Despite
being a little town towards the central-southern end of Lake
Windermere, Bowness is a popular resort which attracts thousands
of visitors every year. Its busy hilly streets, lined with elegant
stone and slate houses, hotels and gift shops bear that clean
fresh look which is typical of the Lake District. Bowness is
in many respects like an inland seaside resort with all the
atmosphere that this engenders.
The town's
popularity is evidenced by the many restaurants which it has,
catering for all tastes - from Fish & Chips, various Chinese,
Greek and Indian cuisines, to the more expensive gourmet restaurant.
There are also many small cafés offering beverages and
snacks. Local shops offer local Lakeland crafts goods including
linen, woollen, paintings, glass, slate work, horn goods and
pottery, as well as the many small bookshops found in the town.
A few hundred
yards from the town centre is Bowness Bay, a small lakeside
beach front with an adjacent marina. Lake Windermere attracts
boaters, and the many moored launches and sailing vessels add
to the picturesque quality of the district. During the summer
season, several large passenger boats run cruises along the
lake to Ambleside, either for single journeys or for a more
leisurely round trip. Small rowing craft may also be hired from
this beach. Less adventurous visitors find pleasure in sitting
and watching, or feeding the large numbers of gracious swans
which reside here.
Both Windermere
and Bowness have many sources of accommodation, including large
elegant Victorian hotels, old inns and small guest houses with
a range of bed & breakfast and half board facilities. There
is ample parking in off centre car parks (mostly paying), and
some side street parking, though they tend to fill up early.
Tourist Information Centres can be found in Bowness at the Lakeside,
and in Windermere next to the railway station.
