All aboard the Windermere Ferry:
The car ferry is unusual in that it runs on cables across the lake, ferrying walkers and cyclists from Bowness Bay to the quieter further shore leading on to Hawkshead.
The Windermere Car Ferry is the only way to get from one side of the lake to the other (rather than travel all the way around).
It shortens the round lake trip by 15 miles.
The lake is at its narrowest at ‘The Nab’ near Far Sawrey and the opposite side at Bowness-on-Windermere. There has been a ferry of one sort or another here since the 1300s.
Originally the crossing was to enable the monks of Furness Abbey to traverse the lake. Initially, the crossing would have been made by a simple rowing boat.
As technology progressed, this gave way to steam power and then diesel.
The current ferry is named Mallard and was built in 1990 and is operated by a pair of cables under the lake.
It is owned and managed by Cumbria County Council.
It runs all year and can carry 18 cars and 100 passengers. However, coaches, motorbikes, and even horses can be transported.
The crossing is so smooth and quiet it’s easy to be halfway across before you realise it!
A toll is charged and the journey generally takes 10 minutes.
