iKnow Lake District
- Ambleside
- Near Ambleside
- Bowness on Windermere
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- Coniston
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- West Lake District
Windermere Accommodation
Windermere Steamboats and MuseumLake Windermere Steamboats Museum Lake District
Lake Windermere and pleasure/leisure boat trips have a long history. The place to start for exploring this history is the Windermere Steamboats and Museum experience, adjacent to Lake Windermere. There's some very old boats here - fascinating stuff!!
Windermere Steamboats and Museum
The history of pleasure cruising on Windermere starts here at this museum, and the collection of boats and steamers is indeed impressive, including 'Dolly', who steamed on Windermere and was built in 1850.
She was salvaged from the bottom of Ullswater with her boiler largely intact. Dolly is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest mechanically powered boat in the world.
Other boats here include Raven, built in 1871 by the Furness Railway Company and put to good use in winter for breaking the ice for passenger boats. Esperance is perhaps the most renowned boat held here and has the distinction of being the oldest boat on the Lloyds Register of Yachts.
Built on the Clyde for H.W. Schneider, one of the many local industrialists who lived at the Belsfield in Bowness. The hull is made from the finest grade iron made by Schneider's company. Lovers of Arthur Ransome's 'Swallows and Amazons' will recognise her as 'Captain Flint's Houseboat' in the BBC version of Ransome's 'Swallows and Amazons'. Other little titbits include Beatrix Potter's Rowing Boat.
More Treats at the Windermere Steamboats Museum
Other treats include Steam Launch Trips and most days SL Swallow, or ML Water Viper cruise on the lake. This involves a 50 minute cruise around Belle Island (alias Long Island) including tea/coffee and biscuits costing usually around £5.00 for adults and £2.50/£1.00 for children. Open only to museum visitors. You can also hire vessels for private charter for weddings, anniversaries or simply a wonderful day on the lake. Call for details.
There's a shop and refreshments area on-site, and the shop stocks an extensive collection of both Beatrix Potter and Arthur Ransome books, and historical books on the history of boat cruising on Windermere. There's also a marvellous 'Swallows & Amazons' Exhibition.
Windermere Steamboats Museum, Rayrigg Road, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 1BN, Tel: 015394 45565, Open Mid March to November.
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