Northern’s direct train from Preston to Windermere takes about an hour: 62 minutes on a typical run and 56 at its quickest, with six stops. On the weekday timetable we checked it ran four times, at 09:45, 12:46, 15:33 and 18:44, so if you want to avoid changing, those four times set your day. Its departure minute shifts each time, at 45, 46, 33 and 44 minutes past, so note the exact time rather than assuming a pattern.
The four direct trains are about three hours apart, one each in the morning, around lunchtime, in mid-afternoon and in the early evening.
The weekday timetable fills those gaps with journeys that change at Oxenholme for the Windermere train, about hourly from 06:44 to 21:42, at times including 07:54, 08:58, 12:03, 14:05 and 17:04. Avanti West Coast or TransPennine Express takes about 29 minutes to Oxenholme and Northern 19 more, so with around eight minutes to change, a typical run came to about 56 minutes, a touch under the direct train’s typical 62. For an early start from Preston, or a late one such as the 21:42, look at those Oxenholme connections; a 05:36 changing at Lancaster also turned up, taking about an hour.
If you do change, the Windermere train from Oxenholme does not leave at the same minute each hour, so check the second leg as well as the first when you plan a connection from Preston.
By car the 51 miles via the M6 take around 64 minutes, much the same as the direct train and a little more than the typical change at Oxenholme, so from Preston the car saves no time.
Crescent Road is a short walk from where the train stops at Windermere: 465 metres, or about six minutes.
Journey times and changes below come from the rail and bus timetables for Tuesday 1 December 2026. Weekend and holiday timetables differ, so check the day you travel.
From Preston on the weekday we checked: 09:45, 12:46, 15:33 and 18:44.
From Preston on the weekday we checked: about hourly between 06:44 and 21:42.
By road it is about 51 miles from Preston to Windermere, mostly via the M6 — roughly 1h 4m with clear roads. Car parks in Windermere are listed on the Getting Here page.