Ambleside is in the heart of the Lakes. It is close to Grasmere (4 miles), Windermere (5 miles) and junction 36 of the M6 is just 30 minutes away.
Directions by Car
From Junction 36 of the M6, take the A590/591 to Ambleside (20 miles, 25 minutes). Continue through Ambleside centre, passing the Church spire on your left and continuing up Compston Road, past the shops, keeping to the right hand lane on this one way road. Turn right at the traffic lights at the top of the street, then first left (30 metres), past the Post Office onto North Road. 20 metres on the left is the entrance to a car-free cobbled alley (Bridge Street). The Waterwheel B&B is the third cottage on the left. You may park briefly at the top of this small road to unload (you will be facing a shop called Silver Moon). A complimentary parking permit is provided for parking at the nearby (100m) car park – the pass can also be used at many other car parks in the South Lakes area.
If using a SatNav, the closest postcode to find the Waterwheel Guesthouse is LA22 9DT.
Public Transport
The nearest railway station is in Windermere (4 miles), from which there is at least one train a day with a direct connection to Manchester Airport. There is also an excellent connecting service from Windermere station to the West Coast mainline, at Oxenholme, Kendal, from which there are several trains a day with a direct connection to Manchester Airport, along with direct connections to London Euston and Glasgow, both less than 3 hours away. Taxis wait at Windermere train station, or there are frequent buses connecting to Ambleside.
Check out National Rail or www.thetrainline.com for train times and prices.
There is also a National Express coach stop in Ambleside, along with Stagecoach bus services connecting the North West.
Ambleside
If there is a finer location for a town in Britain we have yet to find it. Towering hills on three sides and a lake on the other give Ambleside a splendid setting and a beautiful location for luxury weekend breaks in the Lake District. Walkers and lovers of the great outdoors revel in the sheer majesty of it all. The fine, high ridges of Fairfield dominate the town’s Northern reaches, whilst the smaller but no less imposing Wansfell rises steeply to the East. Loughrigg offers gentler wooded slopes and a myriad of paths to explore, or wind down with a scenic cruise on Windermere from Waterhead, at the Southern end of the town.
The best way to appreciate the area is to explore it on foot during a luxury break at the Waterwheel Guesthouse, in the Lake District. Head into the hills or along the valleys to Rydal Water and Grasmere. After heavy rain search out the thunderous waterfalls, or venture into sprawling woodland.
Alternatively, just wander through the alleyways of Ambleside, stopping to sample the rather tasty fare at one of the many fine teashops or restaurants. There are an abundance of quality restaurants in town, including the Michelin starred Old Stamp House, just a few minutes walk from our doorstep.
Culturally, the Lake District can claim to have given rise to the greatest of Romantic poets, Wordsworth. The inspiring peaks, waterfalls and indeed daffodils are still to be seen in all their poetic glory, as are Wordsworth’s houses, which are well worth a visit at nearby Rydal and Grasmere.
Beatrix Potter resided at Sawrey, a short distance southwards, whilst one of Victorian England’s finest thinkers, Ruskin, spent his later years at Brantwood on Lake Coniston, one of the finest spots in the land.
