Wikipedia

Ambleside

For other places with the same name, seeAmbleside (disambiguation).

Amblesideis a town and formercivil parish(now in the parish ofLakes) in theWestmorland and Furnessdistrict ofCumbria,England. Within the boundaries of thehistoric countyofWestmorlandand located in theLake District National Park,the town sits at the head ofWindermere,England's largest natural lake. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 2,596.[2]

Ambleside
Rydal Road, Ambleside town centre
Ambleside is located in the former South Lakeland district
Ambleside
Ambleside
Location in the former South Lakeland district
Ambleside is located in Cumbria
Ambleside
Ambleside
Location withinCumbria
Area1.238 km2(0.478 sq mi)
Population2,596 (2020 estimate)
•Density2,097/km2(5,430/sq mi)
OS grid referenceNY375037
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
  • Cumbria
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townAMBLESIDE
Postcode districtLA22
Dialling code015394
PoliceCumbria
FireCumbria
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cumbria
54°25′48″N2°57′47″W/ 54.430°N 2.963°W/54.430; -2.963

Economy

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Local government services

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Ambleside is within the unitary authorityWestmorland and Furness,and is also part of theLakescivil parish.Ambleside was formerly atownship,[3]in 1866 Ambleside became a civil parish in its own right[4]until it was abolished on 1 April 1974 to form Lakes.[5]In 1961 the parish had a population of 2562.[6]

From 1894 to 1935, Ambleside formed its ownurban district.[7]

Tourist amenities

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"Steamers"are the throwback name for the ferries (diesel-propelled) which run most days toBowness-on-WindermereandLakesideoffering fine views of the lake and the mountains – see Waterhead locality below.

Ambleside is a base for hiking, mountaineering and mountain biking. It has several hotels,guest houses,restaurants and shops. Specialist shops sell equipment, guides and give recommendations to walkers, backpackers and climbers. Ambleside is a popular starting point for theFairfield horseshoe,a hillwalking ridge hike.

A concentration of ten pubs or bars within a quarter-mile radius reflects how the local hospitality market serves residents, tourists, visitors and the student population associated with theUniversity of Cumbria.

History

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The town's name is derived from theOld Norse"Á-mel-sǽtr "which literally translates as "river – sandbank – summer pasture".[8]

The Market Hall

To the south of Ambleside is theRomanfort ofGalava,dating from AD 79.[9]

In 1650 the town was granted a charter[10]to hold a market. In the reign ofJames II,another charter was granted for the town to collect tolls.[11]The town's Market Place became the commercial centre for agriculture and the wool trade. The old packhorse trail between Ambleside and Grasmere was the main route between the two towns before the new turnpike road was completed in 1770. Smithy Brow at the end of the trail was where pack ponies were re-shod after their journey. With the coming of the turnpikes, the packhorse trains were superseded by horse-drawn stagecoaches, which regularly travelled between Keswick and Kendal via Ambleside.[12]

TheSamling Hotelwas built in the 1780s, then called the "Dove Nest".[13]

Rydal Road in the centre of Ambleside

Ambleside & District Golf Club founded in 1903 ended in the late 1950s; Windermere Golf Club is a few miles along the lake's east side.[14]

TheArmitt Library and Museumopened in 1912 in memory ofSophiaandMary Louisa Armittis notable as a resource for history. Its main resident collection overviews Lake District artists and writers with display panels, photographs and copies of their key works, and some originals of minor works.[15]

Landmarks

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Bridge House

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Bridge House in 2009

Bridge House was built overStock Ghyllmore than 300 years ago, probably as a summer house and apple store for Ambleside Hall. It was purchased by local people in 1926 and given to theNational Trust.Listed Grade I,the building is now used as an information centre for the National Trust, and is part of the Trust'sWindermere and Troutbeckproperty.[16][17]

Lewis Pinhorn Wood'sThe Cobbler's Shop on the Bridge

The building was depicted by the Victorian landscapistLewis Pinhorn Wood(1848–1918) in his late 19th century workThe Cobbler's Shop on the Bridge.

