Historic Houses & Gardens - South Cumbria
This tour is perfect for groups who love to visit historic country houses and explore beautiful gardens.
Levens Hall
Levens Hall is a Grade 1 listed Elizabethan mansion, and a great place to spend half a day in the South Lakes. Built around a 13th century Pele Tower, the hall is home to fine oak panelling, ornate plasterwork and beautiful collections of furniture, clocks and paintings.
Outside, it’s home to the world’s oldest topiary garden, dating back to 1694 and designed by Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont. There’s also a small orchard, a rose garden, herbaceous borders, seasonal bedding and more. Once your guests have explored the house and gardens, they can head to Levens Kitchen (the onsite café) for morning coffee and freshly baked cakes, made using local produce.
Venue Details:
Opening Hours: Sunday – Friday for the House and Gardens between April – October. The house is open 10am for tours, 11am – 3.30pm for general admission; the gardens are open 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm).
Entrance Fees: Pre-book to save 50p per person off the standard entry fee.
Parking for Coaches: Free parking available for pre-booked coaches. Voucher for coach driver to spend in the café.
Contact: houseopening@levenshall.co.uk
Facilities: Toilets and café on site. Gift shop and bakery.
Road links: Levens Hall is conveniently located adjacent to the A6. Careful negotiation of the main entrance gates is required and ideally should be approached from Junction of 36 of the M6 motorway rather than from Milnthorpe/ Carnforth Junction 35 of the M6.
Holker Hall & Gardens
Arrive for lunch and spend the afternoon at Holker Hall & Gardens. Home to the Cavendish family, and never sold throughout its 400-year history, Holker Hall is set amidst 25 acres of woodland and gardens. Your guests can explore the Victorian country house at the heart of the estate, with its Neo-Elizabethan architecture and fascinating interiors; and then wander the extensive gardens.
Holker offers beautiful landscaped grounds, a small playground & picnic area. The Gift shop offers a selection of items for home and garden, while the Courtyard Cafe offers delicious homemade food, cakes and daily specials.
Venue Details:
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm (Hall 4pm). Allow two hours for a visit to house and gardens.
Entrance Fees: Special rates for groups of 12 or more. Free entry for organiser and driver.
Parking for Coaches: Free parking with dedicated parking area for coaches. Personal welcome by a member of the Holker team, who will board the coach to welcome you, plus issue your tickets and leaflets on arrival
Contact: Tel: 015395 58328 or email info@holker.co.uk
Facilities: Toilets and café on site. Gift shop.
Road links: Holker Hall is approximately, 30 minutes’ drive from Levens Hall. Follow the A590 in the direction of Ulverston and at Haverthwaite exit left and follow signs for Holker. Holker advise drivers not to take the route to the hall via Grange-over-Sands because there is a sharp turn over a bridge at Flookburgh, which is difficult for coaches.
Lakeland Motor Museum
Lakeland Motor Museum is home to over 30,000 exhibits exploring the history of road transport throughout the 20th century. The museum is just minutes from Lake Windermere and enjoys a very convenient location by the side of the A590.
Venue Details:
Opening Hours:
Entrance Fees: Discounts for groups of 20 or more (2024 group rate £9.20). Free places for coach drivers and tour leaders. Incentives for coach drivers.
Parking for Coaches: Free parking available.
Contact: 015395 30400 or email info@lakelandmotormuseum.co.uk
Facilities: Toilets and café on site. Café Ambio can cater for groups. Gift shop.
Road links: The museum is conveniently located adjacent to the Lake District’s arterial A590, between Newby Bridge and Haverthwaite, only 20 minutes’ drive from J36, M6 and Central Lakes (Bowness), via the A592. Sat Nav, LA12 8TA. Follow white on brown tourism signs.
Here to Help
Cumbria Tourism is the official Local Visitor Economy Partnership for the Lake District, Cumbria and is here to help you find the right accommodation for your customers, locate new ex¬periences, secure guides and more. Our team will also help with introductions to contacts and suppliers who are happy and keen to work with the travel trade. We can also provide the travel trade with free access to our extensive library of images and video footage of which we own the copyright.
For further information email Francine Bult: fbult@cumbriatourism.org or sign up to receive our travel trade e-newsletters at www.cumbriatourism.org/traveltrade.
The Let’s Go Culture project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is supported by Westmorland & Furness Council. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus