The Lake District shopping experience

If you are looking for some retail therapy there are department stores, specialist shops and factory outlets in the main towns. From Lakeland Limited in Windermere to Hawkshead Clothing to Bowness-on-Windermere which has something for everyone; there's a lot of shopping to be done in the Lakes. K Shoes Factory Outlet in Kendal boasts Laura Ashley to Crabtree& Evelyn and in Kendal town centre there's , Elephant Yard and the Westmorland Shopping Centre.

Arts, Crafts and Antiques

Arts and crafts, antiques and books, all are well served in the Lake District, There are countless galleries, antique and craft shops tucked away in the Lakeland villages.

Outdoor Shops

Need a fleece or waterproof walking gear? Ambleside must be the capital of outdoor gear with a myriad shops, fighting for the business. Keswick also is host to a number of outdoor shops such as George Fisher.

Garden Centres

If you are a keen gardener there are a whole host of garden centres in the local area including Hayes Garden World in Ambleside and Webbs Garden Centre, Kendal.

Speciality Food Shops

Cumbria also has a wide selection of unique speciality food shops that you won't find anywhere else, and are all well worth visiting. The Grasmere Gingerbread shop is one such place: Over 140 years ago, Sarah Nelson began baking gingerbread in what was once the old school house tucked by St Oswald's lychgate (where William Wordsworth is buried). They still use the same 'secret' recipe, it is superb. The gingerbread is made daily, and the wonderful aroma of freshly baked gingerbread is enough to lure anyone into this tiny shop and if you time your visit right you can buy it while still warm and soft.

If visiting Kendal, a must for all chocaholics is the 1657 Chocolate House on Branthwaite Brow. So called, because 1657 was the date the first chocolate House opened in England. It sells a variety of chocolates and upstairs there is a cafe - the menu is almost entirely devoted to chocolate cakes and patisseries. The building itself is estimated to date back to 1630.

Other delicacies to look out for are the famous Kendal mint cake, sticky toffee pudding from Cartmel, ice cream, Cumberland sausages, chocolate, honey, mustard and. there's also a wide variety of locally brewed ales, most served only at source (eg. Coniston, Cartmel).