Active Outdoor Activities
Activities range from half-day to multi-day adventures including mountain walking, winter mountaineering, navigation/orienteering, rock climbing, abseiling, ghyll and mountain scrambling, canoeing/kayaking, and caving. Assisted activities start from £15 per person per half-day.
- West Lakes Adventures: One of our favourites, run out of Woolpack Cottage in Boot with a range of family activities. Tel: 019467 23753 Mob: 07837 099525
- Lake District Outdoor Activities a comprehensive site containing numerous activities and pursuits including locations, prices, and contact details.
- carolclimb Outdoor Adventures
- Walk Climb Paddle
- Guide to kayaking/canoeing Whillan Beck which runs alongside Gillbank Cottage – not for the faint of heart
Beaches
St Bees is a delightful beach with breathtaking views toward the Isle of Man from St Bees Head. St Bees is the start of the coast to coast walk and only heritage coastline between Wales and Scotland with an RSBP bird reserve.
Eskdale Events
- Eskdale Show – the last Saturday in September
- Eskdale Fete, Held annually at the Outward Bound Centre, Eskdale Green Late Summer Bank Holiday weekend, late August or early September
- Boot Beer Festival – Early June
- Muncaster Festival of Fools, Halloween Week, and other events throughout the year, particularly at holiday times
Fishing
There are also many fishing rivers, streams, and lakes. Burnmoor Tarn has free fishing for brown trout available. Gillbank Cottage runs along a length of stream – Whillan Beck – from which you can fish freely during your stay. You have to buy an Environment Agency Rod License to fish in England, there are no further charges for guests for fishing from Gillbank property. Day passes can be purchased from local ambling associations where needed.
A comprehensive list of fishing sites and costs is available from the Cumbria Tourist Board website. You can find out other local fishing areas from the Environment Agency website. You may also be interested in visiting the Lake District Fishing website sponsored by the WADAA.
Golf
Golf Courses in Cumbria provides a list of courses. Within a few miles of the cottage are:
- Eskdale Golf Course – Ravenglass
- Cockermouth Golf Club
- St Bees Golf Course
- Seascale Golf Course
- Windermere Golf Course
- Workington Golf Course
- Silloth on Solway Golf Club Championship links of over 6,600 yards
Hot Air Ballooning
With a hot air balloon flight over this spectacular scenery you can absorb an unforgettable view of Lakeland and perhaps a little of the cultural inspiration of Britain’s heritage.
Mountain Biking
There are numerous rides on the paved roads of Eskdale including the steep Hardknott Pass. Off-road there are some lovely routes including the River Esk route which runs along the river in the valley. Another option is the Corpse Road to Burnmoor Tarn and Wasdale. For more information, look at the Eskdale.info website’s outdoor activities details.
Other activities
There are numerous other activities, for a more exhaustive list look at the Visit Lake District website.