The Summer School will be held at the Low Wood Bay Resort Hotel, Windermere in Cumbria, UK. The hotel is located between the towns of Windermere and Ambleside.
Travel by car
The hotel provides some information, including the full address and directions to the hotel, on their website: https://englishlakes.co.uk/low-wood-bay/how-to-find-us/.
Travel by public transport
Windermere to the hotel
The nearest train station is Windermere.
A taxi rank is sited at the station entrance. Taxis take approximately 15 minutes, depending on the time of day and the weather, and cost roughly £20. Taxi drivers will accept cash and some will accept credit card payment (typically VISA or MasterCard only). Note that £50 notes are rarely accepted anywhere in the UK. If you wish to pay by credit/debit card, it would be best to discuss that with the driver before setting off.
Windermere train station is co-located with Windermere bus station. A number of public buses travel towards Ambleside and there is a stop outside the hotel. A bus ticket can be purchased from the driver and costs roughly £7. If you ask for a ticket to Low Wood Bay Hotel, the driver will know the stop to which you are referring. There are usually staff from the bus companies on-hand to assist you at the station. The journey takes roughly 20-30 minutes, depending on the time of day and the weather. Bus drivers will accept cash, but usually not large denomination notes. £5 and £10 notes are usually OK. £50 notes are rarely accepted anywhere in the UK. Many bus companies will accept credit card payment (typically VISA or MasterCard only).
Many of the attendees and teaching staff will be arriving at Windermere by train on the morning of the first day, so there is the possibility of sharing transport.
Bus timetables: https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/buses/lakes/default.asp. Search for ‘Windermere’.
Manchester airport to Windermere
The train to Windermere connects to the main West Coast train service at Oxenholme. Therefore it is usual to change trains there.
The most appropriate airport is Manchester International Airport. There is a train station located between Terminals 1 and 3. It is possible to get a train directly from Manchester Airport to Windermere, but you will usually need to change, possibly more than once.
The web page for the airport train station is https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/getting-to-and-from/by-train/. On that page they say “Save money by pre-booking your train tickets online on the official Manchester Airport website”. This has a link to ‘The Trainline’. However, it is usually cheaper to purchase tickets via the National Rail website (https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/) which does not charge a booking fee. Tickets can be purchased at the station either from a machine, or a kiosk. Before purchasing a ticket that is only valid on a specific service, consider the time it may take to retrieve your luggage from the aeroplane, locate the station and purchase a ticket. Queues are a national pastime in the UK. It could also happen that your flight is delayed. The difference in cost between a pre-booked ticket, and one bought on-site, may not be worth the worry.
Note that there are three rail companies that sell tickets to the Windermere area: Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express and Northern. Some tickets for longer journeys may not be valid on all trains. The ticket validity is detailed on the National Rail website.
Not all trains sell food, so it may be wise to buy snacks before you set off.