Lake Windermere
The whole of the Lake District in England is noted for its beauty – blue water lakes, mountains, gardens, elegant architecture and lots of rain to make the countryside green.
Ambleside, our chosen town, is at the northern end of Lake Windermere, a perfect place for boarding one of the ferries that carry tourists around this idyllic waterway.
Leaving Ambleside
After our long drive the previous day, we were in no hurry to venture out, so it was after 1pm when we boarded our boat and headed for Bowness.
We were extremely lucky to have picked a fine day. Everywhere we looked, people were enjoying themselves on yachts, motor boats, 
small rowing boats or just playing around in the water. The bird life was having fun too.
Lake District Boat Club
We also passed several other ferries from the same company, all doing good business on such a glorious day.
Property that adjoins the lake is obviously expensive.
Home or hotel?
Our cameras were constantly pointed towards the houses with their fancy boat houses that were within reach of the water.
Mini-castle boat house
Some of these appeared to be extra residences, presumably for the overflow of family members visiting for the holidays, or perhaps they were used to help cover the costs of living in such an expensive situation. Very nice, upmarket beach cottages, available by the week for a small fortune I imagine.
We also saw a few grand hotels where guests could enjoy sunning themselves on the lawn in comfort, while watching the likes of us floating past. I couldn’t see them, but I could imagine a few gin and tonics or pimms cocktails being sipped out there too.
Stately home or grand hotel?
Susanne and I had eaten well at breakfast, thanks to our very obliging hosts, but when our ferry stopped at Bowness to collect more passengers, we happily got off and went in search of a pub that served good, old-fashioned food. They must have catered for hard working fishermen; hence the amusement on our faces when our plates arrived–enough food to keep us going for several days.
Lunch in Bowness
The pier at Bowness
From Bowness we boarded another one of the company ferries and continued south to Lakeside. This part of the journey is quieter, with much less water traffic and what appears to be mainly woodland along the shore. After that huge lunch I wanted to lie down for a nap, but some noisy children put a stop to that idea.
By the time we returned to Ambleside it was after six o’clock. Grey clouds were gathering over the surrounding hills and we felt satiated with food, fresh air, and such wonderful memories stored in our cameras.