The Lake District is one of the most beautiful National Parks in Britain with a vast landscape that’s waiting to be explored. Tourists and locals alike make it there mission to climb every fell in the area of which there are… Ambleside, Lake District is one of its most popular tourist destinations. Its sits in a valley with a vast beatuiful lake surrounded by woodland, so it’s easy to see why thousands of people flock here each year.
Along with its natural beauty, the area has cultural significance as well with literary icons Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth just some o fthe names to be associtated wit the area. There are also soem amazing historical places to visit in Ambleside such as Wray Castle and Bridge House. So whether you’re wanting to get out there hiking or just get a bit of culture there are plenty of things to do in Ambleside, Lake District.
Take a boat trip on Windermere Lake – Things To Do Ambleside
Lake Windermere is England’s largest natural lake and was carved out during the Last Ice Age. At over 11 miles lin, but never more than a mile across it’s on your doorstep when you stay in the town of Ambleside.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in the area is to enjoy an old-fashioned cruise on a steamer over Windermere. Cruises depart from Ambleside Pier, with plenty available in the summer months. If you heading to Ambleside during colder months, don’t worry as Lake Cruises’ Red Cruise run all year round. It does a return journey to Bowness, stopping at Brockhole – the insightful and sometimes entertaining commentary along the way will give you nuggets of information whilst you enjoy the view.
The boat cruises are also a great way to visit other attractions. You can take the Green Cruise to visit the National Trust Wray Castle.
Visit the World of Beatrix Potter attraction
If you decide to take a trip on a boat cruise across to Bowness, you can visit the Ambleside attraction brings the author beatrix Potter’s enchanting children’s stories to like recreating some of our favourite characters from her famous books. Peter Rabbit’s Garden has all your old friends and wandering around it you get to see the books brought to life, which is a real treat.
After visitors have made their way through the exhibition, they can head over to the character-themed faimly-friendly cafe and gift shop to take home a little bit of Beatrix Potter magic with them. If you visit on a Sunday you won’t want to miss out on storytime where you can enjoy 10 to 15 minutes of a reading from one of your favourite Beatrix Potter books, the slots are 11am, 1pm and 3pm – and you’ll also get a chance to take a selfie with Beatric and her foxgloves.
Don’t forget to take some pennies as you can also press a coin with one of Beatrix’s memorable characters – we still have our coin from our trip as a little momento. Crag Brow, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere LA23 3BX
Visit the website here to book your tickets.
Take a stroll along Ambleside Waterhead Pier
Head over to Ambleside Waterhead Pier, a short walk from the actual town as Lake Windermere actually end a little short of Ambleside by around a mile found in the village of Waterhead. The bay as a range of waatersude cafes, pubs, tourist shop and places selling food for you to feed the ducks and swans making it the perfect place for a stroll.
Steamers set sail daily throughout the year taking you to Bowness. You can also enjoy a romantic horse-drawn carriage experience between Waterhead pier and the centre of Ambleside. Waterhead also makes for a good start point to follow a path into the mature woodland that surrounds the show such as Loughridd Fell. Make sure you take plenty of water as its a steep ascent to reach the fell, but not too difficult.
Hike to the top of Lougrigg Fell
We really enjoyed this walk which is one of the easier fell walks in the Lake District. You can either start from the centre of Ambleside or start from Waterhead Pier like we did. It offers everything you’d want from a walk in the Lakes in a nice short ascent. We took the simple route by just scambling to the Loughrigg Fell to enjoy the views over Rydal Water and Grasmere before turning back and heading down the same way. But, you can take a 6-mile circulareither way you’ll experience, beatuiful woodland, fells and a whole lot of panoramic views.
We just typed the fell into Google, but this route gives an extensive explanation of the route for those wo like a bit more detail.
Read More: You Can Now Camp In A Converted School Bus In The Lake District
Seek out the hidden gem Stock Ghyll Force waterfall
Found a short walk from the centre of Ambleside, just behind the Salutation Hotel is Stock Ghyll Force, a fantastic 70ft waterfall, whcih can be viewed from a railed viewing point. The hidden waterfall can be tricky to find unless you know how – luckily for you we’ve shared the cheeky secret to help you some this mesmerising body of water.
A tributary of the River Rothay which eventually drains into Lake Windermer, the waterfall used to be nicknamed Rattle Gyhll due to the areas industrial past. The river tumbles down a series of waterfalls to the centre of Ambleside and even passes under the popular Bridge House along the way.
The true power of the waterfall can be found in its history as it once drove 12 watermills along with other local becks all differing in the ir ouput.
Have an adventure day at Grizdale Forest
Grizdale foret can be found in the heart of the Lake District and has something for everyone who visits. You’ll struggle to find a da out as fun as this one/ With breaktaking views, stunning endless trails and more it’s a nature lovers dream. And, if that’s not all you can test your nerve and get stuck into swining from trees at Grizdale’s Go Ape course, or on one of the intense bike trails.
You can explore the woods via back, foot or horse back either way you should keep your eyes peeled for unique sculptures scattered around the forest. It’s the largest ‘sculpture in the forest’ exhibition in the country which in 1986 was awarded ‘the most outstanding contribution to art in a working environment’.
There is a cafe where you can have a reviving meal with the family after exploring the forest in the numerous ways listed. In fact there is so much to do that you may just have to plan more than one visit to the incredible spot.
Immerse yourself in nature at Rydal Water
One of the smallest lakes in the national park Rydal water is around 3/4 mile long and 1/4 mile wide, but none the less is still a popular choice for tourists due to its literary connections. William Wordsworth, Romntics poets, named Poet and described Rydal as “the loveliest spot that man hath ever found”.
“passing behind Rydal Mount and under Nab Scar…very favourable to views of the lake and the vale…The horse road…under Loughrigg fell, does justice to the beauties of this small mere, of which the traveller who keeps the high road is not at all aware.”
You can walk around Rydal Water and, as many have before, follow in the footsteps of the famous poet. The walk passes Rydal Cave, which is a large cave that is perched above the lake.
Seek out some history at Wray Castle
Built in 1840 for Dr James Dawson, a retired Liverpool surgeoen, the house is owned by the National Trust – and is not as the name suggests a castle, but a private house.
It has all the features of a castle from turrets, towers, turrets, as well as arrow slits aane even a mock ruins in the grounds and is in fact just an elaborate grounds with an interesting story. Apparently the house was built using his wife’s inheritance from a gin fortune. It’s said that when it was built the wife took one look at it and refused to live in it when it was finished.
These days it’s a great place to visit with a picnic and enjoy the views it offers up, or venture in the Kitchen Court Cafe and enjoy hot & cold bites to eat and something to drink.
See why the famous Bridge House is so popular
Found standing over Stock Beck in the middle of Ambleside, Lake District, it’s a building steeped in history. It was built in the late 1600s to early 1700s by the Braithwaite family as an apple store of Amleside Hall and was built over Stock Beck to escape land tax. It’s the only surviving building of the estate and has had visotrs flockings to see it since the early 1800s.
It’s also said that, at one time, a family with six children lived in the two rooms. It’s one of the most photographed buildings in the Lake District due to its unique placement. It’s been paid homaged to in numerous writers, artists, and photographers work such as William Green, Harriet Martineau, Edward Lear, Herbert Bell and Kurt Schwitters. It is now a shop for the National Trust.
Read More: This Stunning Waterfall Is The Highest In The Lake District
Feature Image Credit: Unsplash
No Responses