple of weeks ago with Francesca,
I have become totally addicted to Outrageous Fortune.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh have you really did? You watched it back in
the day, though, didn't you?
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Well, I was saying to Libby, I didn't actually watch
season one or two when it was first on, So
I've been in a major retro mode Jack with my
viewing lately. And yeah, oh man, it's such vintage New
Zealand television.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Is excellent New Zealand TV. Yeah. I should actually go
back and watch it as well, because I loved it
when it was on I watched it or when it
was on. But yeah, it's obviously right. Yeah, been a
little bit of we've at a time between drinks, so yeah,
go thing to go back. I mean, it is, like
you say, it is kind of vintage dare we use
that word iconic New Zealand TV. Anyway, we're focusing on
(01:06):
Windermere in the UK's Lake District this morning. Is this
the kind of England's most popular national.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Park, No doubt about it, Jack, I reckon it's Blighty's
answer to Queenstown Lakes or Towpoor because it's just this vast,
watery and outdoors you play grand in the Cumbrian countryside.
It's got craggy mountains, it's got scenery glore, it was
(01:32):
recently crowned with World Heritage status, and it's overrun with tourists.
And the one thing I do really want to hammer
is do not go there in the summer peak. Don't
go there today or tomorrow because the holiday hordes they
swarm like midges. I was there in May and it
had been probably thirty years since I was last there.
So when I was there in May, it was just
(01:53):
pitch perfect, like the weather, the spring weather sparkling and
just no crowd.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
So dodge that peak season.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Wow. Okay, yeah, that's very good to know. Where is
a good base though if you do dodge it?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Yeah, well, I would say, because the district sprawls for
like hundreds of square kilometers, you really want to find
a central location. And Bonus on Windermere would be my
pick it's a very perky tourist town. It's got all
the tourist trappings, but it's actually really easy to reach,
so for example, you can train there from London. And
(02:30):
in fact I loved this when I was in Windermere.
William Wordsworth he actually penned a pollen because he was
so pissed off with the railway arriving into Windermere back
in the eighteen forties, and his poem says, is then
no nook of English ground secure from rash assault. And
(02:53):
his name pops up all over the lake district. His
legacy is everywhere. In fact, if you go to Gabra
Park in the Lake district, that is where you will
find that vast drift of daffodils which inspired a certain poem.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah right, so what is quite what is so distinctive
about Lake Windermere.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
It's the big Daddy. So this is England's largest lake.
So a big, glossy, deep blue body of water stretches
for miles. Grab a kayak, grab a rowboat, take a
cruise and just marinate yourself in the bucolic glory of
the of the scenery.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
It is so gorgeous it could be new Zealand.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
You know, it's just so fabulously spectacular. The big point
of difference, you've got all that old world architecture. So
all along the lakefront of Windermere there are these stately
stone country manners and they all like huddle around the
lake edge like safari animals at the watering hole. So
(03:56):
that's when you know it's not New Zealand. But the
landscape is really so blissful. Jack I can certainly understand
why the Princess of Wales spent so much time there
as part of her cancer recovery. It is just a
therapeutic place.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, oh wonderful. So for Beatrix Potter fans, what should
you prioritize? What would you recommend they check out?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Ah, you could go potty on the Potter Trail. Her
footprints are everywhere, So first of all, I would say
check out ray Castle because that's where she holidayed as
a child, and that captured her imagination and her lifelong
love affair with the lake district. She's got two homes
(04:39):
and if you have kids in tow, definitely treat them
to the World of Betricks Potter, which is sort of
like part theater, part museum, but it's where Peter Rabbit
and Jemima Puddle Dark and friends, they all come to life. Remarkably,
jack Potter went on to own fourteen farms in the
Lake district, and she bequeathed all that farmland and her
(05:02):
homes and all the royalties from her box to the trust.
So she is quite the gift that keeps on giving.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, that's amazing. So what about Grassmere?
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah, just north of Lake Windermere. Grassmere is your quintessential
chocolate box village. And this is where Wordsworth lived, so
you can go and see his home, the creeper Clad
Dove Cottage, and his whole family are actually.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Buried in the church graveyard.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
The best of all for sweet treats, the village is
home to Grassmere Gingerbread. Now, I don't think your dime
it doesn't gingerbread biscuit because Grassmere Gingerbread is a British
icon and it's this quite novel spicy sweet cross between
a biscuit and a cake. I reckon it's more like
(05:50):
a moosley bar. Yeah, so you know, it's sort of crispy,
crumbly and chewy all than one. And this was invented
by a victorian baker in Grassmere and for over a
century it's now been produced and sold from the old
village schoolhouse and Grassmere where Wordsworth was actually a teacher.
