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Ambleside

Standing less than a mile from the head of Lake Windermere, Ambleside is one of the busiest of the Lakeland towns, a popular centre for walkers and tourists, with glorious walks and drives radiating from the town in all directions. Ambleside offers a huge choice of pubs, restaurants, cafés, hotels and guest houses, as well as art galleries, a two-screen cinema and a mix of traditional family-run shops supplemented by a modern range of retailers in the Market Cross Centre. Because of its many shops specialising in outdoor clothing, the town was recently described as 'the anorak capital of the world' and it would certainly be hard to find a wider selection anywhere of climbing, camping and walking gear.

Many of Ambleside's buildings are constructed in the distinctive grey-green stone of the area, which merges attractively with the green of the fields and fells all around. The centre of the town is now a conservation area and perhaps the most picturesque building here is The Bridge House, a tiny cottage perched on a packhorse bridge across Stock Ghyll. Today it's a National Trust shop and information centre, but during the 1850s it was the home of Mr and Mrs Rigg and their six children. The main room of this one-up, one-down residence measures just 13 feet by six feet, so living chez Rigg was decidedly cosy. Close by, at Adrian Sankey's Glass Works, visitors can watch craftsmen transform molten material into glass in the age-old way and also purchase the elegant results.

A short walk from the mill brings the visitor to the Armitt Collection, which is dedicated to the area's history since Roman times and to two of its most famous literary luminaries, John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter. Among the highlights are Beatrix Potter's early watercolours - exquisite studies of fungi and mosses - and a fascinating collection of photographs by Herbert Bell, an Ambleside chemist who became an accomplished photographer.

The popular panoramic view of Ambleside, looking north from the path up Loughrigg Fell, reveals the town cradled within the apron of the massive Fairfield Horseshoe, which rises to nearly 3000 feet. Within the townscape itself, the most impressive feature is the rocket-like spire, 180 feet high, of St Mary's Church. The church was completed in 1854 to a design by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect of London's St Pancras Station and the Albert Memorial. Inside the church is a chapel devoted to the memory of William Wordsworth and an interesting 1940s mural depicting the ancient ceremony of rush-bearing. The ceremony, dating back to the days when the floor of the church was covered by rushes, is still held on the first Saturday in July. Some 400 children process through the town bearing colourful, decorated rushes and singing the specially commissioned Ambleside Rushbearer's Hymn.

A few weeks later, the famous Ambleside Sports take place, an event distinguished by the variety of local traditional sports it features. In addition to carriage-driving, ferret or pigeon racing, and tugs of war, the sports include Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling (a little like Sumo wrestling but without the rolls of fat), muscle-wrenching fell racing, and hound trailing.

Another experience not to be missed while staying at Ambleside is a boat cruise on Windermere to Bowness. There are daily departures from the pier at Waterhead, about a mile south of the town. At Bowness, there are connections to other lakeland attractions and, during the summer months, evening wine cruises. Rowing boats and self-drive motor boats can also be hired.

Just to the west of the pier is Borrans Park, a pleasant lakeside park with plenty of picnic spots, and to the west of the park, the site of Galava Roman Fort. There is little to be seen of the fort but the setting is enchanting. Also well worth a visit is nearby Stagshaw Garden (National Trust), a spring woodland garden that contains a fine collection of shrubs, including some impressive rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. Parking is very limited and vehicular access is hazardous, so it's best to park at Waterhead car park and walk.

Also a short walk from Waterhead car park is Ambleside Roman Fort, the remains of a 2nd-century fort with large granaries, which was built during the rule of Emperor Hadrian to guard the Roman road from Brougham to Ravenglass and act as a supply base.

Perhaps the most unusual visitor attraction in Ambleside is the Homes of Football, described by the Sunday Times as a national treasure. It began as a travelling exhibition of football photographs and memorabilia, but now has a permanent home in Lake Road. Photographer Stuart Clarke recorded games and grounds from the Premier League down to amateur village teams. There are now 60,000 photographs on file and a massive selection on show, framed and for sale. Some of the memorabilia retail for £200 or more, but a free picture postcard of your favourite soccer ground is included in the modest entrance fee. Recently, the collection has been expanded and now includes photographs of music festivals, environmental nudes, and collections titled The World, Cumbria and the Lake District.

From Ambleside town centre, a steep road climbs sharply up to the dramatic Kirkstone Pass and over to Ullswater. The pass is so called because of the rock at the top that looks like a church steeple. Rising to some 1489 feet above sea level, the road is the highest in the Lake District and, although today's vehicles make light work of the ascent, for centuries the Pass presented a
formidable obstacle. The severest incline, known as The Struggle, necessitated passengers stepping out of their coach and making their way on foot, leaving the horses to make the arduous haul with just the empty coach.