Tag: windermere

  • Otters in the Lake District

    Otters are considered to be England’s top predator, masterful at catching a variety of prey including fish and small birds. These semi – aquatic mammals are usually spotted playing in the rivers with their thick fur protecting them from the cold waters. Their webbed feet, dense fur (to keep them warm) and ability to close their eyes and nose underwater makes them well suited to life In the water. Otters have their cubs in underground burrows known as a ‘holt’. Excellent and lithe swimmers, cubs are introduced and adjusted to the water by 10 weeks of age. The length of an otter is 90cm with a tail of 45cm and has an average life span of up to 10 years.

    Otter

    During the last century otters faced extinction, but their numbers have steadily increased due to the clear up of waterways, certain pesticides being banned, and conservation projects being set up.

    Otters can often be seen playing in the rivers that feed the lakes such as Derwentwater near Keswick. There have also been other sightings including the River Kent by Kendal and around Lake Windermere.

  • Bowness-on-Windermere

    9.2 miles away

    Walking distance: 3hr 5 mins

    Buses: Grasmere Centre to Bowness Pier – 599 or 555 every 20 minutes

    Bowness–on–Windermere lies on the shore of Lake Windermere, halfway between Waterhead at the north end and Lakeside at the south end. The town was developed after the opening of the railway line from Oxenholme and Kendal to Windermere in 1847 as Bowness was the nearest accessible point on the lake. Now the town is a popular tourist attraction with sailing and watersports available to enjoy. For those wanting to relax, the pier has some stunning scenery of the lake and Cumbrian fells.

    Within in the town, Victorian influence can be seen with large residences overlooking the lake. In the late 19th century wealthy businessmen from Lancashire built large houses overlooking the lake which have now been converted into hotels. The Belsfield Hotel that overlooks Bowness Bay was once home to Henry Schneider, Chairman of the Barrow Steelworks. St Martin’s Church is the parish Church of Bowness and is also worth a visit. The area behind the church is the oldest part of Bowness with a delightful web of narrow streets known as Lowside. The streets give visitors and residents an idea of what the village was like before the railway.

  • Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling

    Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling is a traditional sport that takes place during summer shows across the National Park. It was initially bought over by the Vikings and the earliest recorded match was in 1785 in Windermere near to Rawlinson’s Nab.

    Wrestlers taking part wear the traditional costume of white long johns, embroided velvet trunks and a white vest. The wrestlers ‘tekk hod’ – take hold and grasp each other with their chin on the other’s shoulder. The first person to touch the ground with any part of their body, apart from the soles of their feet is the loser. The contest is judged on the best of three falls, where breaking hold is the equivalent of a fall.