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By road

If you are averse to sitting in slow moving traffic, it is probably best to plan your journey to avoid the main arteries into the district on Friday evenings and Saturdays during peak holiday months and national holiday weekends. If you are planning to tour, the next challenge might be to find long stay parking. You could park considerately at a location on the periphery of the region and start your ride there rather than parking in one of the busy centres where you will pay for the privilege. However, the current weekly charge for the Lake District’s official car parks at Brockhole, Buttermere, Coniston, Grasmere, Hawkshead, Langdale, Ravenglass, Thirlmere, Ullswater and Windermere works out at less than £5 per day. That’s not bad value and you can pay by mobile phone – see www.lakedistrict.gov.uk for details.

By air

The nearest airports are Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds/Bradford, Newcastle, Prestwick, Glasgow and Edinburgh. But arriving at any one of these airports still leaves you a journey of 100 miles or more to the Lake District, necessitating hiring a car or using public transport. If you are planning to fly with your bike, you should contact your airline and make a reservation when you book your seat. They will charge you for carrying your bike and will ask that you follow their packing instructions. These typically include turning and locking the handlebars parallel with the frame, removing the pedals and front wheel and attaching them to the frame and deflating the tyres before placing the bike in a carrying bag or transit box. If you are planning to tour, you will also need to organise somewhere to store the transit material ready for collection on your return.