Lamplugh · West Cumbria
Two holiday homes on a small park at Lamplugh, in the corner of the Lake District the coach tours never reach. Buttermere is twenty five minutes. The nearest fell starts at the end of the lane.
Booked direct with Martin, who owns them. No agency in between.
The place
Most people drive into the Lakes from the east, sit in Ambleside traffic, and never find out that the western valleys are half empty on the same Saturday.
Lamplugh sits between Loweswater and Ennerdale, on the road that runs down the back of the fells. It is a working parish more than a village: a church, a scatter of farms, and a hall that does a decent bring and buy. The park is small and quiet, mostly people who have been coming for years.
What you get for that is space. Cogra Moss is a fifteen minute walk and you can have the whole tarn to yourself on a Tuesday. Ennerdale has no through road, so the valley stays empty. And the sunsets over the Solway are the reason half these photographs exist.
The two homes
Every photograph below is of the actual caravan you would be staying in. Nothing here is a showroom shot.
The warmer of the two. An electric fire in the lounge, a cupboard of board games and jigsaws, and a window that faces the sunset. This is the one with the guest book that people actually write in.
From £58 a night
Bigger in the middle. The corner sofa takes a whole family and the dining table seats six without anyone eating on their knee. Ask about the pull out if there are more than four of you.
From £64 a night
The day
Written by someone who has done all of these on a wet Tuesday.
Twenty minutes on foot
A small reservoir tucked under Blake Fell, with a flat track the whole way round. Herons, a lot of trout, and almost nobody. If you only do one thing from the door, do this one before breakfast.
A proper walk
Straight up from Cogra Moss and the highest of the Loweswater fells at 573m. Two and a half hours round. On a clear day you get the Solway, the Isle of Man and Scotland in one turn of the head.
The easy lake
Four flat miles round the whole thing, through Holme Wood, and the only lake in the district where the water flows inward toward the mountains. Good with a pushchair. Good with a hangover.
The famous one
Twenty five minutes over the top. The circuit is four and a half miles, flat, and includes a tunnel cut through rock by a Victorian who wanted a better view. Go early or park in Lorton and walk in.
Wild and empty
No road runs through it, which is why it stays quiet. The lake shore path is stony rather than smooth, so decent boots. Pillar and Steeple sit at the far end if you want a long day.
The pint
Under Melbreak at Loweswater, about fifteen minutes. They brew Loweswater Gold more or less on site. Book a table at weekends because everyone else has had the same idea.
When it is hammering down
Whinlatter Forest has a visitor centre, a cafe and trails that work in rain. The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven takes a couple of hours. Wordsworth House in Cockermouth is small but good. And the Lakes Aquarium is a long drive but it does buy you an afternoon.
Sand
Twenty five minutes to a proper beach with red sandstone cliffs behind it and a seabird colony on the head. It is where the Coast to Coast starts, so there is usually somebody looking nervous with a big rucksack.
What it costs
Prices are per night for the whole caravan, not per person. Longer stays come down automatically.
A £50 deposit holds the dates. The balance is due fourteen days before you arrive. Dogs are £15 each for the stay, up to two.
Getting there and settling in
This page stays here. Bookmark it on the drive up.
Come off the A66 at Cockermouth and take the A5086 south, or leave the M6 at junction 40 and cross on the A66. It is about forty minutes from Keswick and an hour and a quarter from the M6. The last stretch is single track with passing places, so take it steady after dark.
The park is at Lamplugh, Cockermouth, Cumbria CA14. The exact pitch number, the what3words for the gate and the code for the barrier are all in your booking confirmation, because they change between the two caravans.
Coming by train the nearest stations are Whitehaven and Workington, both about twenty five minutes by taxi. There is no bus that gets you here usefully.
From 3pm. If you are going to be very late, send a message so nobody worries, but the key is in the safe and you can arrive at midnight if you need to.
By 10am. Late checkout until noon is £15 if the caravan is free the next day, which it often is midweek.
