DAY OUT: Windermere, Cumbria
Waterside wonders
Explore the peaceful wooded shores of the Lake District’s most famous water, twice sailed across by Her Majesty the Queen, says Christopher Ridout
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Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin visit Lakeland on their wildlife-watching road trip, Chris and Meg’s Wild Summer.
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There is something quintessentially English about walking the promenade in Bowness as summer sunlight bounces off the waters of Windermere and boats potter about the lake.
It seems fitting that Queen Elizabeth II has twice set off from here for a cruise of the lake. A plaque honouring her Diamond Jubilee has pride of place on the pier.
At a length of 10.5 miles, Windermere is the longest lake in England. Wooded slopes meet the shore along the western bank, adding to the tranquil views from the more populous eastern side.
On her first trip aboard the
MV Teal in 1956, the Queen travelled with the Duke of Edinburgh from Bowness to Waterhead at Ambleside.
Exploring this section on dry land makes for a great day out.
VAST VISTAS
Heading north from Bowness, views of the lake are sometimes frustrated by hedges, so it is well worth stopping at Queen Adelaide’s Hill. Named for Queen Victoria’s aunt after she visited the spot in 1840, the hill offers great views to the north, with the robust Langdale Pikes forming a handsome backdrop to a classic pastoral scene of meadow, lake and woodland.
Two miles on is 19th-century Brockhole House, built in the Arts and Craft style popular at the time. It is one of a number of lakeside residences built for merchants and industrialists from northern cities. On her second cruise in 2013, the Queen visited with the Princess Royal. Since 1969, it has been the Lake District National Park Visitor Centre.
INTO THE HILLS
Waterhead is where the Queen’s 1956 cruise concluded and it’s a great place to start a wander into the hills above. Stagshaw Garden is a three-hectare woodland garden cultivated from the corner of Skelghyll
Woods. Steep undulations are softened by rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. It is reminiscent of a Japanese garden, with the shrubs’ pastel shades set against the trees above and the lake below.
Skelghyll Woods contains conifers collected from around the world by Victorian plant hunters, including Douglas fir and monkey puzzle. Look for red squirrels as you wander through the woods to Jenkin Crag, where the view between the treetops across Windermere is fit for royalty.
Christopher Ridout is a writer with a keen interest in walking, history and mythology.