If you are looking for some retail action on a Sunday in the
Lake District, Bowness-On-Windermere is one of the best places to go. Everywhere is open and it’s always jam-packed
full of people.
First and foremost, parking in Bowness-On-Windermere can be
a pain. We tried to get parked in the
car park near The World of Beatrix Potter and failed miserably. Bowness is a very popular destination and you
really need to get here early. In the
end we drove up the hill towards Windermere and found a very tight spot on a
side road at the edge of Bowness. On the
plus side it was free parking, on the down side it took me ages to squeeze into
the space.
As we wandered down the hill the shops tended to be independent
shops vying for the tourist pounds with their trinkets and hand-made
crafts. I can’t remember seeing any
empty shop fronts and if there were any they were being refurbished. Bowness is such a tourist destination you
would have to be nuts not to be able to make a good living here.
The place is also full of cafes, restaurants and takeaways
that even with the pickiest eater would find something to eat.
We were looking for charity shops and although we found a
couple, one seemed to have closed down and had been replaced by a Pasty
Presto. That shows how busy a town is
when charity shops close down to make way for new business ventures.
We dodged the traffic and managed to get to the edge of Lake
Windermere. Gosh it was really busy not
only with tourists but also animals. The
ducks, geese and swans were busy mugging kids for bread and treats. There were also a bird of prey sanctuary
collecting funds to continue their work and they brought some owls out. The owls were really beautiful creatures
although I do have my reservations about keeping them in captivity. I really hate birds being caged or tethered, they are designed to fly
and I have always been tempted to release them into the wild.
The lakeside was pretty impossible to have a stroll along so
we found a little side street with a junk / cheap antique shop. Neil found some records to browse through but
they were just bobbins.
Bowness-On-Windermere is definitely a good pit stop on a
tour of the Lake District. It has a
beautiful lake where you can take a boat trip, there is the Beatrix Potter
Experience for the kids, and there are plenty of shops and places to eat. However the crowds can be pretty intense
especially on a sunny day. I’m not
entirely sure if I would want to spend a weekend here, but without a doubt we’ll
visit Bowness-On-Windermere again.
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