The Ship Inn is ideally situated for visiting a wide range of tourist attractions and for numerous outdoor activities. Many of these are accessible by public transport, but we have given car journey times as a rough indicator of distance. Where possible we have provided a link for further information. For further information on the area try www.geocities.com/kirkby_in_furness/ or www.furness.co.uk

Steam Trains
Lakeside & Haverthwaite Steam Trains. Tel. 015395 31594. The station is just 20 mins. away by road. Go on the lake cruise at the far end of the track to make it a full day out.
Ravenglass & Eskdale Light Railway. (La’al Ratty) www.ravenglass-railway.co.uk An inclusive ticket can be bought on the train from Kirkby station for the scenic journey up the coast and La’al Ratty. Make a full day of it as Ravenglass is a pretty seaside village and the pubs serve good lunches, as does the pub at the far end of the line.
Both these trains have Santa Specials during December, & the Ravenglass Railway has Thomas & friends visiting occasionally during the school holidays.

The Cumbrian Coastal Line has steam trains running along it through Kirkby station. Our ornate iron station bridge is ideal for filming them as they pass through. For details of planned trips go to www.uksteam.info

Historical & Educational Sites
Furness Abbey. Tel. 01229 823420. The stunning red sandstone ruins of the abbey are just 15mins away by car.
Dalton Castle. Just 10 mins. by car, or accessible by train, Dalton Castle and the nearby St. Mary’s Church are well worth a visit.
Brantwood. (John Ruskin’s Home). Tel. 015394 41396. Overlooking Coniston this is a wonderful day out with stunning scenery, boat trips, beautiful architecture and artwork (some for sale in the gallery shop), and Jumping Jenny’s, (015394 41715), a fabulous restaurant. Just 30 mins by car.
Barrow-in-Furness Dock Museum. Tel. 01229 894444. Interesting & educational indoor activities & exhibits, an excellent children’s outdoor play area, and a good café. Adjacent is a level waterside walkway suitable for a stroll. 20 mins by car.
Muncaster Castle. www.muncaster.co.uk Historic haunted castle with an owl centre, beautiful gardens, an excellent restaurant and plenty for children to do. 45 mins by car.
Roman Bathhouse at Ravenglass. 45 mins by car.
Sellafield Visitors Centre. www.sellafield.com Learn about nuclear power and visit interactive exhibitions on this and other topics. Accessible by train, and admission is free!

Wildlife & Nature
South Lakes Wild Animal Park, www.wildanimalpark.co.uk Dalton-in-Furness. Tel. 01229 466086. Just 10 mins. away by car. From the cute and cuddly to the truly ferocious at feeding time.
Natterjack Toads. These increasingly rare toads breed in the Duddon Estuary and if you listen at night you can hear their calls.
Walney Island, Roanhead and Haverigg nature reserves are worth visiting if you like your wildlife on a smaller or more floral scale.
Birdwatching. The Duddon Estuary boasts some rare sightings and is one of the top areas for salt-marsh dwelling birds. The Little Tern & Little Egret have been seen at the RSPB reserve at Hodbarrow.

Naturists
Haverigg boasts beautiful sandy beaches, near one of which is a naturist camp.

Beaches
The area has beautiful sandy beaches at Silecroft, Haverigg and Roanhead. St. Bees has an interesting beach of rocks carved with names from the early 1900’s.

Nearby Towns
Whitehaven is a delightful train ride north. The town has a beautiful harbour, Georgian buildings, good shops and The Rum Story, an interesting walk through interactive museum. www.rumstory.co.uk
Carlisle, Kendal, Keswick, Lancaster and Ulverston are all pleasant and historical shopping centres. Ulverston has a museum dedicated to local celebrities Laurel and Hardy and you can view their website at the following address www.laurel-and-hardy.co.uk.

Lakeland Tourist Spots
Beatrix Potter’s Home and the locations used in the film 'Miss Potter', Wordsworth’s home and the scenes that inspired his poetry, Windermere, Bowness, Coniston, & Ambleside are all within easy reach of the hostel. Slightly further afield are Derwent Water and Wastwater.

Rainy Days
Unfortunately we do get them, but there is still plenty to do.
Dalton , Ulverston, and Barrow all have sports & gym facilities and swimming pools. Ulverston has indoor tennis courts.
Barrow has an excellent leisure centre with sports facilities, a climbing wall, and
a good children’s swimming pool with wave machine, water jets and a big slide. It’s right next to the large town park where there is a boating lake, ducks to feed and an excellent play area.
Kendal also has an excellent leisure centre with very good climbing walls.

Horse Riding
There are several stables locally where lessons or trekking can be booked. As this is popular it is advisable to book as far in advance as you can. Seaview Stables are situated at Biggar Village on Walney Island (01229 474251) and Murthwaite Green Trekking Centre is at Silecroft (accessible by train, www.murthwaitegreen.co.uk
tel. 01229 770876). Both these are able to offer beach riding. Spoon Hall stables near Coniston (015394 41391) offers fell rides.

Canoeing / Rock Climbing / Kayaking / Mountain Walking / Ghyll Scrambling
Kirkby is home to several qualified outdoor pursuits instructors who can arrange guided activities with all equipment provided, or who can advise you of where the best places are if you already have the skills and equipment. For details contact Josh on 01229 889629, email mrjosh@litten10.wanadoo.co.uk

Biking
Tony Barton landlord at The Ship, or Josh Litten (see above link) are both keen mountain/road bikers and can advise you of routes, or ride with you. We have contacts of all ability levels so you don’t need to be super-fit. (Though it does help if you want to explore the hills around here!). The Cumbrian Coast Cycle Way runs past the hostel.
For C to C routes/contacts & more try The Rough Stuff Fellowship at www.rsf.org.uk

Water Sports
Coniston Water is just a pleasant bike ride away, or 20mins by car, and has plenty of secluded beaches where you can picnic, swim and sail. Windermere is around 30mins drive away.
The Duddon is excellent for canoeing but take local advice because of the tides and sinking sands at the estuary.
Fellfoot Park is a good environment to introduce children to water sports and play, www.furness.co.uk/on-line/fellfoot.htm

Fell Running / Walking / Rambling
We have the ideal location for accessing the fells and marshes. The Cumbrian Coastal Path passes the hostel. Walking on the sands or marshes can be dangerous so take local advice on the tides and sinking sands and stick to the footpaths.

Fishing
Both sea and river fishing are popular in the area and we have local contacts who can advise on the best spots. Try www.lakedistrictfishing.net for advice on the net.

Races and Challenges
We are ideally situated and equipped to provide the perfect accommodation for the numerous running and biking events which take place in the Lakes each year. These include The Fred Whitton Challenge, The Coniston 14, The Grizedale Challenge and The Kirkby Fell Race. Why not stay with us before the event to check out the route and have a practice run?
www.fredwhittonchallenge.org.uk
www.coniston14.com
www.gmbc.co.uk

Climbing
Beginners Rock specialise in providing climbing based fun days for families and small groups. Children climb free with paying adults and discounts are available for adult groups. Introduction to climbing and indoor to outdoor courses are also available.
www.beginnersrock.co.uk

River Deep Mountain High
An organisation who specialize in putting together and running outdoor activities packages. http://www.riverdeepmountainhigh.co.uk/Activities.aspx