Lake District & Windermere Cruise Day Tour from Manchester

Lake Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, stretching about 18 kilometres through wooded hills in the south of the Lake District. Its main lakeside town, Bowness-on-Windermere, has been a holiday resort since the railway arrived in Victorian times, with a busy pier, promenade and small shops.

On the default option your Lake Windermere cruise ticket is booked in advance, so there is no queuing on arrival. From the boat you see wooded islands, grand Victorian villas and the fells rising behind the shore. Is a Windermere cruise worth it? It is the best way to appreciate the size and beauty of the lake; on the option without the cruise, you enjoy free time on the waterfront instead, and tickets bought on the day cannot be guaranteed.

Grasmere and William Wordsworth

Grasmere is a small village of grey stone cottages beside a tranquil lake, and it is forever linked with the poet William Wordsworth, who lived at Dove Cottage from 1799 to 1808 and wrote some of his best-known poems here. He described the valley as the loveliest spot that man hath found, and he is buried in the churchyard of St Oswald's Church.

During the stop you can walk to the lake, visit the churchyard or browse the village shops, including the famous gingerbread shop by the church gate. A Grasmere day trip is popular with literature fans, and the village makes a good lunch stop in the middle of the tour.

Coniston Water

Coniston Water lies beneath the Old Man of Coniston, a fell of more than 800 metres, and has long inspired writers and artists. The Victorian critic John Ruskin lived at Brantwood on its eastern shore, and Arthur Ransome drew on the lake for his classic children's adventure stories.

The lake is also famous for speed: Donald Campbell set several water speed records here before his fatal accident in 1967. The tour passes along the shore with a photo stop where the views across the water and the surrounding fells are finest.

Hawkshead and the Lake District National Park

Hawkshead is a conservation village of whitewashed cottages, cobbled squares and covered passageways, where the young Wordsworth attended the grammar school. The village also has a gallery devoted to Beatrix Potter, the author of Peter Rabbit, who lived nearby and left much of her land to the National Trust.

The Lake District National Park was created in 1951 and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 for its cultural landscape of farms, stone walls and lakes. The best time to visit the Lake District is late spring to early autumn, but the scenery is beautiful in every season; just pack for rain.