Getting outdoors as a Lancaster University student

By Anna Foster, September 2024

Lots of students come to Lancaster drawn by the beautiful surroundings and nature here in the North West, however often the busyness of student life and the limitations of not having a car can hold students back from really getting to take advantage of the beautiful place we all get to be students. I love hiking and getting outdoors and spend as much of my free time possible exploring the surrounding area, especially the Lake District, so here are my top tips to help you get outdoors as a student!

1. Societies

My top tip is to join relevant societies. I spend most of my weekends hiking in the Lake District thanks to being a member of Lancaster hiking club. There are loads of other societies that can help you get outdoors as well such as mountaineering, wildlife and conservation society and edible campus.

I love hiking club not only because it makes it easy to get to the Lake District and I don’t have to organise the hikes myself but because it’s great to do these activities alongside likeminded people and societies of any kind have a great community aspect. So, my top tip above all else if you’re keen to get outdoors is to find other people who want to do the same and societies are the best way to do that.

2. Don’t be put off by the weather!

As students we often don’t end up spending our summers here which supposedly means you miss the nicest weather of the year, but I have to say especially in touristy places like the Lake District its so quiet in the off season that it makes up for the colder weather.

The Lake District is absolutely beautiful in autumn with the vibrant red, oranges and browns and in Winter and early Spring the peaks of the mountains are often topped with snow. Summer might be great but how many people get to go swimming in chilly Lake District tarns while they gaze up at the snowy mountains above? No matter the time of year there’s always a variety of weather and some of the clearest days where I could see as far as Blackpool Tower from the top of the Lake District fells were actually in Winter and Spring.

3. Public Transport

To the Lake District

Though they might take a while there are lots of public transport options. The 555 bus from Lancaster bus station goes all the way to Keswick and is the main way I get to the Lake District outside of hiking club. It currently only costs £2 one way so makes going to the Lake District much cheaper than the train. The route passes through Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick (the main towns/villages in the Lake District). You can also pick up other bus routes in the Lake District from these places. For all the bus routes in the Lake District go to the stage coach website or there are lots of “Lake District by bus” leaflets in the bus station.

However, if speed is important, you will get there a lot faster on the train. The main train stations with connections to the Lake District are Oxenholme, Windermere and Penrith. The Southern Lake District coastline is also accessible by trains to Carlise and Barrow-in-Furness. Northern, Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express are the main train operators so you can find timetables on their websites, or I normally use Trainline.

If you want to do an overnight trip to the Lake District by public transport, in my experience, YHAs have been a great option and they can cost as little as £15 per night in a dorm room, and some are very close to bus stops. Last June, I stayed at Ambleside YHA which is less than 5 minutes from Ambleside Waterhead bus stop so very convenient to get to via the 555 bus! There are many options to help you explore and with the bus often taking a long time staying overnight gives you more time in the Lakes.

For the Yorkshire Dales

The Northern Morecambe-Leeds Bentham line passes between Bowland Forest and the Yorkshire Dales and stops at many stations close to the southern Yorkshire Dales so if you want explore beyond the Lake District (I haven’t yet) or want a change of scenery this is likely a good option. There’s also Kirkby Lonsdale buses from the Bus station that go to Kirkby Lonsdale which is a good drop of point for walks or connections to other buses in the Dales as well, though similar to the stagecoach Lake District buses they can take a long time.

Closer to Lancaster

If paying for an expensive train or sitting on a bus for hours to go to the Lake District or Yorkshire dales doesn’t appeal, you can still get outdoors! There’s plenty of options closer to Lancaster.

The 49 from the Bus station can take you to the upriver section of the Lune where lots of students like to go, especially in summer term. There’s also lots of buses from town and campus to Morecombe if you want some sea views.

Arnside and Silverdale ANOB is also not far from Lancaster and is my top recommendation for enjoying some nature closer to Lancaster. RSPB Silverdale nature reserve is right next to Silverdale train station and Arnside town is a lovely seaside village also accessible by train with beautiful views of the Lake District on a clear day. Carnforth is another good drop of point, just south of the ANOB you can get there by train or bus.

4. Walks from town/campus

There’s also plenty to explore without having to get on any transport. For more serious walkers it’s possible to walk up Clougha Pike from campus (this is the hill you can see to the east from campus) in the Forest of Bowland National Landscape. For more relaxed walks, forest hills is not far from campus and of course there’s always the woodland walk which loops all the way around campus and is where I’d often go on runs in my first year.

There is the Lune estuary trail and the Lancaster canal which you can walk or cycle easily from town. Fairfield nature reserve is not far from the canal and just south of town.

And of course, there’s Williamson Park where there are beautiful sunsets and views across Morecombe Bay. You can also go in the butterfly house and small zoo there. This is popular among students and a lovely natural space close to Lancaster – a must visit for any student!

5. Maps

If you’re a walker like me apps like All Trails and OS maps are very useful to plot out specific routes. If you’re going to be getting outdoors lots it might also be worth investing in some decent maps of the area, Lancaster is right on the edge of the few different maps, so I got a personalised OS map which I’ve used to plan routes from town and campus. If you’re wanting to go all different places the physical maps can get expensive quickly but if you have an OS maps subscription you can print out maps and the printers in the library aren’t too expensive to use.

6. Colleges

Occasionally colleges will offer trips to the Lake District, for example, last year Furness College did a trip to Grizedale Forest. It’s worth looking on your college website or even asking your JCR if there’s anything coming up.

Lancaster is in such a beautiful area, and it’d be a shame to not make the most of it in your time as a student here. It’s really worth making the effort to pop up to the Lake District at least once and with affordable public transport options it doesn’t have to break the bank.