Do not hesitate to contact us. We are an expert team and we are always happy to talk to you.
01694 723600
You matter to us & we promise to provide you with a superb walking & social holiday, tailored specifically to your needs. We provide walking holidays for walkers & as walkers ourselves, we appreciate & understand the requirements of a walking holiday.
The Lake District is England’s only true mountain area. It has the most beautiful scenery in the land, with its bewitching mix of rugged mountains, deep gylls, shimmering lakes, bouncing waterfalls and attractive stone-built villages. Our solos guided walking holiday introduces you to this spectacular countryside.
This holiday explores some of the magnificent “secret” places of the Southern Lake district, within the area bounded by Coniston/Grange over Sands/Bowness and the southern end of Lake Windermere
Our speciality is offering guided walking holidays for solos and singles in magnificent locations across the UK and Europe. Unlike many other walking companies which offer solos holidays as an extra, we are unique in that we only deal in solos guided walking. We also design bespoke holidays for special groups.
We stay at the Newby Bridge Hotel, at the southern end of Lake Windermere.
We stay Thursday, Friday , Saturday and Sunday – four nights stay, but you may extend it on Monday night if this helps your travel plans. Walking days – Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday until about 3pm. Accommodation is single/double en suite rooms – no sharing. All our hotels have a bar, and a comfortable lounge. The hotel is a walker’s paradise with many varied walks from the door. The hotel also has a drying room should you get wet clothes!!
Please note that due to its location. mobile signal (depending on network) may be variable. You will however during your walks,. be able to access mobile reception. Wifi is available and is free all over the hotel.
Breakfast starts at 8am.
Dinner is two courses – all part of relaxing in these hills.
Your evening dinner is two courses chosen from three- so a main course and either a starter or pudding, and should you want an extra third course, then the hotel will charge you for this.
All our hotels excel in giving you value for money and very tasty evening meals – they pride themselves on their food, much locally sourced and grown. Dinner is three course at the hotel. Dress code is smart casual.
Lunch
Dependent on walks chosen
Option one
We have lunch at some of the area’s lovely country pubs or cafés. They will make sure you have tasty baguettes, baked potatoes, sandwiches or salads, with tasty soups in the colder months. We cater for vegetarians and other dietary requirements so please make sure you make these known prior to arrival. All lunches are included in the holiday. You simply pay for your own drinks.
Option two
We may need to have packed lunches on some days dependent on the walks we choose.
We offer you the opportunity to stay additional nights, and many people extend their weekend as they wish. Just reserve what nights you need.
There are other walking holiday companies that cover the West Yorkshire countryside but we believe we offer the best value for many reasons….
Trains to Windermere – see National Rail
If you arrive at Windermere station, taxi’s are readily available to the hotel – around 8 miles distance.
By car – Junction 36 of the M6 – follow signs for Barrow, Newby Bridge is 10 miles from this junction.
Your Easter programme starts with the first walk on arrival day at 2.30pm from the hotel foyer so please meet at 2pm in your walking clothes with rucksack. If you are unable to make the first walk please let us know.
All full day walks start at 9.30 am, and we generally finish for that welcome cuppa at 4.30 pm where appropriate.. This will give you plenty of time to get ready for dinner. Your walks leaders will make this holiday break relaxing and the wonderful walking will stimulate your enthusiasm for the wide outdoors.
Walking Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday – finishing at 3.30pm to allow you to get away back home. Check out Monday morning.
All the walking is done with our social, relaxed approach – talking is as important as walking.
The Southern Lake District offers a wide variety of terrains and walking opportunities. We will describe each walk the night before and what it entails. We walk at a steady pace, we don’t rush – we want you to enjoy our lovely scenery. These fells are a walker’s paradise with good, mainly well marked paths and an ever changing landscape. There are hills to ascend which we will take slowly. What’s the point of huffing and puffing, being exhausted then not being able to enjoy this fabulous land? This is a land of ever changing vistas – on any walk we get four or five different landscapes to enjoy. Don’t forget your camera.
We walk between 9 and 10 miles per day.
The walks on this trip are rated as Moderate but each day involves a fair amount of ascent and descent. The trip requires a reasonable amount of fitness, ideally with previous hill walking experience.
Paths on this Lake District holiday are mostly well marked and walked but can have rough and uneven with stony parts to them.
These we take carefully, bearing in mind your safety at all times.
