Lake Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, situated in the county of Cumbria within the Lake District National Park, about 15 miles west of the M6. The main holiday town is Bowness-on-Windermere that is situated next to the east side of the lake with the town of Windermere situated next to Bowness, just inland.

The main tourist attraction at Bowness is the Pier area with many boat trips on offer around the lake, or between Bowness and Ambleside at the north end of the lake. There are also small self drive boats for hire and a large marina with hundreds of sailing boats and cruisers, some of which can be hired.

Next to the pier is the vast Glebe Park with great views over the lake, a popular picknic area and for sun bathing. Bowness town has a good selection of shops and eateries to cope with the many tourists in this area, that is the most visited in the Lake District.

Bowness is also a good base to visit other parts of the lake district with the popular village of Grasmere 10 miles north, Coniston Water 13 miles west, Ullswater and the villages of Glenridding & Pooley Bridge 15 miles north and Keswick 23 miles northwest.

There are a lot of car parking spaces around the pier and a large car park is situated about half of a mile south of the pier. The bowness Roadtrain runs between the pier and the large car park.

Bowness & Windermere have about 12 hotels, many B&Bs, Guest Houses and Self Catering properties in and around the towns. The Old England Hotel takes pride of place overlooking the piers and marina. The Belsfield Hotel sits higher up, to the right in the image below, with fantastic views across the lake. All Hotels with discounts and availability.