DISCOVER WINDERMERE, Cumbria
Windermere is a town in Cumbria, England, in the historic county of Westmorland. It lies about one kilometre away from the lake of the same name.
Although Windermere confusingly does not touch the lake, it has now grown together with the older lakeside town of Bowness-on-Windermere, though the two retain distinguishable town centres.
There are a number of museums, but the main attraction for the tourists is the lake itself that touches Bowness at the bottom of the hill (about a twenty minute walk from the top of Windermere town). Here there is a beautiful view of the mountains.
Boats from the piers in Bowness sail around the lake, many calling at Ambleside or at Lakeside where there is a restored railway.
Windermere town was known as Birthwaite prior to the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere Railway, which stimulated its development. Windermere station offers train and bus connections to the surrounding area, Manchester, Manchester Airport, and the West Coast Main Line.
The geological formations around the area take their name from the town. They are called the Windermere Group of sedimentary rocks. The town's name is also given to the Rt. Hon. Dr David Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere, who now lives in Windermere.
 WINDERMERE STATION
Windermere railway station is located at the top of the hill, just south of the A591, about fifteen minutes' walk or a short bus ride from the lake. The station is clearly marked with a National Rail logo, and is behind the Booths supermarket (which was once the railway station) and in front of the Lakeland store. It is the terminus of the former Kendal and Windermere Railway single-track Windermere Branch Line, with a single platform (much longer than the trains usually seen here today) serving one terminal track.
TransPennine Express run Class 185 diesel multiple units along the line, which runs through Staveley, Burneside, and Kendal, and then interchanges with Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line services at Oxenholme Lake District; some trains then run partly along the main line to Manchester and terminate at Manchester Airport.
The station is also a hub for Stagecoach bus services connecting Windermere with Coniston, Grasmere, Keswick, and other destinations in Cumbria.
Both Stagecoach and the local council also run regular buses through the town to Bowness Pier; Stagecoach's are open-top double-decker buses running along principal streets, while the local council runs minibuses around the outskirts of town.
The selection of the town of Birthwaite as the location of the station serving the lake was what led to it taking the name Windermere even though it is not on the water (nowadays it has essentially grown together with Bowness-on-Windermere, which touches the lake).
The railway cottages, built for railway executives in 1849, were designed by the famous architect Augustus Pugin. One of the fireplaces is a copy of one of his in the Palace of Westminster.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF WINDERMERE
Windermere was from 1894 to 1974 governed by an urban district council which in 1905 absorbed the former Bowness-on-Windermere UDC although Bowness remained a separate civil parish until 1974. Windermere UDC had slight boundary changes in 1934 and was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 replacing it with South Lakeland District Council.
From Wikipedia
 WINDERMERE HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION
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