One car on the hardstanding beside your caravan, right at the door. A second car parks in the visitor bay by the entrance at no charge.
There is wifi in both caravans. The network name and password are on the card by the kettle and in the message you get the day before. Signal is fine for streaming, patchy for video calls.
Gas central heating with a normal thermostat on the hall wall. The gas bottles are in the locker at the side and are included. If one runs out, message Martin and it gets swapped, usually same day.
General waste and recycling go in the bin store by the site entrance, not beside the caravan. Please take anything smelly down before you leave rather than leaving it in the kitchen bin.
Bed linen made up before you arrive, towels, tea towels, washing up liquid, salt and pepper, tea, coffee, a starter roll of loo paper. Travel cot and high chair are free if you ask when you book.
Beach towels, walking boots, dog towels, and food. Nothing waterproof is optional in Cumbria at any point in the year.
The nearest big shop is the Sainsbury's in Cockermouth, about fifteen minutes, and there is a Co-op at Frizington roughly ten minutes the other way for milk and bits. Order a delivery to arrive after 4pm if you would rather not shop on the way.
Guests
There is a guest book on the table in both caravans. These are from it, and from messages.
After you leave
Martin does not have to remember to ask. The request is scheduled against the checkout date, so every guest gets one and nobody gets two.
Hi [name], hope the drive back was alright. If you had a good week at [caravan], would you mind leaving a couple of lines? It takes a minute and it genuinely helps. Thanks, Martin.
Connects to your Facebook page reviews and Google Business profile. Front end only for now, so the button below writes to this page rather than sending anything.
Questions
Yes, up to two, in both caravans. It is £15 per dog for the whole stay, not per night. Please keep them off the beds and the sofas, and take a towel for muddy legs. There is a hose by the tap at the end of the row. Assistance dogs stay free.
Yes. There is a travel cot and a high chair in both, free, but tell us when you book so they are out and ready. There are stairs down from the decking, so a toddler needs watching outside. Board games, jigsaws and a shelf of children's books are in the lounge.
No. Beds are made up before you arrive and there are bath towels and hand towels for everyone in the booking. Bring your own beach towels and something for the dog.
Two nights most of the year. Three nights over bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year. In July and August we prefer full weeks but will take shorter gaps if they come up, so it is worth asking.
A £50 deposit holds the dates. The balance is due fourteen days before you arrive. Card payment goes through a secure Stripe link sent by email, so nothing runs through a personal account and you get a receipt.
Cancel more than twenty eight days before you arrive and the deposit moves to another date within twelve months. Between twenty eight and fourteen days the deposit is kept. Inside fourteen days the full amount stands, though if the dates get filled again you get it back. Travel insurance is worth having.
Honestly, not really. Both caravans are reached by three or four steps up to the decking, and the internal doorways are narrow. Someone unsteady on their feet will manage with a hand; a wheelchair will not. Ask and we will send photographs of the steps so you can judge it yourself.
Not inside either caravan. Outside on the decking is fine. There is an ashtray in the outdoor storage box. A deep clean charge applies if it has been smoked in, which nobody wants.
No. Some places on the park have them, these two do not. If a hot tub is the point of the trip, this is not the right booking and we would rather tell you now.
Martin, directly, on WhatsApp. Not a call centre, not an out of hours line. If he does not pick up straight away he will come back to you, usually within the hour.
You may as well be under it.
Check dates
Step 1 of 4 · When
Pick the day you arrive, then the day you leave.
Payment step
The £50 deposit is taken here by card. This is where the Stripe Checkout link goes. Money lands in the business account with a receipt, instead of going through a personal account.
Nothing is charged on this demonstration site. Submitting sends the summary above to Martin as one complete message.
Your enquiry went across in one message with the dates, the caravan, the party, the extras and the price already worked out. No back and forth.
Martin normally replies inside a few hours. Guests keep writing "quick replies from owner" in the book, which is a fair summary.