Ambleside

Ambleside sits at the northern tip of Windermere, a mile up from the steamer pier at Waterhead, and has been a walking town for as long as there have been walking boots. It is small, steep and stone built, with a dense knot of streets around the market cross and more outdoor shops per head than anywhere in Cumbria. The fells start at the edge of town: Loughrigg to the west, Wansfell to the east and the long Fairfield Horseshoe to the north.

The town's most photographed building is tiny Bridge House, a seventeenth century cottage built over Stock Beck, now owned by the National Trust. Behind the Salutation Hotel a path climbs through woods to Stock Ghyll Force, a short walk to a tall waterfall. The Armitt Museum and Library on Rydal Road holds collections on local history and on the people who wrote and painted here, and at Borrans Park by the lake are the low remains of the Roman fort of Galava.

Ambleside is a good base without a car. Buses run every way: south to Windermere and Kendal, north to Grasmere and Keswick, west to Langdale and Coniston. Boats run from Waterhead down the lake to Bowness and Lakeside. Rydal Mount, Wordsworth's later home, is a short walk or bus ride away.

The A591 runs through the middle on a one way system, and on summer weekends the traffic can crawl. Parking is limited and fills early, so use the bus or the boat. Evenings are lively, with cinemas, pubs and restaurants that stay open later than in the villages.