St Mary's Church

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Main article:St Mary's Church, Ambleside
St Mary's Church

A shared Church of England and Methodist church. Before the 17th century the dead of Ambleside were buried atSt Martin's Church, Bowness-on-Windermere, Ambleside then gained the right to its own registers and had a chapel dedicated to St Anne. This was too small to accommodate the enlargedAnglicancongregations as tourism boomed from theKendal and Windermere Railwayopened in 1847.[18] St Mary's Church was built in the 1850s to a design byGeorge Gilbert Scottin theGothic Revivalstyle.[19] Notable features include:

  • the stonespire,an unusual feature in Westmorland churches,[19]
  • the mural depictingrushbearing(a ceremony which is held on the first Saturday in July). The mural was created during World War II when theRoyal College of Artwas based in Ambleside.[20][21]

Early 20th century Vicar, Henry Adamson Thompson, is depicted on the right of the mural.[22][23]His body and that of his only son, Henry Lionel Francess Thompson – killed in World War II – share the same part of the churchyard.[24]

Other burials include Annie,SophiaandMary Louisa Armitt.[15]

Mater Amabilis church

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The town's many decades-old Catholic Church in a traditional design is a consolidation of two churches; until 2013 nearby Grasmere held services, whose reverend, Kevan Dorgan of Windermere was translated to the consolidated parish. His predecessor, who retired, was David Duanne.

Education

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University of Cumbria

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The Ambleside campus of theUniversity of Cumbria,formerlySt. Martin's CollegeandCharlotte Mason College,is at the northern end of the town; courses held at the campus include Conservation, Forestry, and Outdoor Studies.

On 1 December 2009, it was announced that the Ambleside campus would be 'mothballed' at the end of July 2010, and would no longer take new undergraduate students. The closure was in the face of fierce opposition from the Ambleside students,[25]the townspeople, and support pledged fromTim Farron,MP for the campus and its students.[26][27][28]

In July 2011, the university announced a plan to reopen the campus and increase student numbers at the Ambleside campus beginning in 2014.[29]In September 2014, the newly refurbished campus was reopened.

Exploration youth group

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Brathay Exploration Group,a youth charity, mainly meets at associatedClappersgate.

Waterhead locality

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Boats at Waterhead Pier

Ambleside Pier at Waterhead, about one mile south of the town centre, is a boarding point forWindermere Lake CruisesonWindermere.Services run year-round connecting toBowness-on-WindermereandLakeside.Between March and October, a second service operates to theBrockhole Lake District Visitor CentreandWray Castle.[30][31]

Waterhead has hotels, cafés, boat hire establishments and theYHAyouth hostel.[32]It is mostly greenbuffered fromthe town, including by copses of mature trees.

Media

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Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC North WestandITV Border.Television signals are received from one of the two local relay TV transmitters (Windermere[33]and Hawkshead[34]).

Local radio stations areBBC Radio Cumbria104.2 FM,Heart North Weston 102.3 FM,Smooth Lake Districton 100.8 FM, and Lake District Radio that broadcast online from its studios inKendal.[35]

The town is served by the local newspapers,The Westmorland GazetteandNorth West Evening Mail.[36]

Notable residents

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William Wordsworthworked in Ambleside, as Distributor of Stamps for Westmorland, from 1813, while living atRydal Mountin the nearby village ofRydal.[37]This government position inducedShelleyto write a sonnet of mild reprimand,To Wordsworth,but it gave an income other than poetry. In 1842, he became thePoet Laureateand resigned his office.[37]

In 1846Harriet Martineaumoved into her new house, “The Knoll,” where she lived until her death in 1876.[38]"Something of a Victorian superstar," she was a professional woman, international correspondent, ran a micro-farm on her property and formed and worked for a Property Association which helped working families in the neighborhood build their own homes. Her winter lectures packed the Methodist Church beside her home.

