Windermere

Windermere is a ribbon lake gouged by glaciers, about eighteen kilometres long, one and a half wide at most and up to sixty-four metres deep, the largest natural lake in England. The railway reached it in 1847 and turned the shore into a Victorian resort, with villas built by Manchester and Liverpool money. Steam launches carried passengers, and the Windermere Jetty museum, reopened in 2019, keeps a fleet of them dating back to 1850 - among them Dolly, claimed as the oldest mechanically powered boat in the world - along with sailing boats from as early as 1780. Beatrix Potter's Hill Top is across at Near Sawrey.

The landscape

• The ribbon lake - eighteen kilometres of glacially cut water up to sixty-four metres deep.
• Windermere Jetty - historic steam launches going back to 1850.
• The Victorian shore - villas built by industrial money after the railway arrived in 1847.
• The cross-lake ferry - a chain ferry to the quieter western shore and Hill Top.

When to go

April to October for cruises and walking; the lake is busiest in August, when Bowness is packed. Spring and autumn give the best light and far easier parking. Winter cruises run on a reduced timetable.

Before you go

Bowness in season is congested and commercial, and parking is difficult and expensive. The eastern shore is developed; the quiet is on the western side.

Nearby

Ambleside lies north; Coniston and Hawkshead are across the ferry.

Key facts