Bitt Chapel House - self catering sleeps 5

Fellwalkers can choose from Wasdale, Eskdale, Ennerdale or the lesser known Mitredale to access the high western fells; all just a few minutes drive away. Or you may choose to walk past the Bridge Inn, up Irton Pike and then onto the Wasdale Screes, leaving the car back at base.

For those with a taste for the sea, there are three main beaches to choose from: the lonely Drigg, backed by dunes and a wildlife reserve and Seascale, quiet but with a scattering of shops and other facilities. Both these are less than 10 minutes drive away. The third is St Bees, about twenty minutes away, a delightful seaside village that seems to have moved on very little in the last hundred years. St Bees has a wide expanse of sandy beach, red sandstone cliffs and is the starting point for Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk. Suitable for all age groups, St Bees is particularly child friendly, with play areas and a beach café.

Other local attractions include the Ravenglass and Eskdale narrow gauge steam railway, Muncaster Castle, the Woodland Tea Rooms and the delightful village of Gosforth, less than three miles away, with its small supermarket, free parking, village bakery and pubs and coffee shops


At the end of the day, many will choose to settle down at Bitt and provide for themselves. Others may choose to sample the local pubs. Just half a mile down the road there is the Bridge Inn with its selection of Jennings cask ales and several menus, catering for snacks, bar meals, the restaurant or the bistro ~ all highly recommended! Slightly further afield there are other pubs also providing excellent catering at Calder Bridge, Eskdale Green, Boot, Ravenglass, Nether Wasdale and Wasdale Head; all within a 15 minute drive.

Jennings is the classic Lakeland tipple, and the brewery is within striking distance at Cockermouth, about half an hour away.