Can anyone give me ideas of route to Kendal c&cc site we shall be coming from the south on the M6 .
Google maps show 2 directions one through the centre of Kendal and another leaving m6 at J36
I have checked the route in club book .
Is it better to leave motor way at J37 ?
Any ideas appreciated thank you .
Personally I would avoid going through the centre of Kendal, especially with a caravan. The site is on the old A6 road and you can get the train from Kendal to Windermere.
Come off M6 motorway at Junction 36, head left onto A590, carry on to North of Kendal roudabout on A590, at the roundabout basically uturn around the roundabout back into kendal (windermere Road), keep following this road (doen hill) to a sharp left turn at the bottom. CArry on around outsikirt of Kendal town centre. Turn left at Kendal railway station roundabout and go under railway bridge. keep going past sainsbury and kendal rugby club, site is on the right just after rugby club.
You will not a caravan round the narrow streets of Kendal tow centre.
Never mind Google or anyone else, first port of call is ALWAYS the site access directions posted by the site itself, they generally take account of inadvisable routes, and give the most user friendly approach. As CCC say 'Do Not Use Sat Nav'! And wisely so, there are a couple of easy routes, and a fair number that you'd not enjoy, and Sat Navs DO route some of those ways!
CCC directions from the South.
M6 J35, A590, A5284, A6 route from the south is not too bad, bearing in mind you WILL have to drive a little way through outskirts of Kendal town. Perfectly doable with a caravan, the problem comes IF you miss the turn off the A5284 onto the A6! You are then heading into a world of pain of nasty narrow streets, pedestrianised zones and the tortuous routes around it in the centre of town! Not sure all those roads would cope with a decent sized caravan!
M6 J35 and A590 are absolutely fine, done them hundreds of times solo, and towing. A5284 is pretty good but never towed along it, nor have I towed through Kendal town. Driving the outskirts of Kendal (solo) is not too bad, it's the town centre that gets to be fun - NOT!
CCC directions from the North.
M6 J39, B3261, A6 route coming south, are perfectly good roads in themselves, but the A6 is crossing Shap Fell at around 1400ft, it's a very exposed area, not a lot of shelter from winds if it's blowing, and likely 'up in the clouds' if a dreary day! Take a look on Google Street View, you'll see many of the slightly higher hills (they are mere pimples really!) beside the road are shrouded in cloud (it can get a LOT worse than those photos!)!
This is not a road I know well, but I know the Lakes well, having stayed there countless times over near 50 years, and walked the fells, the weather can change dramatically in 1/2 an hour, and the cloud base drops even into the lower valley bottoms, the high fells are absolutely in the thick of it, sometimes the high peaks even emerging above the the cloud into clear sky, but you will drop down into the cloud as you get lower! It's not always like that, but a real possibility.
The M6 J39 route is circa 25 miles and 25 min longer than the J35 route.
Personally neither route would daunt me, but perhaps in bad weather I'd opt for the southern approach as the less stressful. Shap Fell is quite a spectacular view in good weather (take advantage of Google Street view for a taster), so makes a good introduction to the splendours of the Lake District, so in no way suggesting avoid at all costs, just be aware it is a wild and exposed region.
Quote: Originally posted by nora on 20/5/2024
Thank you everyone .
And thank you Monty ( I think ) 😳😱
You'll be fine. Forewarned is forearmed, you now know what turns to be particularly alert for, and if weather bad avoid the scenic route (believe me one bit of Lake District low cloud looks much like EVERY other bit of cloud, I've pottered around fell tops in plenty of it thank you very much! ... and none of it is 'scenic'!)
Think you'll find the transition from A5284 to A6 is a natural flow of the road to the left rather than a true turn off! - you'd have to work at getting it wrong, but some people are good at that!
Quote: Originally posted by marg6 on 20/5/2024
junction 36 according to google maps take the a590 and then right turn at roundabout, then follow the signs
Isn't that the CAMC site? From memory it is, the C&CC site is further up from J36.
Quote: Originally posted by marg6 on 20/5/2024
junction 36 according to google maps take the a590 and then right turn at roundabout, then follow the signs
Isn't that the CAMC site? From memory it is, the C&CC site is further up from J36.
M6 J37 has the appearance of being the more logical junction, taking you onto the A684, but the A684 gets less caravan friendly the closer you get to Kendal, and takes you through a few perhaps less than ideal town roads to bring you to pretty much the same place A591/A5284 does!
CCC site is just north of Kendal on A6, CAMC site is south of Kendal just off A591 via some small lanes.
Coming from the South, leave the M6 at J36, follow the A590, then the A591 signs to Windermere (not Kendal south).
At a strange shaped roundabout, turn right back down into Kendal (Windermere Road).
Follow this road down into Kendal, go straight on at the traffic lights, cross the river and at the roundabout turn left under the bridge onto Shap Road (railway station on left, County Hotel on right).
Follow this road past Sainsbury's on the left and then the Rugby Club on the right, and the CCC site is on the RHS.
This route is perfectly fine with a caravan - we've done it many times. You do not have to go through the middle of Kendal this way or go miles out of your way to J37 (which is not a good road anyway).
Thank you I did look at this but it seemed quite built up. It does make sense and seems to be the way the c&cc recommend . I will continue to check route out but probably follow this route x I need to write it out in bold because it’s hard to drive and map read plus tow 🤣 .
We had more problems with the access road than getting to the site. (Only because we took the slower scenic route down the A6 from Carlisle, for a change.) Nothing major though, I seem to remember the access road is farm-scale - narrow with a passing place.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Route to Kendal C&CC
via mobile 20/5/2024 at 9:00am
... and none of it is 'scenic'!)
