The dramatic landscapes of the Lake District are at their quietest, and their most beautiful, in the winter, discovers NEIL CLARK

According  to Edith Sitwell, winter 'is the time for home'. But I'm sure if the great poet had ever gone on a coach holiday to the Lake District in winter, she'd have had second thoughts. For visiting this most beautiful corner of England out of the main tourist season has distinct advantages, as my wife and I discovered on our recent coach trip.

The great thing about coach holidays is that you can get into relax mode right from the start.

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Picked up at one of Shearings' numerous UK departure points in Coventry, we didn't have to worry about stressful queueing at airports or baggage reclaim: everything is done for you.

Our coach was spacious and comfortable and as soon as our friendly pipe-smoking driver Willie welcomed us and the other 20 or so passengers on board, we felt our holiday had begun.

It was about 7pm when we arrived at our base for our four-night break: the Windermere Hotel perched at the top of Windermere town, with great views over the largest lake in England. We were in good time for dinner, which was excellent with a wide choice of starter, main course and dessert.

Later, we chatted to other members of our party in the lounge and, after just a few hours together, a sense of camaraderie had been built up. There's nothing like coach holidays for doing that.

The next morning after a hearty English breakfast we were ready for our first excursion to the village of Coniston, long associated with Donald Campbell who was killed in 1967 when attempting to break his own world water speed record on Coniston Water.

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For years Campbell and his boat, Bluebird, lay beneath the water but in 2001 both were raised and Campbell was buried in a local graveyard. Looking at the serene beauty of the lake it was hard to imagine the tragedy that had occurred more than 40 years ago.

During the summer the quaint cobbled streets and little alleyways of nearby Hawkshead are packed with visitors, but in winter it's much quieter. After a relaxing stroll round the village, where Wordsworth went to school, we lunched on pie and baked potatoes in the friendly Old Cobblers' tea shop, just off the main square.

One of the Lake District's larger settlements, Ambleside, has the feel of a real Alpine town.

It was an unlikely place to find 'The Homes of Football', a permanent exhibition of football photographs taken by Stuart Clarke. It also has postcards of every football ground in Britain. It's footie heaven.

We finished off our day with a boat cruise across Windermere.

On the half-hour journey, our guide pointed out landmarks such as the 19th-century Wray Castle, now owned by the National Trust. What makes Cumbria's lakes particularly striking is the way the forest comes down right to the water's edge; the area's wild, rugged and almost prehistoric beauty is undoubtedly enhanced in winter.

After an invigorating dose of fresh air on the lake we were pleased to see our coach waiting and we were whisked back to our hotel for tea and mince pies.

Day two began with a trip to Grasmere; 'the loveliest spot that man hath ever found', according to Wordsworth. In the centre of Grasmere is St Oswald's Church, parts of which date from the 13th century, and where Wordsworth and his family are buried. Behind the family plot lies a daffodil garden, laid to commemorate Wordsworth's most famous poem. At the entrance to the churchyard we had another pleasant surprise in store: Sarah Nelson's Gingerbread Shop, where gingerbread has been baked to a secret recipe since the mid-19th century. It was mouthwatering.

We then headed to Keswick, gateway to the northern lakes. A handsome market town, Keswick was, until the end of the 18th century, the world's most important pencilmaking centre, the pencils being made from graphite-mined from the nearby Borrowdale Fells.

With rain falling steadily outside, we decided to take shelter in the Cumberland Pencil Museum, which tells the story of the industry in the area. The museum is full of fascinating exhibits and displays and we soon knew enough about pencil production to have it as our specialist subject on Mastermind. On our way back to Windermere, our driver Neil took us via the spectacular Kirkstone Pass, stopping to allow us to take photographs of the amazing mountain scenery.

We were back in time for a walk up to Orrest Head, which offered spectacular views of the lakeland, Lancashire and the Pennines from the 784ft summit. The following day, we headed south, to the Victorian seaside resort of Grange-OverSands. This is England how it used to be, with no chain stores in sight and lots of cosy tea rooms. Grange in winter is also a great place for bird lovers, nearby Morecambe Bay is visited by more than 200,000 migrating birds, while the town's ornamental lake and garden is home to a variety of exotic ducks and geese.

Our afternoon was spent in Bowness, and we slowly made our way back up the hill through light snow showers to Windermere town, via a stop in the 'The Hole In'T Wall', a 17th-century wood-beamed, stone-floored inn (named after a hole in the wall through which beer was passed to the neighbouring blacksmith's workshop). The Lake District is famous for its cosy old pubs and on a cold winter's day, they are at their most appealing.

Yes, visiting the lakes in winter does have a downside, some of the museums we wanted to visit were closed. But as we sat by the pub's roaring fire, we reflected that the upside more than made up for it.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Shearings Holidays (0844 2097143/www.shearings.com) offers a four-night coach trip staying at the Windermere Hotel from £179pp half-board (two sharing), including two excursions.

Cumbria Tourism: 01539 822222/www.golakes.co.uk