Windermere (lake)
|
Windermere from the north. |
Windermere is the largest natural
lake in
England, and is entirely within in the
Lake District National Park. It has been one of the country's most popular places for holidays and summer homes since
1847, when the
Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line to it. Since ‘mere' means ‘lake', referring to Windermere as ‘Lake Windermere' is
tautologous, though common.
|
A map of the lake from 1925 |
Windermere is 10½ miles (17 km) long and varies from a quarter of a mile to one mile wide (400 m to 1500 m). It reaches a depth of about 220 feet (65 m) near its northern end and has an elevation above
sea level of 130 feet (40 m). The lake is drained from its southernmost point by the
River Leven. It is replenished by the rivers
Brathay,
Rothay,
Trout Beck,
Cunsey Beck and several other lesser streams.
There are two towns on the lake,
Ambleside and
Bowness-on-Windermere. The
town of Windermere, confusingly, does not directly touch the lake. Known as Birthwaite prior to the arrival of the railway, it is about a fifteen-minute walk from the lakefront, and has now grown together with Bowness.
Windermere railway station is a hub for train and bus connections to the surrounding areas,
Manchester,
Manchester Airport, and the
West Coast Main Line.
The lake is largely surrounded by foothills of the Lake District which provide pleasant low-level walks; to the north and north-east the higher
fells of central Lakeland commence.
Windermere is one of a very few lakes in Britain which has a perceptible diurnal
tide.
The lake has a very high percentage of its drainage area under cultivation (29.4 %), and a relatively low percentage of lake bed above 9 m in depth which is rocky (28 %). This makes Windermere a relatively rich habitat. The main fish in the lake are trout, char, pike, and perch.
The north to south alignment of the lake, combined with its position between Morecambe Bay and the central fells, means that it forms what is essentially a migration highway. During winter months geese flying this route are a common sight.
The
Freshwater Biological Association was first established on the shore of Windermere in 1929 and much of the early definitive work on lake
ecology,
freshwater biology and
limnology was conducted here
Though the lake bed of Windermere is wholly within the
traditional county of
Westmorland, the county boundary between
Lancashire and Westmorland runs down the western shore of the lake and also along about three miles of the southern section of the eastern shore. Drivers crossing the lake on the Windermere Ferry will thus travel from Westmorland to Lancashire if they cross the lake in a westerly direction.
Since local government re-organisation in
1974, Windermere has been entirely within the
non-metropolitan county of
Cumbria and the district of
South Lakeland. Most planning matters concerned with the lake are, however, the responsibility of the
Lake District National Park Authority.
 |
Windermere on a cloudy day. |
Racer
Norman Buckley set several world water speed records on Windermere in the
1950s.
A road ferry service runs across the lake from a point south of Bowness on the eastern side of the lake to
Far Sawrey on the western side of the lake. This service forms part of the
B5285.
For many years, power-boating and water-skiing have been popular activities on the lake. In
March 2000, however, the Government controversially decided to put in place a compulsory 10
knot (11.5
mph, 18.5 km/h) speed limit, technically starting in
2000, but enforced in practice from
29 March 2005.
Many organisations, including the Lake District National Park Authority, support the move, primarily on the grounds of restoring the tranquil nature of the lake and making it safer and more accessible for all users. Opponents, particularly those interested in the affected sports, are concerned by the lack of other suitable inland waters to which to move these activities.
*
Streaming web cam of Windermere from the Ferry House slip*
Lake Windermere - An illustrated guide
