The Windermere Ferry is a vehicular
cable ferry
A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
which crosses
Windermere
Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...
, a lake in the English county of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
. The ferry route forms part of the
B5285 road
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme
The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in Gre ...
and crosses the lake at about its midpoint, from Ferry Nab in
Bowness-on-Windermere
Bowness-on-Windermere is a town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies next to Windermere lake and the town of Windermere to the north east with which it forms the civil parish of Windermere and Bowness. The town was histor ...
to Ferry House at
Far Sawrey
Near Sawrey and Far Sawrey are two neighbouring villages in the Furness area of Cumbria, England. They are located in the Lake District between the village of Hawkshead and the lake of Windermere. The two lie on the B5285, which runs from Hawk ...
, a distance of some . The ferry is owned and operated by Cumbria County Council.
The ferry operates all year, with services every 20 minutes from early morning to mid-evening. Each crossing can carry up to 18 cars and over 100 passengers and takes less than 10 minutes. A
toll
Toll may refer to:
Transportation
* Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway
** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use
** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use
** Shadow toll, ...
is charged. If the ferry is not operating, the alternative is a road journey of approximately around either the head or foot of the lake.
History
There has been a ferry at the site of the current Windermere Ferry for more than 500 years, with the earliest craft being rowed across the lake. During this period there was one recorded disaster, in 1635, when the ferry capsized and forty-seven people perished. The first cable ferry, powered by steam, commenced operation in 1870. New ferry boats were introduced to the route in 1915 and 1954, when a boat named ''Drake'' was introduced.
[
The current ferry boat, named ''Mallard'', was built in 1990 and can carry up to 18 cars and over 100 passengers. The ferry underwent its most recent five-yearly refit and full inspection in March 2019. The previous refit in 2014 cost £300,000 and involved rebuilding the engines and servicing all hydraulic, mechanical and electrical systems on the ferry, together with a full repaint.]Windermere Lake Cruises
Windermere Lake Cruises is a boat company which provides leisure trips on Windermere in the central part of the English Lake District. It is based in Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria.
History
Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, ...
to continue a reduced pedestrian crossing over the lake. The ''Mallard'' returned to service on 27 October after having been repaired and fitted with a new engine.
References
External links
*
Cumbria County Council web page on the ferry
Webcam of western terminal
{{coord, 54.353355, -2.934551, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Chain ferries in the United Kingdom
Ferry transport in England
Transport in Cumbria
Windermere, Cumbria