Windermere (lake)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- "Lake Windermere" redirects here. For other uses, see Lake Windermere (disambiguation).
Image:Lake windermere in 2005.jpg
Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, and is entirely within the Lake District National Park. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since 1847, when the Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line to it. Since ‘mere’ means ‘lake’, referring to Windermere as ‘Lake Windermere’ is tautologous, though common.
The children's book series Swallows and Amazons is based loosely on life before World War II around a fictional lake derived from a combination of Windermere and Coniston Water.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Windermere is 10½ miles (17 km) long and varies from a quarter of a mile to one mile wide (400 m to 1500 m). It reaches a depth of about 220 feet (65 m) near its northern end and has an elevation above sea level of 130 feet (40 m). The lake is drained from its southernmost point by the River Leven. It is replenished by the rivers Brathay, Rothay, Trout Beck, Cunsey Beck and several other lesser streams.
There are two towns on the lake, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere. The town of Windermere, confusingly, does not directly touch the lake. Known as Birthwaite prior to the arrival of the railway, it is about a fifteen-minute walk from the lakefront, and has now grown together with Bowness. Windermere railway station is a hub for train and bus connections to the surrounding areas, Manchester, Manchester Airport, and the West Coast Main Line.
The lake is largely surrounded by foothills of the Lake District which provide pleasant low-level walks; to the north and north-east the higher fells of central Lakeland commence.
Windermere is one of a very few lakes in Britain which has a perceptible diurnal tide.
[edit] Natural history
The lake has a very high percentage of its drainage area under cultivation (29.4 %), and a relatively low percentage of lake bed above 9 m in depth which is rocky (28 %). This makes Windermere a relatively rich habitat. The main fish in the lake are trout, char, pike, and perch.
The north to south alignment of the lake, combined with its position between Morecambe Bay and the central fells, means that it forms what is essentially a migration highway. During winter months geese flying this route are a common sight.
The Freshwater Biological Association was first established on the shore of Windermere in 1929 and much of the early definitive work on lake ecology, freshwater biology and limnology was conducted here.
[edit] Local government
Before 1974 Windermere lay wholly within the county of Westmorland; however, the county boundary between Lancashire and Westmorland ran down the western shore of the lake and also along about three miles of the southern section of the eastern shore. Drivers crossing the lake on the Windermere Ferry thus travel from the historic county of Westmorland to that of Lancashire if they cross the lake in a westerly direction.
Since local government re-organisation in 1974, Windermere and its shores have been entirely within the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria and the district of South Lakeland. Most planning matters concerned with the lake are, however, the responsibility of the Lake District National Park Authority.
[edit] Boating
Racer Norman Buckley set several world water speed records on Windermere in the 1950s.
The Windermere Ferry, a vehicle carrying cable ferry, runs across the lake from a point south of Bowness on the eastern side of the lake to Far Sawrey on the western side of the lake. This service forms part of the B5285.
For many years, power-boating and water-skiing have been popular activities on the lake. In March 2000, however, the Government controversially decided to put in place a compulsory 6 knot (10 mph, 16.1 km/h) speed limit for all powered craft, technically starting in 2000, but enforced in practice from 29 March 2005. The old speed 6 knot speed limit for all craft - in the north, centre, and south lake - is still in place, and enforced. Until the planning of the new speed limit, the old one was mistakenly believed to be for powered craft only.
Many organisations, including the Lake District National Park Authority, support the move, primarily on the grounds of restoring the tranquil nature of the lake and making it safer and more accessible for all users. Opponents, particularly those interested in the affected sports, are concerned by the lack of other suitable inland waters to which to move these activities.
[edit] External links
