Little Arrow near Coniston
Browside
Sleeps 14 · 6 beds
Nearest walk: Old Man of Coniston, 2.8km
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- Drying room
- Dogs
Out of the door and onto the hill
Cabins, cottages and lodges in the Lake District, Eryri, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, Bannau Brycheiniog and Scotland. Beside each one are the walks and viewpoints within reach and how far away they are, so you can tell before you book which hills start from the door and which need the car.
Six regions
The Lake District
England's highest ground, and the 214 fells Wainwright described.
Highest: Scafell Pike, 978m 2,616 stays · 25 walks
Eryri (Snowdonia)
The highest mountains south of the Highlands, with Cardigan Bay along their western edge.
Highest: Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), 1,085m 1,509 stays · 22 walks
The Peak District
Gritstone edges and limestone dales, within an hour's travel of a third of England and Wales.
Highest: Kinder Scout, 636m 1,043 stays · 14 walks
The Yorkshire Dales
Limestone scars, the Three Peaks and the long green dales between them.
Highest: Whernside, 736m 697 stays · 12 walks
Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)
Red sandstone escarpments, the highest ground in South Wales, and the waterfalls below them.
Highest: Pen y Fan, 886m 416 stays · 8 walks
Scotland
Britain's biggest mountains, and the only ones that keep snow into summer.
Highest: Ben Nevis, 1,345m 1,970 stays · 47 walks
There is also an Alps section covering Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and France.
Hot tubs with a hill behind them
Llandeilo'r Fan, near Brecon, Mid Wales
Abernant
Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
Nearest walk: Llyn y Fan Fach from Llanddeusant, 14.6km
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- Dogs
from £1,066 / week
Checked 1 Nov
Inveruglass
Kirkstone Lodge
Sleeps 8 · 3 beds
Nearest walk: Creag Bheag from Kingussie, 4.2km
- Hot tub
- Dogs
from £1,937 / week
Checked 1 Nov
Herefordshire
Hillside Farmhouse
Sleeps 8 · 4 beds
Nearest walk: Ysgyryd Fawr (the Skirrid) from the B4521, 10.2km
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- No dogs
Checked 24 Oct
Cerrigydrudion
Merddwr
Sleeps 14 · 6 beds
Nearest walk: Arenig Fawr from Llyn Celyn, 13.6km
- Hot tub
- Wood burner
- No dogs
Cray, near Brecon, Mid Wales
Bwthyn y Bannau
Sleeps 9 · 4 beds
Nearest walk: Llyn y Fan Fach from Llanddeusant, 9.7km
- Hot tub
- Dogs
from £1,310 / week
Checked 1 Nov
Aviemore
Cairn View
Sleeps 6 · 3 beds
Nearest walk: Loch an Eilein Circuit, 5.4km
- Hot tub
- Dogs
from £957 / week
Checked 1 Nov
Perthshire
Lochside Hideaway
Sleeps 21 · 10 beds
Nearest walk: Driesh and Mayar from Glen Doll, 18.7km
- Hot tub
Checked 24 Oct
Something to walk to
Aira Force and Gowbarrow
A National Trust waterfall walk above Ullswater, with a longer trail onto Gowbarrow Fell, near the shore of Wordsworth's daffodils.
Moderate
- 7.2 km
Aberglaslyn Pass
A riverside path through the wooded gorge of the Afon Glaslyn, 5km there and back from Beddgelert, and one of the easiest outings in the village.
Easy
- 5 km
- 1 hr 30 min
Bleaklow Head and the B-29 wreck
A rough moorland circuit from the Snake Pass onto Bleaklow Head, crossing Doctor's Gate to the wrecked B-29 bomber at Higher Shelf Stones.
Hard
- 15.4 km
- 470 m up
- 5 hr 50 min moving
Buckden Pike from Buckden
A 702m summit above upper Wharfedale, climbed from Buckden to a wartime memorial cross and back by Starbotton and the Dales Way.
Moderate
- 17.1 km
- 576 m up
- 6 hr 40 min moving
Views you can drive to
Not everyone in the car wants a six-hour day, and some people cannot have one. These are the places where you park, walk a few minutes, and get the view anyway.
Aysgarth Falls
Three limestone-stepped falls on the River Ure, with a firm, wide path from the National Park car park to the Upper and Middle Falls.
- Step-free
Cairngorm Ski Road and Coire Cas
A public road from Glenmore to a car park at 635 metres below Cairn Gorm, with views back over Strathspey.
- Drive to it
- Step-free
- 2 min from the car
- View all round
Castlerigg Stone Circle
A Neolithic stone circle on a hilltop plateau near Keswick, with a 360-degree view of surrounding fells reached in a couple of minutes on foot.
- Drive to it
- Step-free
- 2 min from the car
- View all round
Bases worth a week
Where you sleep decides what the week can reach, and a base you can get to by train on a Friday evening is a different week from one that needs a car every day.
Ambleside
Windermere's head, and the easiest Lakeland base without a car.
Windermere station, 7.8km by road
Braithwaite
Coledale's village, under Grisedale Pike and the Whinlatter road.
Penrith station
Broughton-in-Furness
Cumbria's smallest town, a market square beside the Duddon.
Foxfield station, 3.9km by road
Buttermere
Two lakes, one village, and Honister at the top of the pass.
Workington station, 29km by road
Base-and-explore trips
One base, a set number of nights, and a plan for each day. Each trip says what it skips and who it does not suit, which is the part that stops somebody booking the wrong week.
- Ambleside for four nights without a car 4 nights
- Three nights around Aviemore without a car 3 nights
- A week in Bakewell without a hard day 6 nights
- A two-night weekend without a hill in sight 2 nights
- Three nights in the Conwy Valley without a car 3 nights
- A short, hard weekend from Buttermere 2 nights
- A short break for a first proper hill 2 nights
- Kinder Scout and Castleton, from Edale 3 nights