Large Group Houses in Windermere

Large Group Accommodation in Windermere

Windermere is the Lake District's front door. England's largest lake runs ten and a half miles from Ambleside to Lakeside, and the two towns on its eastern shore — Windermere, up by the railway station, and Bowness-on-Windermere, down on the water — hold the national park's biggest concentration of restaurants, pubs, boat trips and large holiday houses. For a group that wants the Lakes without a long drive from the station, or without needing a car at all once they arrive, it is the obvious base.

Why Windermere Works for Groups

Most Lake District villages have one pub and one shop. Windermere and Bowness have dozens of each, which matters when fourteen people need to eat on the same evening or want to split up for an afternoon. The lake cruises leave from Bowness pier every half hour in season and can be chartered privately; the 555 bus runs along the shore to Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick; and the station is a twenty-minute walk from the water. The houses themselves sit in the quieter lanes behind the towns — Victorian villas on the hill above Bowness, converted barns towards Troutbeck and Crook, and lodges along the shore road to Newby Bridge — close enough to walk to dinner, far enough that the group has the place to itself.

Things to Do on and Around the Lake

On the water: Windermere Lake Cruises run the famous steamers and launches from Bowness, Ambleside and Lakeside; Brockhole on Windermere, the national park's visitor centre two miles north of the town, hires paddleboards, kayaks and rowing boats and has treetop nets and an adventure course that large groups can book together; and the lake is open for swimming from Millerground and Fell Foot Park at the southern end.

On foot: Orrest Head is twenty minutes from Windermere station and gives the whole lake in one view — it is the walk that turned Alfred Wainwright into a fell-walker. Wansfell Pike above Ambleside is a proper half-day. For a long day, Fairfield Horseshoe starts from Ambleside and the 555 bus brings you home.

Under cover: Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts house south of Bowness, is one of the finest in the country; Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's farmhouse, is a short ferry ride across the lake at Near Sawrey; and the Lakeland Motor Museum at Backbarrow suits a wet afternoon. The Windermere Jetty Museum on the shore in Bowness has the lake's historic boats and a café on the water.

Eating and Drinking

Windermere punches well above its size. Henrock at Linthwaite House (Simon Rogan) and SOURCE at the Gilpin both hold Michelin stars and both take group tables with notice. In town, The Lamplighter Dining Rooms and Francine's are the reliable choices for a big party; Hole in t' Wall, Bowness's oldest pub, and The Angel Inn above the bay are where the group ends the evening. For a night in, the private chefs and cocktail hosts on our experiences pages travel to houses throughout the Windermere area.

Ideal Occasions

Windermere suits a hen weekend that wants a boat trip and a spa rather than a nightclub, a multi-generation family gathering where some walk and some don't, a milestone birthday with a private cruise, and a corporate retreat that needs the train rather than the car. Winter weekends — log fires, the lake steaming at dawn, a long lunch at the Gilpin — are as good as summer ones and considerably easier to book.

Also Worth Exploring

Windermere is the gateway to the wider Lake District — Ambleside and Grasmere are 15 and 25 minutes up the road, Keswick 45 minutes. The Yorkshire Dales begin just east of the M6, and Manchester is 1 hour 45 minutes south for a group arriving by air.