Article and Photos: Trevor Claringbold

Our Choice of Hotels

The Belsfield Hotel, Bowness.   
0844 736 8604      

Set in the perfect
position, looking
out over across
the small, pretty
Bowness harbour.

It’s an impressive hotel with large rooms
and grand public areas, but without it
being too expensive.

There’s a small but pleasant indoor pool,
and a games room with cards, domino’s,
table-tennis, etc.

The restaurant offers a good selection
of dishes, well cooked and presented, &
has fine views over the gardens and the
lake. Breakfast is buffet style, but with a
wide choice of both cooked items, and a
cool display.

For families, there are spacious three
and four bedded rooms, which can be
separated into two parts, & are more
akin to a small suite. Excellent.

Its a good place to base yourself for
exploring, leave your car in the hotel
car park, and avoid all the congestion
and parking problems around the lakes
by using public transport.

The Lake District is considered by many to
be the most beautiful part of Great Britain.
Personally I think there a number of other
contenders for that title, but certainly the
Lakes are one of the most dramatic and
impressive regions.

Sixteen major lakes are neatly organised
within an area just thirty miles across, but
the most popular – principally because of
its easy access from the M6 motorway –
has to be Windermere. First let me clarify
one point. It should not be referred to as
Lake Windermere, because ‘mere’ means
lake. It’s derived from ‘Winders Mere’, & therefore should be known simply as Windermere.

Niceties sorted, let me take you on a brief tour around my favourite of all the lakes. Like
most of the waters in the Lake District, Windermere is long & thin, with hills rising steeply
from its shores for most of its length. It’s also very deep, giving the characteristic dark
blue hue to its glistening waters, and is surrounded by some dense forests that throw a
menacing black reflection near the banks.

It’s possible to travel around the lake quite extensively using public transport. Busses are
quite frequent between most towns, and there is also the very appealing option of using
the lake itself. Ferries and cruisers link across & along Windermere, and I like to combine
these and busses to travel about. Of course, this is also superb and immensely popular
walking country, and again you can use a mixture of public transport to get you to and
from the beginning and end of many of the best walks.















Just to the north of the town of Windermere, where most visitors first arrive, there is an
excellent visitor centre. Alongside the various displays that highlight all aspects of the
Lake District, there is a wide choice of information sheets giving different walks – both
guided and independent.

I like to base myself either in Bowness, or Ambleside, as both offer good links to all the
places I enjoy visiting in the area. My favourite is the Belsfield Hotel, a large Victorian
building overlooking the pretty harbour, with gardens & its own swimming pool. Its just
a few minutes walk into the picturesque town centre, where there are plenty of good
restaurants including the town’s oldest; the ‘Hole in the Wall’.

                                      Bowness is a very appealing place to wander around, and
                                      the small but excellent Beatrix Potter museum brings to life
                                      the famous tales that were written just across the lake. I
                                      know it’s for children, but even I thoroughly enjoyed the
                                      experience. The town also has a steamboat museum, and is
                                      the starting point for a variety of lake cruises.

                                      There are two particular water-borne trips worth taking
                                      from here. Firstly to cruise to the southern end of the lake,
where the boats link with the old steam railway taking you on to Haverthwaite. If you’re
looking for a relaxing day out, where the scenery drifts past and nothing seems to rush,
it’s ideal. It’s easy to imagine how little has changed in the last hundred years.

The second route takes the ferry over the lake,
leaving early in the day, leaving me free to walk
up winding roads lined with unending dry stone
walls. On top of the hill is Sawry, where you can
visit Beatrix Potter’s house.

Then, continue past the shimmering Ethswaite
Water, to the small picture-postcard village of
Hawkshead. Amid a maze of tiny lanes there are
more links to the authoress, with her husbands’
offices now laid out as a museum to the work of
Beatrix Potter. The village can get saturated with tourists, but its still worthy of some
time. If you’re fit, then is quite possible to carry on and reach Ambleside, before getting
a bus back to Bowness.

Ambleside rivals Bowness as the main tourist town on the lake. Equally pretty, and with
a few more shops and restaurants, it also has a better choice of walks up to the high
peaks of the Kirkstone Pass. However, there is one point to note if you arriving by boat.
It’s quite a distance from the quayside to the town centre. I cleverly decided to walk,
and half an hour later, as the rain started, it was apparent I had not made the best
choice. The weather in the Lake District can change very quickly, so I recommend you
always keep some wet weather gear close at hand.

The Lakes are not an area I visit for the weather, of course. But though they can’t offer
guaranteed sunshine, they bring an unrivalled choice of stunning scenery, invigorating
walks, varied wildlife, relaxing cruises, and a wonderful friendly welcome. And that’s just
in the area you can see from your hotel room window!