If your ideal holiday involves doing as little as possible — long walks, tea rooms, phone off — a new study says Windermere is the place to do it. Train operator LNER analysed more than 100 destinations across England and Scotland, scoring them on population density, air quality, dark skies, access to green and blue space, and low-key pursuits like walking trails, bookshops and tea rooms, plus how easily you can reach them by public transport.

Windermere topped the English list with a quietcation score of 58.4 out of 100, and it's easy to see why. The town sits beside England's largest lake, a 10.5-mile stretch of water in the Lake District dotted with 18 islands and ringed by fells and woodland. Walkers are spoiled: there are 475 trails nearby, more than any other English destination in the study, alongside six tea rooms, two independent bookshops, and a healthy chunk of both green and blue space on the doorstep.

You don't need to be a hardcore hiker to enjoy it. Orrest Head is a short climb straight from town that hands you panoramic views over the lake and the Langdale Pikes. For something quieter, take the ferry across to the less busy western shore, where the National Trust points walkers and cyclists towards a four-mile lakeside path to Wray Castle. En route you'll pass Claife Viewing Station, a viewpoint built in the 1790s that once sported coloured glass so visitors could pretend the view was autumn, spring or winter on demand.

Not in the mood to walk at all? Windermere Lake Cruises run year-round, so you can simply sit and watch the fells drift past. In warmer months you can hire a traditional rowing boat and paddle at your own pace.

The runners-up are worth noting too. Bamburgh in Northumberland took second in England with 55.6, and Salcombe in Devon came third on 55.4. Scotland actually outscored England across the board — Aviemore topped the Scottish ranking with an impressive 74.1, followed by Callander on 62.4 and Dunkeld and Birnam on 54.8.

The quietcation trend is a welcome counterpoint to checklist tourism: fewer sights ticked off, more time actually spent in a place. Windermere is a particularly easy one to pull off, since you can arrive by train and leave the car behind entirely. Whether it's a weekend away from the inbox or a slow few days in the Lakes, this is a trip where the schedule can stay genuinely empty.

Story sourced from Condé Nast Traveler.