Ambleside is an attractive town situated at the Northern point of Windermere and was formerly in the county of Westmoreland. One of it's most impressive features is Stock Ghyll Force, an impressive 70 ft waterfall a short walk from the town.
There has been settlements in the area for thousands of years including a Roman fort named Galava. In 1650 Ambleside was awarded a charter as a market town. The Lake District was important for its woolen industry and Ambleside was on the main stage coach route between Keswick and Kendal. Ambleside developed further with the arrival of tourism to the Lake District and in particular with the steamers ferry in 1845. As such, the majority of the buildings in Ambleside are Victorian. One notable exception is the Bridge House. Originally, this was built in 300 years ago over Stock Ghyll as a summer house for Ambleside Hall. It is a quaint building with a lot of character that was taken over by the National Trust and is now used as a local information centre.another old building is How Head near the market cross (which is not its original location) which features some stones from original Roman fort and river stones.
The church of St Mary was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and built around 1850 in a Gothic Revival style. it has a large spire which is unusual for Westmoreland. it has a mural of Rush bearing (painted during the second world war) which is an annual ceremony where rushes (grass like plants) are strewn on the floor of the church and then clear them as a sign of spiritiual cleansing.
William Wordsworth worked in Ambleside as a stamp collector while living at nearby Rydal Mount. The Armitt library and museum is a good source of local information concerning some of the writers and artists in the area.
Ambleside is one of the main towns to visit offering hotel and other accommodation for the hikers cyclers and other visitors.
