By Road

Typical journey times by car to Penrith (north east corner of the Lakes & Dales Loop) from:

  • London – about 5 hours
  • Birmingham – about 3 hours
  • Manchester – about 2 hours
  • Newcastle – about 1.5 hours
  • Glasgow – about 2 hours
  • York – about 2 hours

See AA Route Planner, or Google Maps for maps and directions.

The M6 runs through the eastern side of the Lakes & Dales Loop, with easiest access to the route as follows:

For the southern section of the Lakes & Dales Loop take Junction 36 and then A590 west towards Kendal (off the A591)(about 20 mins), Grange-over-Sands (off A590) (about 40 mins) and Broughton-in-Furness  (A5092)(about 60mins) or east towards Kirkby Lonsdale (A65) (about 20mins).

For the northern section of the Lakes & Dales Loop take Junction 40 and then and the A66 west towards Cockermouth (about 90 mins) or east towards Appleby (about 20mins).

Car Sharing

For information about car sharing visit Car Plus

Car parking

In the summer months some sections of the route will be busy and car parking space more difficult to find. In particular, in those locations within or close to the Eden Valley, Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Lake District National Park.

Information about car parking in the southern section of the route

The blue line indicates Lakes & Dales Loop.

Total distance: 315188 m
Max elevation: 338 m
Min elevation: 3 m
Total climbing: 5001 m
Total descent: -5001 m
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