Windermere

Windermere is a long, narrow ribbon lake in Cumbria’s Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area and volume, stretching about 11 miles with a maximum width of one mile. The lake reaches depths of 64 metres and sits 39 metres above sea level. Its waters flow into Morecambe Bay through the River Leven. The lake formed after the last Ice Age, when melting ice carved out its steep-sided valley between 17,000 and 14,700 years ago. Tourists have visited Windermere since the Kendal and Windermere Railway opened in 1847. The Freshwater Biological Association was founded on its shore in 1929 and became a centre for early research in lake ecology. The lake has two separate basins with different geology: hard volcanic rock in the north and softer shales in the south. Eighteen islands dot the water, the largest being Belle Isle, a privately owned island nearly a kilometre long. Visitors find pleasant low-level walks along the foothills surrounding the lake. Bowness-on-Windermere is the only settlement directly on the shore, while the village of Windermere lies a short walk inland. The lake’s islands include Lady Holme, Thompson Holme and Maiden Holme, the smallest with just one tree. Regular boat services connect key points along the water, offering views of the fells and woodlands that frame the lake.