Lodges with private hot tubs in Cumbria

The central fells and their lakes are the draw, and over the summer, that is where the crowds head. Beyond the national park, the county opens out, bigger and noticeably quieter, changing with every direction you take.

East of the M6, the Eden Valley runs north under the long Pennine scarp, red-sandstone villages strung along a salmon river, with the Settle to Carlisle railway winding through. North again, the land opens towards Carlisle and the Solway, where Hadrian's Wall crosses country empty enough for the night skies to go properly dark.

South, it softens. The Lune Valley threads down towards the Yorkshire Dales, and the Furness peninsula reaches into Morecambe Bay, all tidal sand and estuary light.

Quiet bases, with the Lakes in reach

Where you settle shapes the trip more than anything, and the first call is how close to the crowds you want to be. They gather around Windermere, Bowness and Keswick for good reason, and a handful of the stays sit right among them, handy for the steamers and a choice of restaurants. But most of the self-catering cottages and lodges sit a valley or two back, where the same fells stay on the doorstep with far less traffic past the gate.

In the fells, off the main drag

Around Coniston and Torver, the Old Man fills the skyline, and the lanes empty fast once you leave the village. The western valleys towards Eskdale run down to a quiet coast, and the high hamlets above Ullswater are single-track-road country where you stop seeing cars.

These are walking-first bases, short on nightlife and long on fell days. A hot tub earns its keep here more than anywhere, waiting for tired legs at the end of a long day on the tops.

East to the Eden Valley and Hadrian's Wall

Cross the M6 and the mood changes. The Eden Valley is farmland and red sandstone, gentler than the central fells, with market towns like Penrith, Appleby and Kirkby Stephen for a shop and a pub. The Pennines rise to the east, the northern Lakes are half an hour west, and almost nobody is competing with you for a parking space.

North towards Brampton and the line of Hadrian's Wall, the land empties out altogether. Cottages and shepherd's huts here trade lake views for dark skies and Roman history, with the Northern Lights a rare treat when the skies stay clear.

South to the Lune Valley and the coast

The southern edge is the easiest to reach and a fine spot for pottering about. Around Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh, the country is green and gentle, the smooth Howgill Fells rising over the town, Dales as much as Lakes in feel. On the coast, Grange-over-Sands looks out over Morecambe Bay, the tide sliding out for miles and racing back across the sand, with Cartmel a couple of miles inland.

This is the part of Cumbria that suits a slower break. It also holds a wide spread of stays, from cabins for two to luxury country houses big enough for three generations at one table.

Soaks with a fell, a lake or the bay in view

Most people book for the hot tub, so it pays to think about what yours will actually look at. Across Cumbria, the view changes more than the price does, and it follows the geography closely. Choose by the view, because a hot tub facing a fell is a different evening from one facing a fence.

In the central fells, the best of them face something with a name, the Old Man of Coniston across a valley, or Windermere glinting down through the trees. On the southern coast, the outlook turns wide and watery, the Morecambe Bay estuary draining to the horizon and filling again twice a day. Up towards Hadrian's Wall, the best of it comes after dark, with stargazing from the hot tub on a clear night.

The right stay for the trip

Cumbria suits most kinds of trip, and the stay tends to follow who is coming. Couples have the widest pick, with shepherd's huts, glamping pods and small cabins built for a quiet couple of nights. These are often the most secluded stays of all, the ones where the hot tub does most of the work.

Families and groups are well served too. The larger cottages and barn conversions have room for cousins and grandparents under one roof. At the top end, a few luxury country houses sleep a couple of dozen, with games rooms, long tables and grounds where the children can roam. These are the houses a milestone weekend books out months ahead.

Dog-friendly cottages and cabins

Many of these stays welcome a dog, so there is dog-friendly accommodation across the county with little compromise on comfort. The best come with an enclosed garden for letting one out last thing, and a number of owners leave a bowl, a towel and a note on the local walks. With the fells, the forest tracks and the long bay beaches all close by, it is fine country to bring a dog along.

Fell walks, lake cruises and Hadrian's Wall

A week is not enough for all of it: the lake cruises, the big fells, the Roman country up north and the gardens and castles in between. These are the ones worth planning a day around.

Getting up there, and the practical bits

Remote as it feels, Cumbria is a straight drive up the M6, which forms the spine of the county. Junctions 36 to 40 drop you into the southern Lakes, Kendal, the Eden Valley and Penrith, and you carry on north for Carlisle and the Wall. The West Coast Main Line shadows the same route, with fast trains to Oxenholme for the Lake District, Penrith and Carlisle. So getting here for a hot tub holiday need not mean a marathon drive.

The hot tubs are private as standard, kept hot and ready rather than fired up to order. Many sit under cover or in a shelter of their own, which is what turns a soak in the rain into one of the better parts of the break rather than a washout.

On timing, the central Lakes are busiest over the school holidays and bank holidays. If your week is fixed, the county's quieter corners are the way to dodge the worst of the rush. Either way, book your hot tub break well ahead, as the stand-out stays go quickly.