Ambleside

Ambleside's accommodation is spread across a compact town centre, the lakeside harbour at Waterhead, and the quieter hillside lanes just above both, so the choice tends to come down to how close you want to be to the shops and pubs versus the water. The centre itself holds the greatest concentration of places to stay, many of them Victorian villas and former coaching inns converted over the decades, within easy walking distance of Bridge House, the outdoor shops and the start of routes up onto Loughrigg and Wansfell.

Waterhead adds a different character again, with a small number of hotels and inns positioned right on the lake shore, a short stroll from the steamer pier and the Roman fort, suited to anyone who wants the water on their doorstep rather than the town centre. Guests touring by car sometimes prefer this option purely for the views, accepting a slightly longer walk into the main shopping streets in exchange for a quieter setting in the evenings.

Standards across the town run from simple, well-kept guest houses with a handful of rooms to boutique hotels with award-winning restaurants attached, so there is a genuine spread of price and style rather than a single dominant type of stay. Many of the smaller properties operate to only eight or ten bedrooms, and demand is strong throughout the summer walking season and around bank holidays, so booking well ahead is worthwhile for anyone with fixed dates. Car parking is at a premium in the town centre, and several properties without their own private parking rely on nearby pay-and-display car parks, worth checking before you arrive if you're travelling with a vehicle.

Ambleside rewards both energetic days on the fells and quieter ones spent closer to the town centre. These are the essentials.

• Bridge House, a tiny seventeenth-century building perched directly over Stock Beck, is one of the most photographed structures in the Lake District and now houses a small National Trust information point.
• Stock Ghyll Force, a 70-foot waterfall reached by a short woodland walk from the town centre, has drawn sightseers since Victorian times, when a turnstile once charged a penny for admission.
• The Fairfield Horseshoe is a demanding ten-mile ridge walk taking in Fairfield and several neighbouring summits, regarded as one of the finest half-day mountain routes in England and starting directly from the town.
• Loughrigg Fell offers a gentler alternative, a roughly six-mile circuit from the centre with views over Windermere, Grasmere and Rydal Water that rewards far less effort than the Horseshoe.
• Windermere Lake Cruises depart from Waterhead Pier for Bowness and Lakeside, giving an easy way to see the lake without walking or driving, and a popular option on a wet day.
• Ambleside Roman Fort, known locally as Galava, occupies a lakeside field near Waterhead with the low stone footings of a second-century fort visible among information boards explaining Roman-era Cumbria.
• Rydal Mount, William Wordsworth's home for the last thirty-seven years of his life, lies a short walk or drive towards Grasmere and retains the gardens he laid out himself, alongside Dove Cottage a little further on.
• Stagshaw Garden, a National Trust woodland garden above Waterhead, holds an extensive collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and unusual shrubs across eight quiet acres overlooking the lake.

Ambleside's food scene leans towards hearty, walker-friendly fare: proper cooked breakfasts, generous pub lunches and evening menus built around Cumbrian beef, lamb and game. Sticky toffee pudding appears on nearly every dessert menu in the district, and several bakeries and delicatessens in the town sell Kendal mint cake and traditional Cumberland sausage for anyone stocking up before a walk. The town's outdoor-focused cafes open early to catch walkers heading out at dawn and stay busy through the afternoon with tea and cake for those coming back off the fells.

The Wednesday market in the town centre brings local produce and stalls selling Cumbrian cheese, preserves and baked goods, a smaller and more local affair than some of the district's bigger markets but a good source of picnic supplies for a day on the hill. Ambleside's pubs, several of them centuries old, serve cask ale from Cumbrian breweries such as Hawkshead Brewery, based just a few miles away, alongside the more traditional fare of pie, stew and Sunday roasts. Restaurants in the centre range from casual all-day cafes to more ambitious modern British kitchens making a point of sourcing lamb and beef from farms within sight of the town, a fitting match for a place so thoroughly shaped by the fells around it.

Camping around Ambleside means fellside views, easy access to some of the best walking in the Lake District, and in most cases a short drive rather than a walk into the town itself, since space in the immediate centre is too tight for larger sites. The closest options sit within a few miles, set among woodland or open parkland with the fells as a backdrop, while a short drive further out opens up sites on the shores of Windermere itself or deep in the Langdale valley.

Facilities vary considerably: some sites are large, well-appointed touring parks with electric hook-up, shops and shower blocks as standard, run to a high standard year-round, while others take a deliberately simpler approach in keeping with the surrounding national park landscape, with fewer permanent facilities and a greater emphasis on the setting itself. Several of the area's best-known sites are run by conservation bodies rather than commercial operators, which shows in restrictions on generators, campfires and noise designed to protect the peace of the surrounding fells and lake shore.

Given the terrain, narrow approach lanes and steep gradients are common on the way into some sites, so a call ahead to check access is worthwhile for larger caravans and motorhomes. Dogs are welcome at all three sites below, and each gives a realistic base for walking the fells around Ambleside, Langdale or Windermere's western shore without needing to move the car each day.