Staveley is in the Lake District National Park; a few miles northwest of Kendal, just off the A591 bypass. The bypass has left the village largely undisturbed and visitors to Staveley discover it is something of a hidden gem, as most tourists continue the A591 to Windermere and beyond.
It is situated at the entrance to the Kentmere Valley at the confluence of the rivers Kent and Gowan and is a great base to explore the rest of the Lake District or to discover the many walks and cycle routes from the village itself. Four miles north of Staveley is the start of the Kentmere Horseshoe sometimes called the Kentmere Round, one of the longest and most remote walks in the Lake District.
Staveley railway station is on the Oxenholme to Windermere branch line with the journey to Windermere taking 6 minutes and 8 minutes to Kendal. There is also a regular bus service to Windermere and Keswick and to Kendal and Lancaster. The train timetable can be found here, the bus timetable is here.
For such a small village it is well served by local facilities, a post office, a Spar supermarket, a chemist a butcher as well as a great choice of cafes and bars and a children’s playground.
In Staveley Mill Yard there are many businesses and retail outlets, including: Wheelbase, the UK’s largest cycle shop, the fabulous Wilfs cafe, More’s Artisan bakery a specialist sports shop for runners called The Forge and the Hawkshead brewery, which serves a great range of beers brewed on the premises. This link takes you to a video which provides more background on the yard and the aim of creating a village within a village.
Also highly recommended is Mr Duffin who do great coffee and Kimi’s Gelato Bar for ice cream, and the Eagle & Child Inn which serves food, and it is best to book in advance over the weekend. It also has a quiz night every Thursday.
For children there is the recently refitted playground area and the opportunity to fish for minnows in the River Kent and if you are lucky you may see the salmon jumping, usually between mid-October to December as they return to the place they were born to spawn before dying from the efforts of swimming upstream.