The Best Golf Courses in the Lake District
England's most beautiful county hides its golf well: a top hundred caliber links on the Solway coast, an Alister MacKenzie design above Morecambe Bay, the third oldest links land in England and a clutch of fell country courses where every backswing has a mountain behind it. Here are the ten that matter in the Lake District and wider Cumbria, ranked.
Photograph: Windermere Golf Club, via Google
How we ranked them
We rank on the quality of the golf first: the land, the architecture, the greens and the walk. Then we weigh setting, condition, visitor welcome and value, and in Cumbria the setting earns its keep, because nowhere else in England do you play between mountains and two separate coastlines. Every fee below is the club's own published visitor rate, checked in June 2026, with the season and year stated wherever a club had not yet published a 2026 card.
A note on geography. The National Park itself holds only a handful of courses, so this list covers the county golfers actually tour: the Solway coast in the far northwest, the Irish Sea links down the west coast, the Eden Valley and M6 corridor in the north and east, and the south Lakes above Morecambe Bay. The headline act sits an hour from the nearest lake, and no golfer who makes the drive has ever regretted it.
The 10 best golf courses in the Lake District and Cumbria
Silloth on Solway
The undisputed king of Cumbrian golf and a perennial of top hundred conversations, Willie Park Junior's heathery links runs along the Solway Firth with Scotland's Criffel across the water. Heather and gorse pinch the fairways, the greens sit in natural dune folds, and the club's remoteness has kept it a connoisseur's secret at a fraction of the famous links' fees. The latest published summer rate is 95 pounds, astonishing value for golf of this class. Read our full Silloth on Solway profile.
Seascale
The second links of the county and the wildest day on it, a hard walking, big duned course between the fells and the Irish Sea where the views run from Wasdale's screes to the Isle of Man. Hole names like Punch Bowl and Stone Circle tell you the kind of natural, old fashioned golf on offer. Published visitor rates run about 45 pounds midweek and 50 at weekends in high season, with online booking through BRS.
Brampton (Talkin Tarn)
Golf World once called Braid's course above Talkin Tarn the jewel of Cumbria, and the tag has stuck for a century of good reasons: springy fell turf, plunging tee shots, long views to the Pennines and a routing that never plays two similar holes in a row. It is the best inland walk in the county. Peak visitor rate is 80 pounds, with County Card reductions and quieter windows from about 30 pounds.
Windermere
The course visitors remember, laid across rocky outcrops and heather plateaus above England's largest lake, with the Langdale Pikes filling the horizon. It is short by the card and demands placement rather than power, which is why generations have called it a miniature Gleneagles. Summer 2026 fees are 85 pounds before 2pm and 68 after, with a 130 pound day ticket, and the fell views are included free.
Carlisle
The smoothest conditioned course in Cumbria and long the county's championship venue, a mature parkland at Aglionby whose quick, true greens and elegant green sites reward proper iron play. It is the easiest quality golf to reach in the county, five minutes off the M6, which makes it the natural first or last round of any northern swing. Summer 2026 visitor fee 80 pounds, day rate 113.
Ulverston
A genuine MacKenzie in the soft hills above Morecambe Bay, where the doctor's love of deception shows in angled greens and fairways that promise more room than they give. The views swing from the bay's vast sands to the Coniston fells, and the club's published summer rate of 60 pounds makes it the architecture buy of the county. An essential pairing with Grange-over-Sands across the estuary.
Furness
The third oldest links in England and the sixth oldest club, playing over Walney Island's true seaside ground since 1872, with the Irish Sea on one side and the full sweep of the Lakeland fells on the other. The golf is honest, windswept and quick draining, and the published visitor rate of about 35 pounds may be the best golf per pound in northern England. History this deep at this price exists nowhere else.
Grange-over-Sands
MacKenzie's other Cumbrian course, a level parkland between the fells and Morecambe Bay in England's self styled riviera town, where the microclimate keeps the course in play when the high ground is weatherbound. The undulating greens are the give away of the designer's hand. Gentle on the legs and sneaky on the card, it is the right second round of any south Lakes day.
