Lake Windermere is one of the United Kingdom’s most iconic locations, made famous by its status as England’s largest natural lake. It was the location for the famous Arthur Ransome children’s story ‘Swallows and Amazons’, and it has been a place of inspiration for many different types of people over the years.
For many years the body of water has been associated with motorized water sports, and there have been several notable attempts at conquering world water speed records at Windermere. Sir Henry Segrave broke the water speed record here in 1930, but his success was tainted by tragedy.
Although his vehicle, Miss England II, reached average speed of just under 159 kilometres per hour, his mechanic, Victor Helliwell drowned on the boat’s third run, when it overturned and capsized. Segrave himself was hauled out of the waster by rescuers, but was so seriously injured that he died later in hospital.
The tragic nature of these brave events should not detract from a potential visitor’s view of this magnificent body of water though. The setting is one of the most spectacular places in England, and the water is a rich habitat for fish. Char abound here, as do pike and perch, while the brown trout are excellent.
Fish migrate through the water and spawn in its tributaries, salmon and sea trout in particular. So many perch live in the waters here that they were actually fished and canned during World War Two, being packed as ‘perchines’, a kind of substitute product for people prevented from eating the real thing by wartime rationing.
For those people who love messing about in boats, England’s largest lake provides ample opportunity for recreation. Almost 10,000 boats are registered in the town of Bowness, while passenger boats and steamers also offer a more sedate and less strenuous way of enjoying the water.
Lake Windermere is one of England and the Lake District’s most spectacular places. Anyone who is looking to visit the United Kingdom should have it on their list of places to visit.
If you are looking for Boutique Hotels Lake District make sure you search online for Boutique Hotels Windermere