Lake Windermere, at 10.5 miles long, one mile wide and 220 feet deep, is the largest natural lake in England. Located in the heart of the Lake District Windermere was and is a beautiful spot visited by tourists from all over the world. It was sketched by JMW Turner amongst many other British artists and many of the so called Lake Poets (such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge) lived nearby and were inspired by the wonderful landscape. Beatrix Potter lived and wrote near Lake Windermere too, making it a pilgrimage site for the literature lovers of all ages.
Our visit to Lake Windermere will begin by taking a picturesque steamer ferry ride (35min) from Bowness on Windermere to the beautiful village of Ambleside, set amongst breathtaking majestic mountains and gentle rolling fells, and a perfect spot for lunch. After lunch we will get back to Bowness using the steamer ferry again to the Wray Castle on the western shore, a XIX century Gothic Revival house, which was rented as a holiday house by the Beatrix Potter family when she was 16. She fell in love with the area then.
We will go on a 4h stroll along the shores of Lake Windermere admiring the beautiful views before hopping on a bus (5min), a short journey to visit the famous Hill Top farm, a XVII century farmhouse which Beatrix Potter purchased in 1905. When she died in 1943, she left Hill Top to the National Trust with the proviso that it be kept exactly as she left it, complete with her furniture and china. Hill Top is still as it was then, and is now the most visited literary shrine in the Lake District and a beautiful place to visit on a summer afternoon.
After cream tea at the Hill Top farm we’ll take a ferry across Lake Windermere back to Bowness and our cars and head back to Manchester.
A word of warning: Some people believe that there may be a lake monster, similar to the one alleged to live in Loch Ness, and anomalous photos have been taken of the supposed creature; it has been affectionately nicknamed "Bownessie."
Departing from Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station at 09:46.
The cost for a day return journey is £16 approximately.