The Wateredge sits right at the head of Windermere at Waterhead, where the lake finishes and Ambleside begins — a pub with rooms rather than a country house, with a beer garden that runs down to the water and the cruise piers a couple of minutes along the shore. If you have booked here you have picked the most sociable spot on the northern lake, and one of the easiest bases in the district to use without a car.
Quick Facts
It is not a small claim and it is fairly easily defended: the garden runs to the shingle at the head of Windermere, facing south down the full length of England's largest lake, and on a summer evening the light comes straight up the water at you. Steamers come and go from the piers alongside. It is the sort of place where the plan for the evening tends to dissolve, which is generally a sign of a good one.
The Waterhead piers are a couple of minutes away, and using them properly is the single best thing about staying here. Sail to Bowness for the afternoon and come back by water; take the shorter hop across to Wray Castle's grounds and the quiet western shore; or simply ride down and back for the view. From this address you genuinely need not drive.
A flat mile up the road brings you into Ambleside proper — a working Lakeland town with outdoor shops, an excellent small cinema for a wet evening, and Stock Ghyll Force thundering in the woods behind the main street, twenty minutes from the centre and at its best the day after rain. The walk in and out beats the parking every time.
Almost nobody notices this. In the flat ground between the inn and the lake lie the remains of Galava, a Roman fort built to guard the route between the forts at Ravenglass and Brougham. There is not a great deal above ground — low walls and outlines in the grass — but standing in it and realising the Romans picked exactly the same spot at the head of the lake that everyone since has picked is a genuinely good ten minutes.
The boats cover the lake; the passes and the far valleys need someone else driving. Our tours run with seven guests at most, and Ambleside library is your nearest pickup.
The grand sweep: ten lakes, the high passes between them, and an Ullswater Steamers cruise exclusive to this tour. If a celebration stay deserves one great day out, this is it.
See dates & bookCollected at the door, your party only, the day shaped to you — literary landscapes, hidden valleys, or simply the most beautiful roads we know. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard in our vehicle crates.
Enquire about a private dayDove Cottage at Grasmere — entry included as standard — and the valleys that made the poems, with Dora's Field carpeted gold in daffodil season. The right literary day for this most Georgian of addresses.
See dates & bookAcross the lake to Hill Top and Near Sawrey, with our illustration-matching walk through the village lanes — back for a long lakeside lunch.
See dates & bookThe afternoon version crosses the lake by boat rather than by road — worth choosing if you'd like the crossing itself to be part of the day.
See dates & bookA slow hall morning, then eight lakes and their valleys at a seven-seat pace — the most civilised way to spend a Lakeland afternoon.
See dates & bookThe same eight lakes as the afternoon tour, run the opposite way round in the morning — ideal if you'd rather keep your afternoon free for the lawns.
See dates & bookA full literary day east to Haworth — the Parsonage, the cobbled village, and the moors that gave Wuthering Heights its weather, newly magnetic with the recent film. Oxenholme pickup available.
See dates & bookInto the Dales for Grassington's "Darrowby", the Wensleydale Creamery, Kilnsey Crag and Bolton Abbey — filming locations brought to life around you with live scene technology.
See dates & bookFor a group who would rather not work to a departure time, a private day collects at the inn and runs at your pace. Dogs are welcome in some rooms here and welcome aboard our private tours too, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
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.
Car-free: one of the easiest bases in the Lakes — boats from the piers, a flat walk into Ambleside, buses along the A591 and tour days for the rest.
If you drive: Waterhead and Ambleside car parks fill by mid-morning in season.
Timing: book tour days when your stay is confirmed — seven seats, summer dates two to three weeks out.
Ages: our tours suit adults and older children, about seven and up.
On the shore at Waterhead, at the head of Windermere just outside Ambleside — the beer garden runs down to the water.
Ambleside library, a few minutes up the road — Windermere station and Bowness Pier 1 are the other two. On private tours we can usually collect you at the inn.
It has dog-friendly rooms. Well-behaved dogs are also welcome on our private tours, travelling safely in the crates our vehicles carry, though not on scheduled departures.
Yes — the Waterhead piers are a couple of minutes' walk, with cruises running the length of Windermere to Bowness and Lakeside.
We are an independent local tour operator. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wateredge Inn.