Holiday rentals and lettings in Penrith

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a holiday rental or letting in Penrith?
• Holiday rentals and lettings in Penrith: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Penrith: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Penrith?

• Stone cottages and lodges: Most lettings here are self-catering cottages and timber lodges with parking and a garden, many of them dog-friendly and set within a short drive of the fells.
• Town base or quiet lanes: Stay in the town centre for markets and the castle, or in Yanwath, Whinfell Forest and the Eden Valley for space and dark skies.
• Guests rate the welcome: Our top-rated Penrith properties score 9.9+, with reviewers praising warm hosts, wood burners and easy access to Ullswater.
• Late spring and autumn shine: May and September bring long light and thinner queues, while July and August are the busiest and priciest weeks.
• Castle, waterfall and stones: Days fill up quickly with Penrith Castle, Aira Force, Long Meg and her Daughters and the Rheged centre just off the roundabout.

Penrith is a working market town rather than a lakeside village, so the accommodation reflects everyday Cumbrian life: red sandstone terraces near the high street, converted barns on the edge of the Eden Valley, and timber lodges tucked into woodland. Families tend to book cottages in Penrith with a garden and a wood burner, while walkers and couples often prefer log cabins or a room at one of the bed and breakfasts closer to town. Try glampings options in summer. Most stays here are self-catering. Look out for these features when you compare:

• Off-road parking, which matters if you plan to drive to the fells each morning
• Enclosed gardens and drying rooms for muddy boots and wet waterproofs
• Wood burners or open fires for cool Cumbrian evenings
• Dog-friendly rules, common across the Eden Valley lets

Book early for half-term and August, when the best-rated places go first.

What are the best areas to stay in Penrith?

For a first visit, base yourself in Penrith town centre, within walking distance of the castle ruin, the markets and the railway station. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests who stay around Penrith consistently mention the same three things: how quickly they reach the fells, how generous the space feels compared with lakeside villages, and how welcoming the hosts are. Ratings of 9.9+ are not unusual here, and reviewers regularly single out log burners, well-stocked kitchens and hosts who leave walking maps and local recommendations on the table.

Here are our top-rated holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Bumblebee Nook - 9.9+: A six-person cottage near Whinfell Forest, praised for its parking, dishwasher and quiet woodland setting.
2. The Mains - 9.9+: A snug three-person cottage in Penrith itself, with a private yard and parking right outside the door.
3. Primrose Bank - 9.9+: A dog-friendly Penrith cottage sleeping six, with a garden, dishwasher and space for boots and bikes.

Penrith sits in Cumbria at the north-eastern edge of the Lake District, where the Eden Valley meets the fells and the M6 runs past the town.

✈️What is the best way to get to Penrith?

Penrith is one of the easiest Lake District gateways to reach without a change, thanks to its main-line station. Here are the most common ways to get to the town:

• Train: Penrith North Lakes station sits on the West Coast Main Line, with direct Avanti services from London Euston in around three hours and from Glasgow Central in under two. Manchester, Preston and Carlisle are all straightforward connections, and the station is a five-minute walk from the town centre, so you can arrive without a car and pick up a bus or hire vehicle afterwards.
• Car: Junction 40 of the M6 drops you straight onto the A66 at the edge of town, which is why Penrith is such a practical base. From Manchester the drive takes roughly two hours, from Glasgow around two and a half. The A66 runs west towards Keswick, while the A6 heads south through Eamont Bridge; both give quick access to Ullswater and the Eden Valley.

🥗Where to eat in Penrith?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, La Casita is the best rated restaurant in Penrith. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte recommends the Grants of CastleGate in Penrith: a small contemporary British dining room on Castlegate where the evening menu changes often and booking well ahead is genuinely worth the effort.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

The sweet spot is late spring and early autumn. May and June bring long daylight, hawthorn along the Eden Valley lanes and fells that are green rather than parched, while September keeps the settled weather but loses the school-holiday queues at Aira Force and the Ullswater piers.

Spring

• Best for: Walkers who want long light and quiet paths on Hallin Fell and along the River Eamont.
• Weather: Cool and changeable, with bright spells between showers and temperatures climbing through the teens by late May.
• Atmosphere: Calm and unhurried, with markets, gardens and country houses reopening for the season.

Summer

• Best for: Families making the most of Ullswater steamers, waterfalls and long evenings outdoors.
• Weather: The warmest stretch of the year, though Cumbrian rain rarely takes a full week off.
• Atmosphere: Lively and busy, with lakeside car parks filling early and the town centre humming on market days.

Autumn

• Best for: Couples after fell colour, woodsmoke and a table at the better restaurants without a long wait.
• Weather: Mild in September, wetter and windier by November, with the first snow on Cross Fell.
• Atmosphere: Quiet and golden, with bracken turning copper across the Eden Valley.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Penrith local expert, the team of Primrose Bank recommends coming to visit the Eden Valley rather than driving straight past it towards the honeypot lakes. Follow the river south to Long Meg and her Daughters at dusk, then loop back through Little Salkeld and Langwathby, where the lanes are empty and the sandstone glows. You can read more about local tips on the team's page.

1. Wander the ruins of Penrith Castle
2. Stand beneath Aira Force
3. Circle Long Meg and her Daughters
4. Browse Rheged and the market squares
5. Climb Hallin Fell above Ullswater

1. Wander the ruins of Penrith Castle

   Right opposite the railway station, Penrith Castle stands as a red sandstone shell in a public park, free to walk around at any hour. Begun in the late 14th century as a defence against Scottish raids, it was later strengthened by Richard Duke of Gloucester. What survives is roofless but substantial, with thick curtain walls and a dry moat, and the surrounding lawns are a favourite spot for a takeaway lunch. Climb Beacon Hill afterwards for a view over the town and out towards the Pennines.

2. Stand beneath Aira Force

   A twenty-minute drive west brings you to Aira Force, a 70-foot waterfall that drops through a wooded gorge above Ullswater. Stone footbridges cross above and below the fall, so you can watch the water from both angles, and the path continues uphill through an arboretum planted in the 19th century. It is busiest at midday in summer; arrive early and you will often have the lower bridge to yourself. Bring proper footwear, because the steps stay slick even in dry weather.

3. Circle Long Meg and her Daughters

   Six miles north-east of town near Little Salkeld sits one of the largest stone circles in the country. Long Meg is a tall red sandstone monolith carved with spiral markings, watched over by dozens of rough boulders arranged in a wide ring. There is no visitor centre and no ticket office, just a farm lane, a gate and the Eden Valley spreading out around you. Local legend claims the stones are a coven turned to rock by a wizard; the archaeology points to the Bronze Age instead.

4. Browse Rheged and the market squares

   Built into a hillside just off the A66 roundabout, Rheged is a grass-roofed arts centre with galleries, a cinema, a pottery studio and one of the better food halls in the county, useful on the sort of wet afternoon Cumbria specialises in. In town, the old market squares still host regular stalls, and the narrow yards off Great Dockray hide bookshops, butchers and cafes. Tuesday and Saturday are the liveliest days to browse.

5. Climb Hallin Fell above Ullswater

   If you want a big Lake District view for modest effort, Hallin Fell is the one. From the church at Howtown the climb takes about half an hour on grass, ending at a tall obelisk cairn with Ullswater curving away beneath you. Many walkers combine it with the Ullswater steamer from Pooley Bridge, or continue along the shoreline path towards Patterdale for a longer day. Pack a windproof layer; the summit is exposed.