We're thinking of spending a week in the Lakes after a week at southport, but was wondering how arduous is the terrain from the M6 to, say, Ambleside or Windermere?
Last summer we caravanned in Wales (Ceredigion) and the route was not too hilly; but one long hill just outside Camarthen (or was it Caernavon?) which began as soon as you exited a roundabout and allowed for no 'run-up' saw us crawling in 2nd gear at about 15mph. Not good for a national speed limit road, albeit there were two lane heading up the hill and there were only about three other vehicles on the road at the time.
However................. what can I expect for the last 40 miles or so of our journey? Is it a tortuous, twisty, hilly route and one which I should contemplate for next year when, hopefully, we will have a newer tow vehicle, or will we manage it in our 'beast' (112bhp, 188lbs ft torque, 2500kgs loaded with 1700kgs caravan)
Advice re: best route(s) in/out would be appreciated. We would be approaching the lakes from the south.
The route i took was m6 north off at junction 36 onto a590 then onto a 591 towards Windermere and ambleside... The route is easy mate mainly dual carriage way with few hills really i managed it towing a 1250kg van with a picasso 2.0 hdi with no problems at all... When coming back from lakes there's a biggish hill but we managed to keep car at 25 mph and its only a couple of hundred yards...
We're thinking of spending a week in the Lakes after a week at southport, but was wondering how arduous is the terrain from the M6 to, say, Ambleside or Windermere?
Last summer we caravanned in Wales (Ceredigion) and the route was not too hilly; but one long hill just outside Camarthen (or was it Caernavon?) which began as soon as you exited a roundabout and allowed for no 'run-up' saw us crawling in 2nd gear at about 15mph. Not good for a national speed limit road, albeit there were two lane heading up the hill and there were only about three other vehicles on the road at the time.
However................. what can I expect for the last 40 miles or so of our journey? Is it a tortuous, twisty, hilly route and one which I should contemplate for next year when, hopefully, we will have a newer tow vehicle, or will we manage it in our 'beast' (112bhp, 188lbs ft torque, 2500kgs loaded with 1700kgs caravan)
Advice re: best route(s) in/out would be appreciated. We would be approaching the lakes from the south.
3rd gear takes me to around 45mph, unless I really have to work the engine for short spells eg uphill to maintain momentum. On a hill, 4th is no use at all; certainly not at speeds of 40mph or less. The change from 3rd to 4th is critical.
Hence my question about the viability of driving to/through (not literally!) the Lakes.
hi mate i went to lakes from devon in my veg burning terrano has 125bhp caravan as bout 1350kgs and car was fully loaded we stayed in outgate so had to go m6 round kendel to windamere through ambleside and she tuged lovely not really any bad hills that was just short and sharp we were up there for 2weeks at easter and the place was lovely the locals were so helpfull hope u have a good hols .
The A66 down into Keswick is a bit of a rollercoaster but not to much in the way of sustained climbs...
The A592? which runs parallel(ish) to the M6 has a few big grinds but it's not a fast road so I wouldn't be to worried if you end up being a bit slower than the other traffic, you should see some of the buses! lol
Thanks for all your extremely useful replies. It's a long way to go only to find that I'm thwarted by the mother of all hills 5 miles shy of our intended destination!
You won't have any problems Defender. Whilst I live in Cheshire now, I lived in Hawkshead for 8 years, Ambleside for 5 years and Kendal for 2 years. All the way to Ambleside is no more difficult than any other place. Getting to Hawkshead' is a little more challenging due to narrow roads, but fine if you take your time.
Of course I clearly remember one Monday morning about 7:30 taking my caravan from Ambleside to Hawkshead where I stored it at my parents after a weekend away. Coming round a blind corner the Ambleside fire engine was just as shocked as I was to see each other. We all breathed in and just about made it! Of course knowing most of the lads gave us something to talk about in the pub, but their alledged reputation of having already turned over 4 fire engines only gave me more fuel to wind them up. (Great bunch by the way).
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Lake District August 2011
