Everything’s better around water, or at least in my opinion. I love spending time on or around large bodies of water like lakes or the sea. For me, it’s just so relaxing, so I loved being able to spend as much time as possible at Lake Windermere.

About Lake Windermere

Lake Windermere is referred to with the title “Lake” to distinguish between the body of water and the town of Windermere. In fact “mere” actually means Lake in old English.

It is considered to be the largest lake in England, being roughly 18km by 1.5km (at its largest point) and 64m deep at the centre. Lake Windermere is actually distinguished by two separate basins, Northa and South, because of how it was formed during the Last Glacial Maximum (when the British ice sheet melted). The way to distinguish between these basins is that the North consists of hard volcanic rock, while the South basin is formed from softer slate rock.

Towns and Villages Near Lake Windermere

There are several small towns and villages near to Lake Windermere that cater to tourists during peak seasons with things to do and places to eat.

Bowness-on-Windermere

We actually spent a fair bit of time in this location during our time in the Lake District, weirdly it is the only town actually located on the edge of Lake Windermere, the others being slightly further afield. I found Bowness-on-Windermere oddly reminiscent of seaside towns that we have visited previously, particularly in Cornwall.

It is here that you will find plenty of restaurants located with views across the lake, boat hires and an atmosphere similar to that of a pier.

Bowness-on-Windermere was actually the location of a couple of our walks at the start of our holiday. My favourite here was an accessible walk that took you alongside the lake for part of it then looped back across the fields so that you could return to where you had parked. It was a fairly flat walk with a part halfway round where if you were struggling you could be picked up by a vehicle. We began our walk on the dock of Bowness-on-Windermere and walked alongside the lake, then came back through the fields to the town but you are able to do the walk the other way around.

If you have younger children or were fans of the series as a child, this is also the home of The World of Beatrix Potter attraction.

Ambleside

Ambleside’s marina was actually where we got off the boat when we were on our cruise across the lake, we hadn’t realised that the town was a little walk away from the dock, but we still managed to find a nice café on the side of the lake to have lunch before getting back on the boat.

Ambleside has a few places to hire boats but not as many as at Bowness-on-Windermere, and the town seemed quieter but with just as many tourist facilities.

The Village of Windermere

I don’t think that we spent a lot of time here if I’m being honest, we drove through the village a couple of times, and it was the location of one of my favourite walks, but we didn’t really spend very long there.

The walk I mentioned in the previous paragraph began with an incline that looked similar to a road, followed by a path through some woods with glimpses of the lake. On the way up you will find a wood carving of the Gruffalo which is amazing but for me the highlight was definitely the view from the top, on one side you see the sprawling countryside and mountains, the other is a glorious view of Lake Windermere.

The village itself is about a mile away from the lake itself and is the location of the train station for the line going to Oxenholme.

Activities on Lake Windermere

As I previously mentioned in my post about Fell Foot Park, which I’d really recommend if you are interested in performing any kind of watersports on the lake. Honestly, we spent many hours on this lake, paddleboarding and canoeing, as it is a great way to pass the time and learn a new skill.

There is also the opportunity to rent or hire a boat for a specific time, many different companies operate around the lake, but during busy peak periods it can be really difficult to get a booking. If this is something you are interested in doing, I would really recommend booking well I advance, as this is something that we all really enjoyed but nearly didn’t get to do. Just make sure to avoid the lake cruise boats!

Lake Windermere Cruises

There is the opportunity to ride across the lake on one of three old boats. There are several different options depending on what you are wanting to do with your day. For us, we boarded the boat at Lakeside and travelled across the lake to Ambleside but there was also the option to disembark at Bowness-on-Windermere. There are also other cruises which also offer stops at the island and various attractions.

Tickets

You are able to buy tickets online, at the pier, or, like we did, at the railway station in Haverthwaite. The price will largely depend on which kind of ticket you are after and when you are buying it. There is also a discount if you do what we did and purchase a ticket for both the train and boat at the same time, which I would definitely recommend.

The Lakes Aquarium

I was a little let down by this aquarium but only because I am accustomed to larger ones with more species. However, if you are visiting Lake Windermere with kids then this is a great little place to take them, especially as kids under three go free.

As with many of the attractions I’ve mentioned on this blog, if you buy the tickets online before visiting it will be cheaper than it would be on the day at the aquarium. There is also the option to purchase tickets for the aquarium in conjunction with either the train or the boat.

Conclusion

Lake Windermere is an absolutely lovely place to spend time at, in fact we spent many days on and around the lake. It is a beautiful location and the setting for many activities, although even in the rain there is something to do, for example the aquarium.