What to See in Windermere - Top Sights and Attractions

Lake in England. Rydal Water is a small body of water in the central part of the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is located near the hamlet of Rydal, between Grasmere and Ambleside in the Rothay Valley.

The lake is 1,290 yards (1.18 km) long and varies in width up to a maximum of 380 yards (350m), covering an area of 0.12 mi2 (0.31 km2). It has a maximum depth of 55 ft (17m) and an elevation above sea level of 177 ft (54m). The lake is both supplied and drained by the river Rothay, which flows from Grasmere upstream and towards Windermere downstream.

The waters of the southern half of the lake are leased by the Lowther Estate to the National Trust, whilst those of the northern half belong to the estate of Rydal Hall. Navigation is prohibited, except for residents of Rydal Hall.

Numerous walks are possible in the surrounding hills, as well as a walk around the lake itself, which takes in Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount, both homes to William Wordsworth, and Rydal Cave, a former quarry working. At the western end of the lake, steps lead to Wordsworth's Seat, which is considered to have been Wordsworth's favourite viewpoint in the Lake District.

White Moss House, at the northern end of the lake, is believed to be the only house that Wordsworth ever bought. He bought it for his son Willie, and the family lived there until the 1930s. Nab Cottage overlooks the lake and it was once home to Thomas de Quincey and Hartley Coleridge, the son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Close by is the historic Rydal Hall.^[1]

Park in Newby Bridge, England. Fell Foot Park is a country park, formerly the grounds of a Victorian house, situated beside Windermere, a lake in Cumbria, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust. It is just north of Newby Bridge on the A592 road in the civil parish of Staveley-in-Cartmel in South Lakeland district.

The estate was owned by Jeremiah Dixon, mayor of Leeds in 1784, who sold it in 1859 to Colonel G.J.M. Ridehalgh (1835-1892), a director of the North Lonsdale Iron and Steel Company, colonel of the 2nd Westmorland Volunteer Battalion Border Regiment and one of the founder members of the Royal Windermere Yacht Club. The house was demolished in 1907 to build a larger replacement, but the project was abandoned when the then owner died. The estate was given to the National Trust in 1948.

The manager's house (originally built as a gas works), several boathouses including one converted to a cafe, and a workshop and dock are Grade II listed buildings. They were constructed for Col. G.J.M. Ridehalgh. A local sailing and rowing club is located at the park and rowing boat and kayak hire is available during summer months. Other facilities include car parking, toilets, a gift shop and a playground.

Between March and September, Windermere Lake Cruises operate a passenger ferry service from Lakeside station to Fell Foot. At Lakeside, connection can be made to the same company's steamer service to Bowness-on-Windermere and the preserved Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway.

The park's buildings were flooded during the 2015–16 Great Britain and Ireland floods.

A new watersports centre opened at the north end of the park in 2018. The park holds regular events, including a parkrun event every Saturday and the All England Open Stone Skimming Championships every August.^[4]

Hill in England. Orrest Head is a hill in the English Lake District on the eastern shores of Windermere. It is the subject of a chapter in Wainwright's The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, and the first fell he climbed. He describes it as "our first ascent in Lakeland, our first sight of mountains in tumultuous array across glittering waters, our awakening to beauty" and also as "a fitting finale, too, to a life made happy by fellwandering".

On the summit is a panorama naming the key visible fells which include the Old Man of Coniston, Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Fairfield and the Langdale Pikes.

Orrest Head is typically climbed directly from the town of Windermere near the station. Access is made via a reinstated Victorian carriageway which leads towards the summit. The route has been adopted by the Lake District National Park Authority as its 50th "Miles Without Stiles" route which makes it suitable for those with pushchairs and motorised off-road mobility scooters. There are several shorter but steeper shortcuts in a few places but the pathway is much easier if a bit longer.^[7]

Tourist attraction in England. Blackwell is a large house in the English Lake District, designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Baillie Scott. It was built in 1898–1900, as a holiday home for Sir Edward Holt, a wealthy Manchester brewer. It is near the town of Bowness-on-Windermere with views looking over Windermere and across to the Coniston Fells.

Blackwell has survived with almost all its original decorative features intact, and is listed Grade I as an outstanding example of British domestic architecture. The house is furnished with original furniture and objects from the period. The gardens were designed by Thomas Mawson in a series of terraces. Flowers and herbs border the terraces, which form sun traps on the south side of the house.

The house has been open to visitors since 2001 and hosts regular exhibitions including work by living artists such as Edmund de Waal in 2005. It won the Small Visitor Attraction Award in the Northwest of England for 2005. The house is managed by the Lakeland Arts Trust.^[9]