The authorMairin Mitchell(1895–1986) was born at Ambleside, the daughter of Dr Thomas Houghton Mitchell, a local GP.[39]

ArtistKurt Schwitterswas resident for2+1⁄2years until his death in January 1948. Under legislation to lower the risk of well-covered sympathiser spies he was interned in theIsle of Manfor 14 months ofWorld War IIafter fleeingNazi Germanyto Norway which was invaded in 1940; his release to London was secured with A. Dorner ofRhode Island School of Design's attestation and sponsorship.

Locomotive manufacturerEdward Bury(died 1858) and his wifePriscilla Susan.

The poetDorothy Gurneywrote the words to the popular wedding hymn "O Perfect Love" at Pullwyke near Ambleside.

Eponyms in fiction and music

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Mountain rescue

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The town maintains theLangdale & Ambleside MRT,one of the busiest volunteer mountain rescue teams nationally.

Ambleside (centre-left) and associated neighbourhood Waterhead (right) looking east fromLoughrigg Fell

Transport

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Bus services from Ambleside are operated predominantly byStagecoach Cumbria.Key routes are:[41]

The nearestNational Railstation is atWindermere,which provides services toOxenholmeandManchester Airport.[44]

Climate

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Ambleside features anoceanic climate,but being within the Lake District it does experience higher annual rainfall than the average for the North-West of England. Parts of the town have been flooded on numerous occasions, with theRiver Rothaybreaking its banks duringStorm Desmondin December 2015.

Climate data for Ambleside (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 7.0
(44.6) 		7.7
(45.9) 		9.3
(48.7) 		12.8
(55.0) 		16.2
(61.2) 		18.4
(65.1) 		20.2
(68.4) 		20.0
(68.0) 		17.1
(62.8) 		13.3
(55.9) 		9.9
(49.8) 		7.4
(45.3) 		13.3
(55.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.2
(34.2) 		1.7
(35.1) 		2.6
(36.7) 		4.5
(40.1) 		7.0
(44.6) 		10.0
(50.0) 		11.8
(53.2) 		11.7
(53.1) 		9.6
(49.3) 		6.8
(44.2) 		3.8
(38.8) 		1.9
(35.4) 		6.1
(43.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 235.3
(9.26) 		205.3
(8.08) 		157.9
(6.22) 		101.4
(3.99) 		100.8
(3.97) 		118.3
(4.66) 		128.9
(5.07) 		157.8
(6.21) 		162.8
(6.41) 		224.3
(8.83) 		236.2
(9.30) 		274.0
(10.79) 		2,102.9
(82.79)
Mean monthlysunshine hours 47.0 65.2 97.3 140.9 161.8 158.5 143.4 136.9 99.5 72.8 53.3 48.6 1,225.2
Source:Met Office[45]

