Course
base feature - Windermere, Lake District
Welcome
to the Icicle town tour of Windermere. It's where our
office and shop is located, and is the course base for
all our acivities in the Lake District, as well as being
a logistics base for trips in the Alps and globally. We
get many requests from clients asking our favourite places
to hang out, shop and visit. Here's our tour...
Below is one of our favourite views in the Lake District
National Park. It's from the top of Orrest Head, a modest
fell top just a 20 minute walk up the path across the
road from our office door. At its top, there is a plaque
to Alfred Wainwright, the famous guidebook author, which
sums up what is so special about this location... |
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"Our
first ascent in Lakeland, our first sight of mountains
in
tumultuous array across glittering waters, our awakening
to beauty...
A fitting finale, too, to a life made happy by fellwandering"
Extract
of Orrest Head quote by Alfred Wainwright |
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The
town today
Windermere is the longest natural
lake in England, at 10.5 miles in length. It was created
in the Quaternary glaciations, and is a long ribbon lake
in a flooded glacial trough. At its northern end is a
splendid panorama of mountains and fell tops containing
many of the highest peaks in the country. Despite their
modest height, the Lakeland fells have often harsh winters,
with extensive snow and ice cover. The Lake District was
made famous initially by the likes of Wordsworth and Beatrix
Potter, but it only grew rapidly as a tourism destination
with the arrival of the railway. In Windermere, the branch
line from Kendal opened in 1847. |
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Historically
three counties forming the area that is now called
Cumbria; Westmorland, Cumberland and Lancashire.
The Lake District National Park was created in 1951,
and it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site
in 2017. Windermere is on the hillside above the
lake, and it's a 20 minute walk down to the lakeshore
at Bowness-on-Windermere. The town population is
8,500 residents, though obviously this swells significantly
with tourists and day visitors.
The Lake District is by far
the most popular national park in the UK, and it
both benefits and suffers with the huge visitor
numbers in the peaks of season. The economy is dependent
on this trade, but there is a big impact on the
local infrastructure, as well as erosion issues
on the mountains. We aim to operate all our Lakes
courses sustainably, encouraging people to travel
to the area by train (3.5 hours from London Euston),
and to car share in the national park. |
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| Icicle
was established in late 2000, and we moved our office
base to Windermere back in 2012, where we also opened
a mountain shop which stocks equipment and clothing selected
by our guiding team. The Lake District is our home, and
where all our trips are organised and arranged. You can
come and visit us too! |
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Restaurants,
cafes & pubs
Here is a selection of our favourite places to hang out
in Windermere. There's a great choice, and you can select
from a wide range of places to unwind, after a great day
out in the mountains, or while waiting for a train... |
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Elleray
pub & hotel, Windermere
This is a local hotel and
pub, just around the corner from our Windermere
office. The bar has a log fire, and there's always
plenty of local ales on tap to choose from. The
food is standard pub grub, so if you are after simple
food, it's the place to head, and you can wash it
down with a good pint or two. The pub also has a
hotel with letting rooms above it, so this is a
perfect one stop shop, to stay close by. |
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Pig
restaurant, Windermere
If you want nice food and
a great atmosphere, head to the Pig restaurant in
Windermere. This place is always busy, so it's worth
booking ahead especially on evenings at the weekend,
or at lunchtimes. There's a good variety of food,
as despite opening recently, this has quickly become
a firm favourite with locals, as a great place to
eat out. It's always been a hit with our groups
heading here. |
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Crafty-Baa
bar, Windermere
This is a quirky bar, which
is inside a traditional stone house, which has been
converted into a craft beer bar. Try saying that
after a few tipples! The decoration is great inside
and out, and there is a vast array of drinks to
choose from. It's very snug and comfortable inside,
and a great place to head on a cold evening, or
if the Lake District weather is doing it's worst
and raining. We really like this place! |
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Booths
supermarket & cafe
If you've got a few minutes
before your train, or want to get some supplies
for lunches each day, Booths supermarket is the
place to head. There's also a cafe with free WiFi
and a toilet. The selection of food is great, and
largely from local suppliers. It's good quality,
and a northern supermarket chain, that is similar
in style to Waitrose, but with a greater focus on
quality and local provenence. |
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Places
to stay in Windermere
All those booking on a Lake District
trip, are sent a course dossier which includes a wide
range of suggested places to stay. There's something for
all budgets, from a backpackers hostel to a boutique hotel.
Windermere is also famed for it's huge variety of Bed
& Breakfast's, where you can stay in a local house,
in a private room. |
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Shopping
Apparently the Lake District has
a greater density of outdoor shops than anywhere else
in Europe, and other hotspots within the national park
are Ambleside and Keswick. Our shop is based in Windermere
on Church Street, which is the main road towards Ambleside,
just a 200m walk from the train station. We stock a wide
range of items, from every day essentials for the UK hills
such as water bottles, gaiters, walking poles etc, through
to technical items for use on our Alpine and worldwide
trips, such as avalanche tranaceivers, technical axes,
ropes etc. Also we have a good range of maps and guidebooks
in store. |
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All
our course clients get a -15% discount in our store,
or online shop, for all items. When you book a trip
with us, you are sent an equipment discount voucher,
with a code to apply at the checkout of our online
store. To visit our online store, click
here.
Many
people visit the Lake District from nearby, as there
are several cities within a hour or two drive, such
as Manchester, Liverpool, Carlisle, and Preston.
If you are planning to visit, please check our shop
opening days and times; click
here. |
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Orrest
Head - the best view for the shortest walk in the Lake
District
Directly across the road from our
Windermere office, is a signpost to Orrest Head, to the
left of the Windermere Hotel. Follow the road upwards
for 50 metres, and then turn left onto a walled lane through
the woods. After 200m you reach a signpost where you turn
right to head upwards towards Orrest Head. After another
250m, you pass a gate onto fields, and turn right to ascend
via some wooden steps, to gain the old carriage track.
Follow this up to the kissing gate, and go through this
to ascend some rocky ground for 200m to reach the summit.
On your left is a plaque to Wainwright, with the quote
at the top of this page, and a panorama to identify the
peaks. There are benches to rest on, and to take in the
view. Retrace your steps to descend back into Windermere.
Allow 20 minutes for the ascent, and 15 for the descent.
For such a small effort, the views from the summit are
unparalleled, as you gaze up the long sweep of Windermere
lake, to the fells that surround its northern end, and
all around. Wainwrights words ring as true today, as when
he wrote them. |
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