Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bathrooms, and some also boast garden views. The best guest rooms are the executive
studio suites with extra space. Guests enjoy free membership in the hotel's health
club, and can wine and dine in the popular on-site
Greenhouse restaurant
and
Alexander's pub.
Castle Green Lane, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 6BH. www.castlegreen.co.uk.
&
01539/734000.
Fax
01539/735522. 100 units. £102-£150 double; £142-£190 suite. Rates include English breakfast. AE, DC,
MC, V. Signposted from the M6, junction 37.
Amenities:
Restaurant; pub; fitness center; indoor heated
pool; room service; solarium; steam room.
In room:
TV, hair dryer.
16
WINDERMERE & BOWNESS
274 miles NW of London; 10 miles NW of Kendal; 55 miles N of Liverpool
The largest lake in England is Windermere. Its eastern edge washes up on the town
of Bowness (or Bowness-on-Windermere), with the town of Windermere 1
1
⁄
2
miles
away. From either town, you can climb
Orrest Head
in less than an hour for a pan-
oramic view of the Lakeland. From that vantage point, you can even view
Scafell
Pike,
rising to a height of 963m (3,210 ft.)—it's the tallest peak in all of England.
Directly south of Windermere,
Bowness
is an attractive lakeside town with lots of
Victorian architecture. An important center for boating and fishing, Bowness has boat
rentals of all descriptions to explore the lake.
The location of the towns keep the visitors flooding in, along with an abundance
of accommodations, eateries, and pubs. The area is a particular favorite with families
who come for the
World of Beatrix Potter,
watersports,
and
boat
trips
to
Lake-
side
Aquarium
and
Haverthwaite
Steam
Train.
Essentials
GETTING THERE
You can take a TransPennine Express (TPE) train to Winder-
mere from Oxenholme, where Scotland and London trains arrive. One-way tickets
from Oxenholme to Windermere cost about £10. To get to Bowness from Winder-
mere, turn left from the rail terminal and cross the center of Windermere until you
reach New Road, which eventually changes its name to Lake Road and leads into
Bowness. It's about a 20-minute walk downhill. The Lakeland Experience bus also
runs from the Windermere station to Bowness every 20 minutes.
The
National Express
bus link, originating at London's Victoria Coach Station,
serves Windermere, with connections also to Preston, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Local buses operated mainly by
Stagecoach
go to Kendal, Ambleside, Grasmere,
and Keswick. If you're driving from London, head north on the M1 and the M6 past
Liverpool until you reach the A685 junction heading west to Kendal. From Kendal,
the A591 continues west to Windermere.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Windermere Tourist Information Centre
is on
Victoria Street (
&
01539/446499;
www.golakes.co.uk). It's open November
through March, Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 4:30pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm,
and April through October daily 9:30am to 5pm.
Exploring the Area
Blackwell
HISTORIC SITE Tucked away among trees overlooking Win-
dermere, this Arts and Crafts house has been lovingly restored. Built in 1900 by
Makay Hugh Baillie Scott (1865-1945) as a holiday home for wealthy industrialist
