I am going to Patterdale this weekend and never having driven to the Lakes before am I in for a treat (not)?
I will be setting off from Manchester some time Friday afternoon intending to get there before 7 PM. How much time should I allow and should I expect any bottlenecks, etc, and if so where?
I will probably join the M6 signposted Preston, Blackpool, Lancaster and leave it at Junction 36, picking up signs for Kendal, Barrow.
The AA reckon the jouney should take 1 hour and 50 minutes.

It's a bank holiday weekend... ;-)

Well... you won't be the only person on the roads, and while you've already selected Junction 36 as your entry point to the Lakes, you might run into a bit of a tailback around Windermere. If you keep going north along the M6 and leave at Junction 40, you might find the road alongside Ullswater less crowded.

Sometimes, though, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other!

As for Patterdale... you won't be the only person there either!

At quietish times I would say that should take about 2 hours. So, maybe 3? The M6 can get incredibly busy around Preston and Lancaster on bank holiday weekends. I would leave as early as you can and try to be philosophical about when you get there. After all, it's a long weekend so you've got time to sit in traffic for ages!

There's a lot to be said for following the old A6.

There are some major roadworks on the A66 at the moment. Took me while to get through them yesterday afternoon.

Who decided to dig up one of the main routes into the lakes on bank holiday weekend? Who ever it is I want to buy them a pint, it might be a bit quieter for us locals!!

CC - the roadworks on the A66 have been ongoing for a few months now. However, at Easter they stopped work and opened the road. Perhaps they're planning on doing that this coming bank hol weekend as well.

Got to Patterdale within 2 hours setting of mid afternoon with no holdups at all and the return journey this morning was uneventful apart from the jam on the M60 close to home, between Walkden and the Trafford Centre.
On a different note I finally lost my walking virginity apart from a couple of short navigation exercises and chose to go Swirral Edge, across Helvellyn and down Striding Edge and my hips and calves are feeling it today. Any suggestions on (A) how to prevent the aches and pains for future reference, ie, insoles, medicines, not wisecracks like 'stay at home' and (B) what can I use to ease the soreness, ie, a Radox bath or something?

Hi Skinjob,
Welcome to the world of hillwalking, and concrats on breaking your ""walking virginity" with striding edge and swirral edge ! A fine start indeed! takes lots of people time to work up to that so fair do's.
As for the aches, the more you do the less it hurts basically, its the case that you have now stretched and used muscles that just havent been used to it.
Its gonna ache for a day or two,but hot baths will help it as you have suggested.
As for prevention, do some stretches before and after the walk, will help a bit, but its just a case of getting fit now, and the only way to get fit is do walk more, running and gym work do help though.
Just get out as often as you can but build up gradually.

Bushy

Thanx Bushy. I've got my botle of Radox ready. Unfortunately, due to my working every other weekend and other committments I will probably not get out again until later this month. If not it could be August. Looks like it's the gym then !!