So yeah, make a beeline for the gingerbread shop. It
(06:12):
really is quite Moorish.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
And this is like really good hiking country, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Absolutely Yeah, there are tails for all trails for all tastes.
If you want to knock off England's highest peak scoref
our Pike, that's in the neighborhood, so it tops out
about a thousand meters, so you will need a reasonable
level of fitness. Make it a half day jaunt. Beautiful scenery.
(06:38):
I actually think if you want something a little shorter
and sweeter, go for a place called wind Letter. This
is forest bathing on a fabulous scale. So wind Letter
is this mountain forest just out of Keswick, and it
is just so dense, this forest, and it's a tangle
of pine trees, spruce and large. It's a very fragrant
(07:03):
way to do some forest bathing.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Wirky fines.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
Well, if I said to you Jack, shall we go
to the Pencil Museum.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Again?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
It probably wouldn't blow your hair back with it. The
Pencil Museum.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Ill, I'm open minded famously, as you know.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
I've found this quite fascinating. So this is in Keswick,
close to the Winletter Forest and it's a wee gym
because it does such a good job just walking you
through the history of pencils. And the reason it's in
Keswick is because they had these huge graphite deposits. So
for hundreds and hundreds of years the local farmers around
(07:45):
Keswick would use graphite to mark the sheep right, which
sort of gave rise to Keswick's pencil factories. And then
it was the friend too later mixed graphite with clay
which produced the likes of Ye your trustee HB.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Pencil. I now know so much about pencils, Jack.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It'd stuff like it is always amazing and it's the
stuff you remember when you travel, don't.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
You think it's true? It is?
Speaker 4 (08:11):
Yeah, very good.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Hey, thank you so much, Mike. We're going to put
all of your tips for exploring Windermere in the UK
s Lake District and the Pencil Museum up on the
news talks HE'DB website and catch you again this time
next week for
Speaker 1 (08:22):
More from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live to
news talks he'd be from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks AB Mike Cardle.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
He's travel correspondent. He's here this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Hey, good morning, Jack.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I was just saying to Libby since Antonio Prebble was
on your show a couple of weeks ago with Francesca,
I have become totally addicted to Outrageous Fortune.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh have you really did? You watched it back in
the day, though, didn't you?
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Well, I was saying to Libby, I didn't actually watch
season one or two when it was first on, So
I've been in a major retro mode Jack with my
viewing lately. And yeah, oh man, it's such vintage New
Zealand television.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Is excellent New Zealand TV. Yeah. I should actually go
back and watch it as well, because I loved it
when it was on I watched it or when it
was on. But yeah, it's obviously right. Yeah, been a
little bit of we've at a time between drinks, so yeah,
go thing to go back. I mean, it is, like
you say, it is kind of vintage dare we use
that word iconic New Zealand TV. Anyway, we're focusing on
(01:06):
Windermere in the UK's Lake District this morning. Is this
the kind of England's most popular national.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Park, No doubt about it, Jack, I reckon it's Blighty's
answer to Queenstown Lakes or Towpoor because it's just this vast,
watery and outdoors you play grand in the Cumbrian countryside.
It's got craggy mountains, it's got scenery glore, it was
(01:32):
recently crowned with World Heritage status, and it's overrun with tourists.
And the one thing I do really want to hammer
is do not go there in the summer peak. Don't
go there today or tomorrow because the holiday hordes they
swarm like midges. I was there in May and it
had been probably thirty years since I was last there.
So when I was there in May, it was just
(01:53):
pitch perfect, like the weather, the spring weather sparkling and
just no crowd.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
So dodge that peak season.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Wow. Okay, yeah, that's very good to know. Where is
a good base though if you do dodge it?
Speaker 4 (02:07):
Yeah, well, I would say, because the district sprawls for
like hundreds of square kilometers, you really want to find
a central location. And Bonus on Windermere would be my
pick it's a very perky tourist town. It's got all
the tourist trappings, but it's actually really easy to reach,
so for example, you can train there from London. And
(02:30):
in fact I loved this when I was in Windermere.
