Weather is brilliant in England, on the way to Windermere, the largest natural lake in England. Blue sky green field really an awesome day and you just never get tired of that.
Passed by some old buildings and shoot some pictures from the car. You know there are so many nice architecture building all over UK and I will never get tired of them, especially for me who came from Asia.
We finally arrived in Windermere and pray for the good weather as we hope to get into the last cruise for the day. Once you arrived you will know this is really a tourist destination. Everyone is so laid back, sit one the grass enjoying the sunny weather. After all, this is the place to relax.
Windermere is located in the Lake District National Park and considered one of the largest natural lake in England. To be frank, the lake is not that big. We rushed to obtain the cruise tickets and luckily managed to get them.
Cruise Ticket for Lake Windermere
Few type of ticket for cruise you can choose from :
- Red Cruise – (Circular cruise from Bowness > Brockhole > Ambleside > Bowness).70 mins
- Yellow Cruise – (Circular cruise from Bowness > Lakeside > Bowness). 90 mins
- Green Cruise – (Circular cruise from Ambleside > Wray Castle > Brockhole > Ambleside).50 mins
- Blue (Islands Cruise) – (Circular cruise from Bowness). 45 mins
We choose Blue Cruise because that is the shortest and only available for the day. The last cruise of the day is 5.30 pm for summer, a 45 mins cruising is long enough for us.
Blue ticket cost :
- Adult : GBP 8.25
- Child (5-15) : GBP 4.15
The cruise will depart at Bowness which is here at Windermere. Coming to Windermere you must try the cruise, else you are missing out something important in this Lake District area.
While waiting for our cruise, we check on the beautiful swans gathered around the pier, waiting to be fed. There are swan food sold at the shops for visitors to purchase and feed them. The white swans are big and gracious, the feet all come with a tag. I am sure these swans are under good care.
45 mins of Blue cruise start now, together there were a group of Chinese from mainland join us for the cruise. Most of them are ladies in the 50’s and 60’s. They were pretty loud and excited like us. We were excited too but we didn’t make that much of noise, probably we were smaller group compared to them. They were on top deck of the cruise for 10 mins only for pictures taking, then all immediately rushed to lower deck as the winds were quite strong.
The 45 mins cruise from Bowness is a romantic one, you get to enjoy contrasting scenery of mountains, wooded shorelines and lovely tranquil bays. My advise is stay on the top deck throughout the 45 mins cruise to enjoy the fuller view of the surroundings.
Most of the houses built around Windermere Lake has a built-in berth attached to their home so they could dock their yachts.
The cruise includes a fascinating commentary on the history, attractions and points of interest surrounding Windermere. I can’t remembered how much the commentator said about the houses here, the figure is so high I could not handle and can’t remember.
Spotted a castle on top of a hill, could it be Wray Castle as I know Wray Castle is somewhere at Windermere. Not 100% sure though.
Enough of the cool wind and sunshine? Lets get in to the lower deck to get some refreshment.
Price list for the refreshment in the cruise. Coke and coffee cost around GBP 1.50 each, pretty reasonable.
Self serve Boating
If you want some challenge and do it yourself boating, go hire a boat. There are self row boats with oars or you can choose the one with motor but be super careful with the traffic as there are quite a few yachts sailing in the lakes. No boating experience is necessary, anyone can do it. If you get into trouble, someone will come to your rescue 🙂
- Self row with oars
- Motor Boat
It was about time to fill our stomach again. We walked into the town and search for something to eat, preferable Asian food.
The China Boat – Cantonese Cuisine
We ordered a roast duck, sweet and sour pork and some corn soup for our dinner. We forgotten we just played with the swans and ducks earlier and now eating their friend. We only realized how cruel we were after we finished our dinner. When you are hungry, your brain isn’t working at all.
Walking back to the car park near Windermere Lake.
We choose to stay outside Windermere as the lodging in this area are pretty expensive, especially during weekends. Not only the price is double up during weekends, the bed given is only bunk beds. So we choose to stay in Kendal instead, about half an hour drive from Windermere. With the same price, we get a very good and comfortable place in Kendal.
Bidding goodbye to the swans and ducks and sorry I have just eaten your friends.
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