A public transport adventure, exploring magnificent scenery and attractions in the heart of the Lake District, including Bowness, Windermere, Ambleside, Rydal & Grasmere.

Itinerary summary

Starting at the popular town of Bowness-on-Windermere, you can explore the town and its various attractions before taking a Windermere Lake Cruise to Waterhead (Ambleside). Explore Waterhead before taking a bus through Ambleside to Rydal village where you will find Rydal Mount, the former home of William Wordsworth. From Rydal village an excellent and relatively easy walk takes you along the shores of Rydal Water and Grasmere lake to the village of Grasmere. After exploring the village, take the open top bus which returns you to Bowness-on-Windermere in one go.

This itinerary suggests a few of the best attractions to visit and lists others that you might want to include. It can easily be done in a day, allowing some time to explore attractions at each stop. An example schedule is included along with current prices. It can also be done at any time of year although the frequency of services is less over the winter.

An interactive map is included below. The suggested start is Bowness-on-Windermere but of course it can be started anywhere along the route or done in a different order.

The itinerary is available for download as a carefully presented PDF document that you can save to your device in case of no WiFi or phone signal.

Bus, boat and train stop locations are given in What3words format, an easy and precise way to navigate if you download the app.