William Wordsworth he actually penned a pollen because he was
so pissed off with the railway arriving into Windermere back
in the eighteen forties, and his poem says, is then
no nook of English ground secure from rash assault. And
(02:53):
his name pops up all over the lake district. His
legacy is everywhere. In fact, if you go to Gabra
Park in the Lake district, that is where you will
find that vast drift of daffodils which inspired a certain poem.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah right, so what is quite what is so distinctive
about Lake Windermere.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
It's the big Daddy. So this is England's largest lake.
So a big, glossy, deep blue body of water stretches
for miles. Grab a kayak, grab a rowboat, take a
cruise and just marinate yourself in the bucolic glory of
the of the scenery.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
It is so gorgeous it could be new Zealand.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
You know, it's just so fabulously spectacular. The big point
of difference, you've got all that old world architecture. So
all along the lakefront of Windermere there are these stately
stone country manners and they all like huddle around the
lake edge like safari animals at the watering hole. So
(03:56):
that's when you know it's not New Zealand. But the
landscape is really so blissful. Jack I can certainly understand
why the Princess of Wales spent so much time there
as part of her cancer recovery. It is just a
therapeutic place.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, oh wonderful. So for Beatrix Potter fans, what should
you prioritize? What would you recommend they check out?
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Ah, you could go potty on the Potter Trail. Her
footprints are everywhere, So first of all, I would say
check out ray Castle because that's where she holidayed as
a child, and that captured her imagination and her lifelong
love affair with the lake district. She's got two homes
(04:39):
and if you have kids in tow, definitely treat them
to the World of Betricks Potter, which is sort of
like part theater, part museum, but it's where Peter Rabbit
and Jemima Puddle Dark and friends, they all come to life. Remarkably,
jack Potter went on to own fourteen farms in the
Lake district, and she bequeathed all that farmland and her
(05:02):
homes and all the royalties from her box to the trust.
So she is quite the gift that keeps on giving.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, that's amazing. So what about Grassmere?
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah, just north of Lake Windermere. Grassmere is your quintessential
chocolate box village. And this is where Wordsworth lived, so
you can go and see his home, the creeper Clad
Dove Cottage, and his whole family are actually.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Buried in the church graveyard.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
The best of all for sweet treats, the village is
home to Grassmere Gingerbread. Now, I don't think your dime
it doesn't gingerbread biscuit because Grassmere Gingerbread is a British
icon and it's this quite novel spicy sweet cross between
a biscuit and a cake. I reckon it's more like
(05:50):
a moosley bar. Yeah, so you know, it's sort of crispy,
crumbly and chewy all than one. And this was invented
by a victorian baker in Grassmere and for over a
century it's now been produced and sold from the old
village schoolhouse and Grassmere where Wordsworth was actually a teacher.
So yeah, make a beeline for the gingerbread shop. It
(06:12):
really is quite Moorish.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
And this is like really good hiking country, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Absolutely Yeah, there are tails for all trails for all tastes.
If you want to knock off England's highest peak scoref
our Pike, that's in the neighborhood, so it tops out
about a thousand meters, so you will need a reasonable
level of fitness. Make it a half day jaunt. Beautiful scenery.
(06:38):
I actually think if you want something a little shorter
and sweeter, go for a place called wind Letter. This
is forest bathing on a fabulous scale. So wind Letter
is this mountain forest just out of Keswick, and it
is just so dense, this forest, and it's a tangle
of pine trees, spruce and large. It's a very fragrant
(07:03):
way to do some forest bathing.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Wirky fines.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
Well, if I said to you Jack, shall we go
to the Pencil Museum.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Again?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
It probably wouldn't blow your hair back with it. The
Pencil Museum.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Ill, I'm open minded famously, as you know.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
I've found this quite fascinating. So this is in Keswick,
close to the Winletter Forest and it's a wee gym
because it does such a good job just walking you
through the history of pencils. And the reason it's in
Keswick is because they had these huge graphite deposits. So
for hundreds and hundreds of years the local farmers around
(07:45):
Keswick would use graphite to mark the sheep right, which
sort of gave rise to Keswick's pencil factories. And then
it was the friend too later mixed graphite with clay
which produced the likes of Ye your trustee HB.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Pencil. I now know so much about pencils, Jack.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It'd stuff like it is always amazing and it's the
stuff you remember when you travel, don't.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
You think it's true? It is?
Speaker 4 (08:11):
Yeah, very good.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Hey, thank you so much, Mike. We're going to put
all of your tips for exploring Windermere in the UK
s Lake District and the Pencil Museum up on the
news talks HE'DB website and catch you again this time
next week for
Speaker 1 (08:22):
More from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live to
news talks he'd be from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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