Aloha Everyone,
Windermere, 10.5 miles long, is England’s largest lake, located in the heart of the Lake District. Today J.J. and I went to the pier in Bowness Bay, about 1 1/2 mile walk from our Bed & Breakfast, and caught a boat that took us to Ambleside and back. The 75 minutes journey gave us an ample time to relax and take photographs of the scenery.
We learned that only Bassenthwaite Lake is officially a lake. All the others are 'meres' or 'waters' including Windermere. Here is an astonishing fact: In November 2009, with heavy rainfalls, Windermere rose 157cm. Over the week, that translates into an extra 35,700,000,000 liters and 22,100,000,000 liters was added in just 36 hours!
We see so many guest cottages and Bed & Breakfast establishments. In many cases, including where we are staying, there may be only 5 rooms to rent out. Population within the boundary of the National Park is 41,000 (Source: 2011 census). About 67.7% of the homes are owner occupied. The rest are rental. Holiday or second homes makes up 15%. (Source: Corporate Information Unit at Cumbria County Council)
J.J. used Bookings.com to search and he found our accommodation in Windermere. With everyone using the internet, even small establishments can compete against well known hotels with large budgets for marketing and advertising.
Aloha -- Cathi
