Flusco Wood

The Lake District is the most visited national park in the country and many of its main highlights are minutes away from Flusco Wood. Ullswater and the Northern Fells are five minutes away for shore walks, Ullswater Steamer trips and staggering up mountains, and the Wordsworth fave Aira Force is within a few minutes’ drive. Blencathra, with six separate fell tops to tackle, and Helvellyn, the third biggest mountain in England, are within close proximity too; for a slightly easier time, try the local lower peaks of Gowbarrow Fell, Souther Fell and Great Mell Fell. The C2C long distance cycle route passes through Penrith four miles away and goes through the Eden Valley from here to the North Pennines; the Reivers Route, running 172 miles through Cumbria, Northumberland and Kielder Forest, goes over the back of the Skiddaw Fells. There are many mountain bike routes in the Eden Valley too if a normal cycle is just too tame: go to Penrith to hire a bike and get and a point towards the area’s best routes. Also energetically, Derwentwater, one of the most popular spots in the Lake District, is about 13 miles from Flusco Wood and is good for a day or three of activities. Derwentwater Marina, Nichol End Marine and the several Derwentwater jetties have the means for sailing, motorboating, windsurfing, kayaking and other damp pursuits, or take a cruise around the lake on Keswick Launch, getting off at whatever jetty takes your fancy. We suspect that gentler activities might be in order after all that, and there are quite a few of those around too: country houses including Greystoke Castle, Dalemain and Hutton in the Forest; museums and historical attractions like the Pencil Museum and Honister Slate Mines; fishing at the local stuffed-full lakes, or teeing off at the golf course two miles away towards Penrith (teer-offers will also find a floodlit driving range at Penrith and another course at Keswick 11 miles away). Marketers have several options to take their baskets to, including markets on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at Penrith, and a market on Thursdays and Saturdays at Keswick.