Appleby
Cumbria's self described inland links, a fast running moorland course on fell turf above the Eden Valley with the Pennines piled along the eastern sky. The turf plays firm all year, the wind is a permanent member, and at 27 pounds midweek and 34 at weekends it is the value round every touring golfer should slot between the bigger names. Bring one more club than the yardage says.
Penrith
One of the county's original clubs, golfing since 1890 on rolling ground between the Eden Valley and the eastern fells, with Blencathra and the north Lakes filling the view from the high holes. The par 69 card hides a stern set of two shot holes. Weekday rounds run about 35 pounds before 1pm with a 40 pound day ticket, and the club sits ten minutes off the M6 at the Lakes' northeastern gate.
Near misses: Kendal's hilltop course above the auld grey town, Keswick's mountain ringed fell golf at Threlkeld, Carus Green beside the River Kent with its modern practice campus, and the nine hole seaside charm of Silecroft on the western coast. Rankings are the editorial verdict of the GolfForKings desk; facts and fees verified June 2026.
Where they are, and indicative costs
The M6 is the spine of the trip: Carlisle, Brampton and Penrith hang off its northern junctions, Windermere and the south Lakes courses off junction 36. Silloth is a fifty minute drive west of Carlisle, and the coast road south to Seascale and Furness is one of the great scenic transfers in British golf. Manchester and Newcastle airports are both about ninety minutes from the county line.
| Course | Cluster | Indicative peak visitor fee |
|---|---|---|
| Silloth on Solway | Solway coast, northwest | £95 (latest published, 2024 season) |
| Windermere | South Lakes, in the National Park | £85 (summer 2026, £68 after 2pm) |
| Carlisle | North, off the M6 | £80 (summer 2026, day £113) |
| Brampton (Talkin Tarn) | North, near Carlisle | £80 peak (published rate) |
| Ulverston | South Lakes, Morecambe Bay | £60 (published summer rate, 2025) |
| Seascale, Furness, Appleby, Penrith | West coast and Eden Valley | £27 to £50 |
Indicative visitor green fees as published by each club, verified June 2026; where a club had not yet published a 2026 card we show its latest published figure and say so. Winter rates drop sharply and several clubs mandate fairway mats from late October to late March. Always confirm directly before booking.
Booking individual rounds? Compare live tee times through our partner: [TEE_TIME_AFFILIATE_LINK]. Hotels from Windermere to Carlisle: [HOTEL_AFFILIATE_LINK].
Plan your Lake District golf trip
A Silloth time worth the drive, the right lakeside base and a route that strings the fells, the links and the MacKenzies together. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge builds the trip and costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Lake District golf questions
What is the best golf course in the Lake District?
Silloth on Solway is comfortably the best course in Cumbria and one of the finest links in the north of England, a Willie Park Junior design from 1892 of heather lined fairways and firm seaside turf on the Solway coast. Within the National Park itself, Windermere is the pick, a short, hilly and hugely scenic course above the lake that visitors often compare to a miniature Gleneagles.
How much are green fees in the Lake District in 2026?
Windermere is 85 pounds before 2pm in summer 2026 and Carlisle 80 pounds, with a 113 pound day rate. Silloth on Solway's latest published summer rate is 95 pounds and Brampton's peak rate 80. Ulverston's published summer fee is 60 pounds, while Seascale, Furness, Appleby, Penrith and Grange-over-Sands all sit between about 27 and 50 pounds. Always confirm directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in Cumbria?
May to September is the season, with June giving seventeen hour days under the fells and September the quietest fairways. The coastal links at Silloth, Seascale and Furness drain superbly and stay open through winter at much lower rates, though several clubs use fairway mats from late October to late March. August brings peak holiday traffic to the central Lakes, so book accommodation early.
How do you plan a Lake District golf trip?
Think of three clusters. The south Lakes hold Windermere, Grange-over-Sands, Ulverston and Furness within forty five minutes of one another. The north, just off the M6, pairs Carlisle with Brampton and Penrith. The west coast run to Seascale and up to Silloth is the long, beautiful detour that serious golfers build the trip around. Two bases over four or five nights covers it all.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.