top 10 green things to do in cumbria...

Enjoy the best road 

Arguably the best of all the national parks for car-free access, the magnificent Lake District views are best enjoyed using Cumbria's excellent public transport network. Penrith is the main car-free travel hub for the North Lakes and is on the Virgin West Coast main line for journeys from London Euston and Glasgow daily - at least every 2 hours with journeys lasting less than 3-hours. For the south of the county, why not enjoy one of the regular direct Transpennine Express journeys from Manchester Airport and Manchester stations for Windermere and the Furness Peninsulas. From Windermere you can pick up any number of buses including an open-top double-decker bus, to take you northwards through the beautiful scenery of Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick - the view from the top deck is breathtaking and the drive along the A591 has recently been voted the best road in the UK. www.stagecoachbus.com / www.emptyroads.com

Leave the car at home

For a great day out, whether you want to go walking, cycling, sightseeing, shopping, or a bit of each, choose the Cross-Lakes Shuttle. Windermere Lake Cruises, Mountain Goat Tours, and Coniston Launch have teamed up to take you across lakes, Windermere and Coniston, and into the heart of the south lakes countryside and villages with this exciting boat-bus-boat service - which even carries cycles. Pass by the enigmatic Esthwaite Water and travel through the heart of Beatrix Potter country for a stop at Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's famous home. Other highlights include a visit to Grizedale Forest for walks, cycle rides and high-wire adventure, then onto Coniston for idyllic Tarn Hows walks combined with a taste of culture at John Ruskin's home at Brantwood.

Moon-Suits & Shovels

Watch the changing sunlight on the beautiful Lake District landscape, get in touch with nature, and make lots of friends on a volunteer working holiday. Regular visitors to the Lake District may like to consider spending some time volunteering with an organisation to help conserve and enhance the countryside. There are a variety of conservation tasks to choose from - fixing footpaths, surveying wildflowers, managing fields and woodland - to fixing fences and picking up a shovel for a spot of planting. Lots of fun is guaranteed on a working holiday with the National Trust or British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV). Both organisations run week-long volunteer working holidays in the Lake District, for individuals to help construct footpaths and control erosion, using traditional rural skills. Or if a week is too much, Cumbria Wildlife Trust offer volunteer days, where you can get involved in any number of activities, such as pond-dipping, or donning a moon-suit to try your hand at beekeeping! www.fixthefells.com / www.2.btcv.org.uk / www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk

Low Sizergh Organic Farm, Kendal

Learn more about how Lake District organic food is produced at this demonstration farm. Low Sizergh Farm is part of the Soil Association's national network of organic farms across the UK. Visit the farm shop, tea room, craft gallery and farm trail on this homely, organic dairy farm near the Lake District National Park. The farm shop is filled with selections of local and speciality foods in Cumbria - organic Kendal cheese, organic eggs, a wide selection of organic vegetables - and delicious ice cream made from milk from the farm.
There are two galleries of crafts and gifts, one in the shippons where the cows once lived, and a tea room with an unusual view - you can watch the cows being milked every day around 3.45pm. No visit will be complete without a walk on the 2 mile farm trail to learn more about how organic principles are put into practice around this beautiful farm. Your walk on the wild-side will take you through a huge variety of plant, animal and bird life at Low Sizergh - including the blissfully happy chickens seen pecking away in the yard - or strutting their stuff in a far off field. www.lowsizerghbarn.co.uk

Farmers Markets and Farm Days

Cumbria has over 100 busy market days countywide each year, many of which take place in the quaint little market towns, though out the county. You can't beat a bustling Farmers Market where you can shop for the very best in local foods, whilst soaking up the vibrant atmosphere.  Check out local meat, fish, dairy, pickles, preserves, bakery products, puddings, local crafts - the list is endless. Do you want to know more about how local Cumbrian food is produced and how farmers manage the land? Look out for Cumbria Farm Days, these farm events take you on to a farm where you can find out first hand what it's like shepherding sheep on the fells and milking cows on a lowland diary farm. Events take place throughout the year from April, where many of the events are aimed at families. Cumbria Farm days are also part of the Flora of the Fells Festival 2008. www.madeincumbria.co.uk / www.floraofthefells.com

Countryside Culture

Grizedale Forest Park is great for walking trails, with the all-access Ridding Wood trail to the demanding Silurian Way and the Sculpture trails. For the young there's a magnificent all-wood adventure playground, or for the more agile, grown-ups, try ‘Go Ape,' the unique high ropes course which provides a challenging aerial adventure - only found in three other Forestry Commission locations in the UK. Or, in the North of the County, feast your senses at High Head Sculpture Valley for magnificent life-sized sculptures imaginatively displayed in a natural woodland valley.