You need good walking footwear, preferably waterproof walking boots with good soles for protection. You may find that walking poles will aid your enjoyment of this land.
Whilst we do not ascend the high fells- we will ascend and descend on our walks – up to a total in a day of 750 metres. So, there will be some short, sharp ascents and descents.
Dependent on the abilities of each group, we choose an appropriate set of walks.
In the Southern Lake District there are endless choice of walks, so we will tell you on the first afternoon which walks we will do during this holiday.
Its all about meeting new friends. Each holiday is designed to be a friendly, relaxed and stress free occasion. Talking is as important as walking on Secrethills Walking Holidays. We don’t go in for discos, we may use an event that is taking place in the area we are in to boost the weekends activities – but its good, old fashioned chat that makes our short breaks successful.
“Make new friends that turn into old friends” – that’s our motto.
You might be surprised by what fun you’ll have with people who are older or younger than you during a holiday with us, and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere we encourage; people find it very rewarding. It doesn’t matter what your reasons for traveling with us are, we’ve had people who are single, divorced or widowed, people who have partners that are unable to travel, and people who can’t holiday with their friends anymore as they’ve all got married themselves. There are people who want to make friends, see sights, and experience something completely new. Whatever your reason, we’ll welcome you with open arms and our friendly hosts will help you to get the most out of your holiday.
Don’t worry if this is the first time you have ventured to join a group holiday – its always a bit daunting – but we will look after you and ensure that you get used to being amongst friends again. Trust us to to get you back into the swing of things.
Oh – by the way – its not a dating agency – over the years we have had people meet and fall in love – but that’s just chance. Our aim is that you make like minded friends – just relax and enjoy.
Just arrive and enjoy.
To reserve a place on any of our holidays, please follow these simple instructions.
Reserve online – once you have chosen your holiday, click on Proceed Booking and complete the online form. If you have difficulty reserving online, please contact us (tel: 01694 723600, email: info@secrethillswalking.co.uk) and we will assist you to complete your booking.
Payment
Please note we cannot take credit/debit card details over the phone. You may pay by the following methods when you book online…
Please note than an initial deposit is required with each booking regardless of which payment method you choose. Your booking will be accepted when your payment (deposit or full balance) is received. Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.
It is important that you read the terms and conditions before you sign the booking form.
Note – if you are reserving a holiday within a month of the start date then the full amount is due immediately and no deposit should be paid.
On this holiday we walk in the area bounded by Windermere, Coniston, Ambleside, the Langdales and Grasmere. Wonderful walking in outstanding natural beauty. At 885 square miles the Lake District is England’s largest national park just waiting to be explored.
The Lakes are home to England’s deepest lake Wastwater; longest lake Windermere and highest mountain, Scafell Pike In fact there are only 5 peaks over 900m in England and they are all here in Cumbria. With 50 stone circles, and Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whether you want to delve into our deep, sometimes dark past or simply enjoy some stunning surroundings, there’s plenty of local history and heritage to keep you interested in the scenic highlights of the Lake District.
The walking was pleasant and we were fortunate to have sunshine to see the area at its best. I appreciated being able to walk from the hotel and using the local bus service to travel bit further afield. We had time to enjoy the views and surroundings (and the Easter Egg hunt – thank you Tina!)
The organisation of the holiday was good. The arrangement with the bakery in Grange for pre-ordering packed lunches worked well. The choices and quality were excellent.
Tina informed us of the route each day and pointed out features we shouldn’t miss.
I would happily book another holiday with Secret Hills. Guided walking – Tina and Alvina took very good care of the group adapting to individual needs and sharing knowledge of the area, plants and historic tales. On the last day Tina offered to take anyone interested up Gummer How. Seeing such stunning views this was a much appreciated offer. Organisation of holiday – Very good, everything happened at the right time in the right place so I would say well organised. Walks were checked prior to the visit to ensure routes were passable. My initial doubts disappeared once I arrived and was made to feel welcome, I can say I really enjoyed the holiday.
Guided walking – it was brilliant, lovely views and great friendly and helpful leaders who are knowledgeable about the area. Great trip thanks.
All the walks were excellent – varied, away from the Easter crowds and at a reasonable pace. Tina and Alvina were great walk leaders who took time to get to know us and ensure everyone was ok. Very well organised as usual.
I really enjoyed the experience and the group of people we walked with were excellent company and everyone was friendly. The guides both of them were amazingly professional and made everyone feel at ease. Very well organised. Thank you.