Windermere and Ambleside are the busiest corner of the Lake District and also, annoyingly, the easiest to enjoy with small children. The trick is knowing when to turn up and where to leave the car.
The best things to do in Windermere and Ambleside are a Windermere Lake Cruises trip from Bowness or Ambleside, the short walk to Stock Ghyll Force waterfall, the Windermere Jetty Museum and family adventures at Brockhole. Park at Lakeside or use the boats to dodge Bowness and Ambleside traffic, and go on a weekday if you can.
Let's get the grumble in early. Windermere and Ambleside on a sunny bank holiday are not relaxing. The roads clog, the car parks fill up, and the queue for an ice cream at Bowness could have its own postcode. Windermere Lake Cruises say much the same on their own site: the roads round the lake get very busy on sunny days and bank holidays, and their peak time is 12 noon to 4pm.
And yet there's a reason everybody goes. There's a big lake, boats, a proper waterfall you can walk to from the middle of Ambleside, a museum full of steam launches, and an adventure park at Brockhole. If you want things to do in Windermere and Ambleside that work with children of six and seven, this corner delivers. It just rewards planning. I live up in Carlisle, so I treat it as a day trip with a strict early start, and I've put together the practical bits below from the official pages.
Bowness-on-Windermere is the touristy end, with the main pier, shops, chippies and the Jetty Museum just up the road. Ambleside sits about 75 minutes away by boat at the top of the lake, near Waterhead pier, with the waterfall, the cafés and the walking gear shops. The Red Cruise between Bowness and Ambleside takes 75 minutes according to Windermere Lake Cruises, so the boat is a decent way to link them without driving twice.
Parking is the actual boss level. Windermere Lake Cruises give some numbers. Bowness has over 800 council pay and display spaces within 20 minutes' walk, plus a coach park. Ambleside is tighter: their own Waterhead site has 21 customer spaces at £5 a day, which they say are usually full by 10:30am, plus 140 public spaces and other car parks nearby.
Their suggested dodge is sensible. Park at Lakeside Pier (500 spaces) and take the boat up, or park at Haverthwaite station and combine the steam train with the boat, or park at Ambleside Waterhead and cruise south to Bowness. Fridays are apparently the quietest day, and weekends the busiest. I'd add my own dad rule: if the sat nav says the last mile takes 40 minutes, turn round and go for a walk somewhere else.
The obvious one, and the right one. Their website lists the Islands Blue Cruise (a 45 minute circular from Bowness, from £14.80), the Green Cruise (Ambleside, Wray and Brockhole, 50 minutes, from £14.80), and the Red Cruise between Bowness and Ambleside (75 minutes, from £19.20). Prices are 'from' prices, so check what a family costs on the day. There are piers at Bowness, Ambleside (Waterhead), Lakeside, Ash Landing, Wray and Brockhole.
If you'd rather pay for the lake and not queue, book an early sailing. They say 9am to 11am and after 4pm are quieter. You can also hire electric motor boats (from £46, up to six people) and rowing boats (from £28, for two people), though their site doesn't say anything about dogs on the cruises, so ask before you bring one.
A 70 foot waterfall in the woods just above Ambleside. This is the one to do with small children because it's short, it's close to the town and there's a waterfall at the end, which is all any six year old wants from a walk. WalkLakes measures the loop from the Tourist Information Centre at about 1.4 km (0.9 miles) with a minimum time of 26 minutes, and rates it gentle.
Don't take the 'gentle' bit as a promise, though. The path is rough in places, there are steps, and Visit Lake District warns it can be slippery and uneven, so proper shoes. There are footbridges with fenced viewing areas, and the upper bridge gives the best view. It isn't a pushchair walk.
A quiet informal garden above the town with woodland paths and views over Windermere. The National Trust says both Stagshaw and the wider countryside area are open dawn to dusk, and dogs are welcome on leads. There are three waymarked walks of 0.8 to 1.5 miles, and Skelghyll Woods nearby has some of the tallest trees in England, including what the Trust says is England's tallest Grand Fir.
