Tour de France 2027: The Grand Départ rolls through Ambleside and Windermere
On Saturday 3 July 2027, the biggest bike race in the world comes to our doorstep. Stage 2 of the Tour de France Grand Départ GB leaves Keswick and runs 223km south to Liverpool, and the opening miles read like a list of our favourite places on earth. The peloton will sweep down the A591 through Grasmere and Rydal, straight through Ambleside, and on past Windermere before heading for Morecambe Bay and the Lancashire fells.
We have a shop in Ambleside and a shop in Windermere and it's so exciting that the Tour de France is passing near both of them.
The Lake District stage, mile by mile
Stage 2 begins in Keswick, under Skiddaw, with Friar Crag and Derwentwater just down the road. From there the riders run along Thirlmere with Helvellyn and Striding Edge rising to the east, then into Grasmere and past Rydal Water with Loughrigg Fell on one side and the Fairfield Horseshoe on the other.
By the time they reach Ambleside they are riding under the Langdale Pikes, with Harrison Stickle catching the morning light. Then comes the long, glittering run alongside Windermere itself.
Stage 1 runs from Edinburgh to Carlisle on Friday 2 July, and Stage 3 heads from Welshpool to Cardiff on Sunday 4 July. But Saturday is ours.
A brilliant day for our two Lake District locations
Grand Départ stages bring enormous crowds. Roads close, villages fill up, and for a few hours Ambleside and Windermere become the centre of the sporting world. Local cafés, campsites, pubs and independent shops across Cumbria are already thinking about it, and the buzz around Cumbria is genuine.
Between now and then there is plenty of time to plan. Book accommodation early, work out your spot on the road, and maybe walk one of the fells the race rides beneath.
Come and say hello
Both shops will be open, both are dog friendly, and both are a very good place to duck into when the Lakeland weather does its thing. Find us at 25a Crescent Road in Windermere and on Compston Road in Ambleside.
See you on the roadside in July 2027. Bring a flag.