References

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  1. ^"Lakes Parish Council".Ambleside Online.Retrieved11 July2021.
  2. ^"Ambleside".City Population De.Retrieved31 December2021.
  3. ^"History of Ambleside, in South Lakeland and Westmorland".A Vision of Britain through Time.Retrieved31 December2021.
  4. ^"Relationships and changes Ambleside CP/Ch through time".A Vision of Britain through Time.Retrieved31 December2021.
  5. ^"Westmorland South Registration District".Ukbmd.org.uk.Retrieved31 December2021.
  6. ^"Population statistics Ambleside CP/Ch through time".A Vision of Britain through Time.Retrieved11 July2023.
  7. ^"Relationships and changes Ambleside UD through time".A Vision of Britain through Time.Retrieved31 December2021.
  8. ^"Key to English Place-names".Kepn.nottingham.ac.uk.
  9. ^"Galava Roman Fort - Ambleside".Visitcumbria.com.Retrieved22 January2022.
  10. ^"Ambleside OnLine – a local history".Archived fromthe originalon 28 May 2010.
  11. ^"Ambleside | Lake District Guide".Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2015.Retrieved6 January2014.
  12. ^"History of Ambleside".Golakes. Archived fromthe originalon 24 January 2010.Retrieved24 June2010.
  13. ^Wood, Jason; Walton, John K. (2016).The Making of a Cultural Landscape: The English Lake District as Tourist Destination, 1750-2010.Routledge. p. 142.ISBN9781317024941.
  14. ^“Ambleside & District Golf Club”,“Golf's Missing Links”.
  15. ^abEileen Jay, ‘Armitt, Mary Louisa (1851–1911)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004accessed 13 November 2015
  16. ^Bridge House – Information from a notice at Bridge House.
  17. ^Historic England."BRIDGE HOUSE (1245148)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 July2014.
  18. ^"Open Plaques".Openplaques.org.
  19. ^ab"St Mary's Church - Ambleside".Visitcumbria.com.Retrieved22 January2022.
  20. ^Historic England."Church of St Mary (1244784)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved17 March2014.
  21. ^Leslie Duxbury (2008),Bohemians in Exile: The Royal College of Art in Ambleside, 1940-1945."Bohemians in Exile" was the title of a 2011 exhibition at theArmitt Museum.
  22. ^"Adamson Thompson".Ancestry.com.
  23. ^"Photographic image"(JPG).Visitcumbria.com.Retrieved22 January2022.
  24. ^"Log In or Sign Up to View".m.facebook.com.
  25. ^"Facebook Petition Group".Facebook.
  26. ^"MP recruits new students in fight to save Ambleside campus".Tim FarronMP.22 September 2008.
  27. ^"MP takes Ambleside campaign to Westminster".Tim FarronMP.10 November 2008.
  28. ^"MP asks new Vice Chancellor of University Cumbria to scrap plans to downgrade Ambleside campus".Tim FarronMP.18 March 2009.
  29. ^Eve, Kelly (28 September 2011)."Cumbria university plan to reopen mothballed Ambleside campus".News and Star.Archived fromthe originalon 17 March 2014.
  30. ^"Green Cruise".Windermere Lake Cruises.Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2018.Retrieved12 June2018.
  31. ^"Waterhead".Visitcumbria.com.Retrieved22 September2017.
  32. ^"YHA Ambleside".Youth Hostels Association.Retrieved22 September2017.
  33. ^"Freeview Light on the Windermere (Cumbria, England) transmitter".UK Free TV. May 2004.Retrieved28 October2023.
  34. ^"Freeview Light on the Hawkshead (Cumbria, England) transmitter".UK Free TV. May 2004.Retrieved28 October2023.
  35. ^"Lake District Radio".Retrieved28 October2023.
  36. ^"Local Newspapers for Cumbria and the Lake District".Retrieved28 October2023.
  37. ^abWordsworth's Stamp Office, Ambleside, Cumbria.Waymarking.com
  38. ^"The wonderful work of Ambleside's Harriet Martineau".Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2018.Retrieved29 June2018.
  39. ^Obituary: Dr Thomas Houghton Mitchell,British Medical Journal,21 September 1946, 2:443,https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.4472.443
  40. ^hardback 2013, paperback 2017,ISBN978-0749012748
  41. ^"Ambleside Bus Services".Bus Times.2023.Retrieved18 September2023.
  42. ^"CNL SUMMER 24 Lakes by Bus"(PDF).stagecoachbus.com.
  43. ^"Service X8 Timetable 30.3.24"(PDF).stagecoachbus.com.
  44. ^"Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern".Northern Railway.May 2023.Retrieved18 September2023.
  45. ^"Ambleside (Cumbria) UK climate averages - Met Office".Met Office.Retrieved7 July2024.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toAmbleside, Cumbria.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide forAmbleside.

Notes

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  1. ^The 599 serves Kendal in the evenings.
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