Lakeside railway station is on the

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway in England. It was previously the terminus of the

Furness Railway The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England. History Formation In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested i ...

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a f ...

to Lakeside Line'', which was closed as part of the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

in 1965. It serves the village of Lakeside in

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. ...

, as well as the tourist attractions located there.

Location

Situated at the southern end of

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

, the station has a direct interchange with the

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, ...

ferry services to

Ambleside Ambleside is a town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lakes, in Cumbria, in North West England. Historically in Westmorland, it marks the head (and sits on the east side of the northern headwater) of Windermere, England's lar ...

and

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 hist ...

. The station is also located next to the

Aquarium of the Lakes The Lakes Aquarium is an Public aquarium, aquarium in the village of Lakeside, Cumbria, Lakeside on the southern shore of Windermere, Cumbria, England. It is one of the docking points of Windermere Lake Cruises and also at one end of the Lakes ...

and a number of shops and cafes.

History

Lakeside, Windermere station, 1951 (geograph 5078156)

The station was opened to passengers on 2 June 1869 by the

when the branch from Plumpton Junction (just off the Leven Viaduct on the to line) to Windermere Lake Side opened, a formal opening of the branch had taken place the day before. Trains were timed to coincide with sailings by the Windermere United Yacht Company from the adjacent pier. Within a few years the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

bought the yacht company. Originally, the station had two platforms with an overall roof, a signal box, turntable and several sidings. The goods yard was able to accommodate most types of goods including live stock and was equipped with a three-ton crane. As well as the standard gauge tracks the station had a narrow gauge tramway used for coaling lake steamers. A camping coach was positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1955 to 1957, two coaches were here from 1958 to 1964. The station closed with the line on 6 September 1965. After services stopped, the station fell into disrepair, and in 1978,

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British ...

removed the roof and demolished the clock tower. British Railways sold off the steamboat service to the Bowness Bay Boating Company who were still operating day trips on Windermere in 2020. The station reopened as part of the heritage Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway in 1973, with trains running to the nearby station of

Haverthwaite Haverthwaite is a small village and civil parish in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. It is also within the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. It is located several miles east of Ulverston and is near the southern end of Wind ...

, roughly an eighteen-minute journey.

Film locations

The station has appeared in a number of film and TV scenes. In many appearances the station is titled 'Windermere', despite

's own

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

being on the other side of the lake, on a different line. * 1973 film of ''Swallows and Amazons''. Although released in 1974, this was filmed in 1973, the preservation society's first year of operation. * 1980s TV ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' * 1988 film "Without A Clue" starring Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine * 1996 TV production of ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'', ''

Dumb Witness ''Dumb Witness'' is a detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 5 July 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of ''Poirot Lose ...

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

The Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway Official Site
{{Cumbria railway stations Former Furness Railway stations Furness Tourist attractions in Cumbria Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1872 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1965 Beeching closures in England Heritage railway stations in Cumbria Colton, Cumbria