Let’s be honest. Weekends in the Lake District are brilliant. They’re also expensive, busy, and full of people who’ve just arrived and have nowhere to park.
Mid-week is different. The roads are quieter. The restaurants have tables. Booths supermarket isn’t a contact sport. And the fells? They’re practically yours.
Here’s the thing. The Lakes don’t care what day of the week you arrive. The views are the same on a Tuesday.
The Maths That Made Us Smile
Alice Howe sleeps 14. It has 7 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. Every. Single. Bedroom. Has its own bathroom.
A mid-week break — Monday to Friday, four nights — starts from £1,000.
Now do the maths. Seven friends. Seven bedrooms. Seven bathrooms. Four nights in the Lake District.
That’s around £143 each. Your own bedroom. Your own bathroom. No sharing. No compromises. No awkward conversations about who’s taking the sofa.
£143 for four nights in a Grade II listed house designed by the same architect who did the interior of the House of Lords.
We’re not saying it’s cheaper than staying at home. But it’s closer than you’d think.
Alice Howe. A Bit of Background.
It’s on The Terrace in Windermere village. A row of five big historic houses. Alice Howe is one of them.
It was designed by AWN Pugin. You’ll know his work — he did the interiors at the Houses of Parliament. The man had taste. It shows.
Inside, there are two king-size four-poster beds, leather Chesterfield sofas, two open fires, a wood-burning stove, and a kitchen big enough to actually cook in. Two fridge-freezers. Two dishwashers. A range cooker.
Nobody goes hungry. Nobody argues about the washing up.
The Bit You Weren’t Expecting
Downstairs — and we mean properly downstairs, in the cellar — there’s a 15-seat cinema. 75-inch Smart TV. Netflix and Prime Video. A proper soundbar.
You don’t need to be 25 to enjoy watching a film on a screen that size with a glass of something good.
Outside, there’s a private hot tub for seven in its own little building in the courtyard. It’s covered. Because this is Cumbria and we’re realists.
Seven Friends. Seven Rooms. One Front Door.
This is the bit we love most about the mid-week silver surfer angle.
You know those weekends away where three people share a room and someone ends up on the sofa and it’s fine but it’s also slightly not fine?
Not here. Seven bedrooms. Seven bathrooms. Everyone gets their own space. Everyone sleeps well. Everyone’s in a better mood at breakfast.
And breakfast, by the way — pop round to Homeground in Windermere village. Just a stroll down the hill. One of the best breakfasts in the Lakes. Order the coffee first.
What’s On the Doorstep
Windermere village is 500 metres away. Booths supermarket — the best supermarket in the North of England, fight us on it — is five minutes’ walk. There are pubs. Restaurants. Cafés. The train station is 400 metres away, so nobody even needs to drive if they don’t want to.
The Lake District is the UK’s adventure playground. But it’s also perfectly happy to be walked gently, eaten in, and admired from a comfortable chair. You get to choose.
Fancy a swim? Miller Ground is a beautiful spot to get into Lake Windermere. The water’s cold but the feeling afterwards is worth it. Or just watch someone else do it and have a coffee.
Changeovers Are Mondays and Fridays
Mid-week breaks run Monday to Friday. Four nights. In, unpacked and settled before the weekend crowd even thinks about arriving. Out before the rush. The Lake District, briefly, on your terms.
One Last Thing
We’ve had guests who booked Alice Howe for a birthday. Who booked it for a reunion. Who’ve been coming back for years.
We’ve had guests in their 30s. Guests in their 70s. Groups of couples. Groups of old friends who just needed an excuse.
The memories you’ll make in a place like this — around that big dining table, in that cinema, sitting in the hot tub watching the stars — they’re the ones you talk about for years.
That’s what a good break does.
Alice Howe is ready when you are.
Book direct at theterracewindermere.co.uk — no booking fees, best price guaranteed.
Andy and Barbara (owners)
