The Lake District is about a 30 mile by 30 mile area of natural beauty with quaint towns dotted around the many lakes. The main towns are fairly well-connected by Stagecoach bus so if you have a simple itinerary without deep-diving into the mountains, you probably can get by solely on public transport.
For the really raw natural scenery especially along the Honister Pass route, there is bus coverage but frequencies are low, making planning difficult and you will likely waste a lot of time waiting for the next service.
image source : Stagecoach
The following suggestions are based on the spring 2026 Stagecoach schedules.
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Southern Lake District
Windermere / Bowness / Ambleside / Grasmere
This is the main rail gateway into the Lake District from the south and a major bus hub.
Both 555 and 599 offer fairly frequent services as good as every 20 minutes between Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, and Grasmere. Within these towns, it is perfectly fine to travel without a car.
Easily reachable by bus? VERY EASY
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Northern Lake District
Keswick
Keswick is a fairly large town and major attractions such as the Derwentwater lakefront and Pencil Museum are walkable from the centre.
To get here from the southern Lake District towns such as Windermere is straight forward on the frequent 555.
The Castlerigg Stone Circle is not along a bus line though.
Easily reachable by bus?
VERY EASY except Castlerigg Stone Circle
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Northern Lake District
Aira Force
Route 509 takes you from Keswick to Aira Force in about 30 minutes, but they run only 8 buses a day. You would likely get about an hour and a half to visit the falls before the next bus back to Keswick so it is still do-able.
Easily reachable by bus? SOMEWHAT
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Northern Lake District
Ashness Bridge & Surprise Bridge
The beautiful area south of Keswick that includes Ashness Bridge and the Surprise View does not have bus service at all, although the 78 does run along the lakeside nearby. From there, a small narrow road runs uphill so walking the mile-long trek there from the coast may get a bit iffy. That road can't fit 2 cars going in opposite directions at the same time so there are passing bays. Traffic is sparse here but it's not a relaxing or very safe walk either.
Easily reachable by bus? DIFFICULT
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Northern Lake District
Honister Pass
While route 77 runs from Keswick or Cockermouth through the Honister Pass and Buttemere, expect a bus about hourly during the day although the intervals vary greatly that can go up to an hour and a half. So you will be stuck at the pass' top for a long time after taking a few photos of the beautiful scenery. There are 90-minute mine tours available to consider if you need to spend more time up there.
Heading downhill from the mine, I also recommend stopping at Buttermere, but you will face the same problem with the bus frequencies.
While it is still do-able to stop at both the mine and Buttermere by bus, given the low frequencies, consult the schedules thoroughly to plan your outing. This trip is better done with a car for greater flexibility. The road is scenic and there are safe spots to stop and enjoy the scenery.
Easily reachable by bus? DIFFICULT
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