Day 3 in the Lake District at Christmas
My third day in the Lake District at Christmas was a bit more cloudy with more fresh snow. After spending my first two days towards the north of the Lake District National Park, I spent my third day further south, around Lake Windermere.
Lake Windermere boat trip
Windermere is the largest lake in the Lake District. It’s a great place for a boat trip, and luckily the boats here run all year round. So you’ll be able to take a boat trip on Lake Windermere on your winter visit to the Lake District. Check out the timetable here. There’s also the option to hire small boats yourself – I thought it was a bit cold during my visit to try that, but I’m sure in warmer weather it would be lovely.
I took the boat from Ambleside pier, at the far north of Lake Windermere. The area around the pier is really pretty, and a great place for photos while you wait for the boat.
The boat cruises are really comfortable and a great way to see the lake. You can sit downstairs on the boats, which is fairly warm. There’s an outside area on the boats as well which is great for photos, but usually a bit too cold to sit outside in the winter.
The boats have an interesting commentary from the skipper, pointing out all the interesting sights along the lake. There’s also a cafe on board so you can buy yourself a warm drink to sip while looking out at the wintery landscape.
The boat takes about 45 minutes to reach Bowness-on-Windermere. It’s about halfway down Lake Windermere and a great place to stop off for a few hours.
Bowness-on-Windermere and Beatrix Potter Attraction
Bowness-on-Windermere is another of the slightly larger towns in the Lake District. It’s still not big, but there’s plenty here for a few hours. There are plenty of places in the town for lunch, so you’ll have plenty of choice.
The highlight for me in Bowness-on-Windermere was The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. Check out the opening times here. It’s a really fun attraction, and you can immerse yourself in the world of Peter Rabbit and all his friends.
I loved reading the Beatrix Potter books as a child – Peter Rabbit was my favourite, but I also loved Mrs Tiggywinkle and Benjamin Bunny. Even if you’re not familiar with the Beatrix Potter books, it’s worth reading a bit about her life and works as it’s such a big part of the Lake District. Beatrix Potter lived and wrote many of her most famous works here and I loved immersing myself in her world and fondly remembering the beautiful stories.
After you’ve explored Bowness-on-Windermere and the Beatrix Potter Attraction, you can take the boat back up to the Ambleside pier. You can get the round-trip ticket from Ambleside so you can already have the return ticket, but make sure you take note of the return trip boat times to make sure you don’t miss the last boat back.