The terrain is steep and rugged with some steps, so it's a better idea for children who like a scramble than for tiny legs. The car park at Stagshaw is small (8 spaces), so don't count on it. The National Trust also lists the remains of Ambleside Roman Fort (Galava) in the area, which is a decent quick stop if you've got a Roman-obsessed seven year old.
On Rayrigg Road (LA23 1BN), a museum of boats, steam launches and stories about the lake, with heritage vessels and hands-on bits. Visit Lake District lists 2026 opening as daily 10am to 5pm from 30 March to 30 September, Tuesday to Sunday in October, and Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm from 4 November, closed on Mondays in the off-season and at Christmas.
It's fully accessible with step-free entrances, accessible toilets, and wheelchairs to borrow, which makes it one of the easiest places here for a buggy or a grandparent. Only service dogs are allowed, so leave the spaniel at the pub. I couldn't confirm the current admission price, so use the museum's website.
Off the A591 about halfway between Windermere and Ambleside (LA23 1LJ). Brockhole says it's open daily from 10am, entry is free, and you pay for parking. The grounds have a play area, a café with a terrace, and activities including archery, bushcraft, canoeing and birds of prey demonstrations, though what's running varies by day.
The headline is Zip World Windermere, which sits right next to the car park. Their site lists the Full Trek at £45, the Mini Trek at £29 and Treetop Nets at £25, and says to arrive 30 minutes before your start time and book online. I couldn't find the age and height limits on the main page, so check those before promising your five year old anything. Brockhole's own homepage also mentions Minty Land by Bewilderwood (an indoor play space), and says BeWilderwood is 'coming soon' to the site, so that may have changed by the time you read this.
Brockhole is also a Windermere Lake Cruises pier, so you can arrive by boat.
The Windermere ferry at Ferry Nab is a cheap boat trip: the council says it takes around 10 minutes, a pedestrian single is £1.50, card payment only, and there's no timetable, just a wait of about 20 minutes if you miss one. It runs daily except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It's a good bit of theatre for children and a proper crossing for cars (£8 for a vehicle up to 6m). Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway is another one for the list. It's 18 minutes each way on the steam train, and the station at Haverthwaite has a tea room, engine shed and woodland playground. There's more on both in my boats and trains piece.
If you only have one day, pick the boat and the waterfall. Skip the rest. Nobody's ever regretted skipping a queue.
Mid-week in term time (the operators say Fridays are quietest) is the sweet spot; term time beats school holidays, though I'd still check for bank holidays. Early mornings beat early afternoons by a mile. From Carlisle it's a proper drive down the M6 and across, so I leave early and treat the journey as part of the day. If rain sets in, the Jetty Museum is the obvious dry option and Brockhole's indoor play is another.
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A Windermere Lake Cruises trip, the short walk to Stock Ghyll Force in Ambleside, the Windermere Jetty Museum, and a day at Brockhole with Zip World. The Windermere ferry and the Lakeside steam train are cheap extras.
Lakeside Pier has around 500 spaces and lets you take a boat to Bowness or Ambleside. Bowness has over 800 council pay and display spaces within a 20 minute walk. Ambleside Waterhead is usually full by 10:30am in season.
The Red Cruise between Bowness and Ambleside takes 75 minutes, with prices from £19.20 at the time of writing. Shorter circular cruises take 45 to 50 minutes.
Yes, it's a short walk of about 1.4 km from central Ambleside to a 70 foot waterfall. There are steps and slippery sections, so it isn't suitable for pushchairs and you need proper shoes.
A pedestrian single is £1.50 and a vehicle up to 6m is £8, card payment only, according to the council. The crossing takes about 10 minutes and there's no fixed timetable.
Very. The cruise operator says peak times are 12 noon to 4pm and weekends are busiest, with Fridays the quietest. Arriving before 10am makes a big difference.
Facts checked against these pages on Tuesday 29 September 2026. Opening times and prices change, so confirm with the venue.