Whinlatter Forest Park near Keswick is England's only true Mountain Forest, rising to 790 metres above sea level thus offering spectacular views of the Lake District and Scotland. There is plenty here to keep all ages busy - from nature trails to learning about food webs on a choice of trails, to making friends with the Giant Badger, who lives next door to the Visitor Centre in a specially created, walk-through badger-set. Or see the cheeky red squirrels - Whinlatter Forest Park has been designated as a Red Squirrel refuge, being ideally suited to the ‘reds' due to it's largely coniferous woodland. From May to September annually you can see the wild Bassenthwaite Ospreys raising their young chicks through the live video nest link - and viewing point. Whinlatter offers a wide range of events throughout the year, including star gazing and Osprey walks.
www.forestry.gov.uk / www.saveoursquirrels.org.uk

RSPB Leighton Moss Nature Reserve, Silverdale

Leighton Moss is a popular nature reserve set within the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - and is the largest remaining reed-bed in North West England. Try and spot lots of special birds...breeding bitterns, bearded tits, marsh harriers, avocets and other spectacular wildlife. Take part in special educational events such as pond-dipping; nature trails with a visit to the hides; look round the RSPB shop and visitor centre - and enjoy a home-made meal in the tearoom. The tearoom prides itself on sourcing high quality, fresh local produce, which is organic wherever possible and all the profits help to fund the vital wildlife conservation work of the RSPB. www.rspb.org.uk/leightonmoss

Explore by boat

Each of the lakes that make up the area has its own charm and character. You can begin with a trip on a Windermere Lake Cruise, where there is no better way to explore Windermere - England's longest lake - surrounded by rolling hills and the incomparable Langdale Pikes. At Coniston, visitors can enjoy a trip on the environmentally-friendly, solar electric powered Coniston Launch, or hop aboard the sumptuously restored Steam Yacht Gondola, owned by the National Trust. Derwentwater, in the northern Lakes is surrounded by stunning scenery. See the best of the views on a Keswick Launch where the lake is just a few minutes walk from the pretty market town of Keswick. Ullswater is circled by rugged fells and the surrounding hills and mountains provide ample opportunities for fellwalkers, with Helvellyn the most popular. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing cruise on the lake with Ullswater ‘Steamers,' or a quiet walk along the shores. On many of the cruises, you can sail one way and take a leisurely stroll along the shores of one of the lakes for either the whole, or part, of the return journey. www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk / www.ullswater-steamers.co.uk / www.conistonlaunch.co.uk / www.nationaltrust.org / www.keswick-launch.co.uk

Lake District Ospreys bus

England's only pair of breeding Ospreys have made their home at Bassenthwaite Lake near Keswick in the Lake District and you can see these magnificent fish-catching creatures and their spectacular displays from a special viewing platform at the Forestry Commission's Whinlatter Forest site. There's a visitor centre with huge telescopes and Osprey staff on hand to tell you about the project.

The green way to see them and explore the wild side of Bassenthwaite is to take the Osprey bus which runs on Saturdays and Sundays from the 12th April until 20th July, and then daily until the end of August. There are six daily circuits of the lake and it stops at Whinlatter Forest and Dodd Wood, where you can view the ospreys.
Also on the route are Trotters World of Animals, Mirehouse Gardens, and Thornthwaite Galleries. You can also use the bus to take a stroll around Dubwath Wetland Nature Reserve or simply use it to take your bike and explore the beautiful woodlands. Fully fitted with a bicycle rack the Osprey Bus will make your visit stress free and environmentally friendly! 

www.lake-district.gov.uk/txtonly/index/enjoying/planningyourvisit/travelandtransport/ospreybus.htm

Cycle Cumbria

Cumbria can truly claim to "have it all" as far as cycling is concerned. Dramatic mountain biking over Lake District peaks and rolling valley trails, stakes a claim to having the most breathtaking array of mountain bike rides, for all abilities, in the land. Meander through winding country lanes with stunning views and little traffic and stop to sample the beautiful scenery, local attractions and great pubs and cafes along the way! Try out the many bike hire companies, where friendly staff will have maps on hand to help with advice on ideas for great days out. Every family has different cycling needs and in Cumbria there really is something for all ages and interests, whatever your level of fitness or cycling ability. www.cyclingcumbria.co.uk / www.keswickbikes.co.uk / www.countrylanes.co.uk