Ambleside · Rothay Bridge
Things to do near Rothay Manor —
a local guide
From the people who drive these roads every day
Ambleside · Rothay Bridge
From the people who drive these roads every day
Ambleside centre
5 minon foot
Waterhead
400 mto the lake
Nearest pickup
Amblesidelibrary, a short walk
Private tour
£459per group, from the hotel
The house
1825Grade II Regency
Dogs
Welcomeon private tours too
A private tour from Rothay Manor
Book any of our tours as a private tour, collected from the hotel, for your party alone — or have a bespoke tour planned around your stay.
Book a private tour Plan a bespoke tourPrivate from £459 per group · small-group tours from £79 per person
Rothay Manor has been quietly getting Ambleside right since 1825 — a Grade II listed Regency house on the edge of town, close enough to walk in for supper, far enough that the garden stays quiet. It is a properly dog-friendly hotel in a dog-friendly town, and it sits within a few minutes of both the head of Windermere and the fells behind. This guide covers what's worth doing from the door, and the days out that a base this central makes easy.
Ambleside is a proper working town rather than a picture-postcard village, and that is exactly its appeal: outdoor shops for the waterproof you forgot, a really good independent cinema for a wet evening, bakeries and cafés that have fed fell-walkers for generations, and a knot of restaurants that punch well above the town's size. All of it is a few minutes from Rothay Manor's gate.
Two things most visitors miss. Stock Ghyll Force, a seventy-foot waterfall in the woods directly behind the town, is a twenty-minute stroll from the main street and at its spectacular best the day after rain — one of the best free half-hours in the national park. And the Armitt, Ambleside's own museum and library, holds a remarkable collection including a body of Beatrix Potter's scientific fungi watercolours, painted long before the tales and a reminder that she was a serious naturalist first.
Four hundred metres from the hotel, Waterhead sits at the head of Windermere with the cruise piers, rowing boats and one of the better views down the length of the lake. A sailing to Bowness and back makes an easy, easy-paced afternoon, and you can walk it from the door.
Ambleside is central, which is its great advantage — but the high passes and the further valleys still need someone else at the wheel. Private days collect at the hotel, and Ambleside library, a short walk away, is our nearest small-group pickup.
Any of these can run privately, collected from the hotel, for your party alone. Ambleside library, a short walk away, is the nearest small-group pickup.
Stock Ghyll Force is worth timing a visit around this season specifically — autumn rain keeps it running full and loud through the woods behind the town, spray catching the light, the roar of it audible before you round the last bend in the path, and the trees around the falls turn gold well before the rest of the valley catches up. Stand close enough and you'll feel the cold mist on your face, the smell of wet moss and stone all around.
The town itself settles into its working, off-season rhythm once the summer trade thins, which suits Rothay Manor's position rather well: the cafés and shops feel local again rather than seasonal, warm light spilling out of doorways as the afternoons draw in, and a table is easier to come by. Waterhead, four hundred metres down, is at its best too — the lake catching the low autumn light in long streaks of gold, and a sailing to Bowness and back a properly easy-paced, coat-collar-up way to spend an afternoon.
For what's open, what's turning and the tours that suit the season, see our guide to the Lake District in autumn.
For a stay built around good food and a dog under the table, a private day is the natural fit — collected at the hotel, no fixed departure, and a route shaped around what you actually want to see. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard by prior arrangement and travel safely in the crates our vehicles carry, which pairs neatly with Rothay Manor's own dog rooms.
Ambleside is where the passes begin. Kirkstone climbs out of the town to the east, Wrynose is half an hour west through Little Langdale, and Hardknott beyond it when the weather allows — single-track, steep and walled, the roads people come to the Lakes to see. Our private days are made for this country: a pass in poor weather, the walled lanes beyond it, and a full day taken in comfort. Your guide drives; the day is yours.
Not sure which route suits your plans, or want a day built entirely from scratch — a family reunion, a wedding anniversary, scattering ashes somewhere that mattered? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll design a day around it — see our guide to celebrating a special occasion for ideas, or get in touch directly.
Without a car: very workable — the town is walkable, the 555 and 599 buses run the A591 corridor, boats go from Waterhead, and tour days cover the rest.
If you drive: Ambleside's central car parks fill by mid-morning in season; the hotel's own parking is the sensible answer, and walk in from there.
Timing: book tour days when you book the room — seven seats, and summer dates go two to three weeks out.
Ages: our tours suit adults and older children, about seven and up.
About a five-minute walk. The hotel sits just outside the town on Rothay Bridge, with Waterhead and the head of Windermere around 400 metres away.
On private tours, yes: we collect you at the hotel and bring you back, from £459 for the group. For a small-group seat, our nearest pickup is Ambleside library on Kelsick Road, a short walk; each tour page lists the pickups that tour uses.
Yes — dogs are welcome in selected rooms, and the hotel provides dog beds, a dedicated dog shower and a separate dining area for guests with pets. Well-behaved dogs are also welcome on our private tours by prior arrangement, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
Guests here tend to want the day shaped around them, so a private day collected from the hotel is the usual choice. For a scheduled seat, the 10 Lakes Full-day Tour gives the widest sweep of the national park.
Any of our tours, run privately: your own guide and vehicle, collected from the hotel, on the date that suits you, with nobody aboard you did not bring. We don’t run every tour every day, so reserve your day when you book your stay. Already here? Call us on 015394 55507.
Arriving by train? We can collect your party at the station, go straight out on tour, and bring you to the hotel at the end of the day.
With six or seven of you, a private tour costs less per person than the small-group tour.
Book a private tourTailor-made for each booking: an anniversary, a proposal, the places and the people you most want to see.
Plan a bespoke tourSources: Rothay Manor Hotel; The Armitt Museum & Library; Windermere Lake Cruises.
Lake District Tours is an independent local tour company based in Kendal. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Rothay Manor.
This page was checked by Gillian in .
Photographs are of the area rather than the hotel itself. Tour photographs are credited on each tour page.
