“Nice? It’s the only thing,” said the Water Rat, solemnly, as he leant forward
for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing —
absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in
boats...”
It is not recorded whether Rat and his companion Mole ever reached the Lake
District after their adventures in The Wind in the Willows, but if
they did it is certain that Rat would have considered himself to be in a
boating heaven.
His aphorism went to the heart of the matter, you see.
The essence of messing about in boats is freedom, to roam at the whims of wind
and tide far from the madding crowd. It is singularly satisfying to observe
a huge traffic jam on the A592 south of Windermere, from a rowing boat
bobbing gently in sun-dappled water on the other side of the lake.
About 15 million visitors pour into the Lake District every year, and more
than a million of them pile on to Belle Epoque steamers that cruise on
Windermere, but hardly any experience the joys of pootling around backwaters
in little boats with no timetable or itinerary but their own.
This is about to become even more agreeable with the introduction of a 10 mph
speed limit on Windermere on March 29, effectively banishing the roar and
wash of jet skis and speedboats. Similar restrictions are already in force
on the other lakes, making them safer for those who share Rat's enthusiasm
for like more peaceful nautical pastimes. For those seeking the true freedom
of the lakes, there is a wide choice...
Heading off in the little red rowing boat from The Lakeside Hotel at Newby
Bridge on Windermere, I found myself in another world with a few strokes of
the oars on calm, dark waters. Far from busy roads and souvenir shops, the
tranquility of the lakes prevailed. Here were only the creaking of oars in
rowlocks and the steady splashing of blades in the water. Gannets were
diving for takeaway snacks, and swallows were whizzing over the water for
the fun of it, and I was drifting among them like David Attenborough.
My navigation was fairly simple. Stay close to the western shore, and meander
past little slate boathouses and a succession of woods that looked like
fairie dells. In the shallows a traditional wooden sloop with a white hull
called Thetis was idling at anchor, and I promptly awarded her the
unofficial Times Online first prize for the prettiest dreamboat in
the lakes. On my way back, a replica of a gaff-rigged Cape cutter with tan
sails passed by, followed by a gaggle of dinghies with brightly coloured
sails and children. Then a pair of swans flew overhead, their wings beating
rhythmically in the still air.
At the other end of Windermere, I tried out a new sailing and adventure school
at the Ambleside Youth Hostel, in Waterhead, which has cheap and cheerful
accommodation in 2-6 bed family rooms in an imposing Edwardian building, and
one of the finest views in the lakes over Furness Fells. It is also the home
of a new sailing and adventure school that expects sailing and windsurfing
to grow in popularity when the speed limit comes into force.
After a quick refresher course on a 15-foot Wayfarer dinghy, I set sail with
my novice crew, Claire, under instructions to keep her head down. In a fresh
breeze we flew across the lake to a bird sanctuary, then a squall swept us
off shore and we found ourselves gone with the wind.
Sailing can be serene or exciting, often in the same day, and our course back
to the hostel was in the latter category. Close-hauled against the wind, our
boat leapt through the water like a steeplechaser, spray flying from her
bows. A steamer cruised by, her decks crowded with tourists, and if I had
been among them I would have been green with envy of the couple in the
dinghy.
Sailing school owner James Forbes believes the speed limit will lead to more
people on the lake. “There’s no question it will be quieter and safer when
the fast power craft have gone, and we’re looking forward to more events
like regattas, especially for school groups and youth clubs.”
It’s not just on Windermere that you can enjoy messing about in boats. A few
miles to the west, Conniston Water once echoed to the roar of Donald
Campbell’s world record-breaking Bluebird. Now the fastest things around are
ducks and seagulls flying over fells and woodland unchanged since Beatrix
Potter donated them to the National Trust.
At the southern end of the lake, there is a modern three-bedroom chalet in its
own grounds at Low Water End, unsurprisingly called Lake Cottage.
Self-catering facilities include an old boat shed with a selection of
dinghies and rowing boats ideal for exploring and fishing.
In the absence of wind, I paddled to a little treasure island of ferns,
heathers, lichen-covered rocks, ancient trees and young rowans with red
berries. In the middle there is a clearing, dotted with tree stumps, that is
obviously a meeting place of elves or maybe hobbits. On my way back, I
spotted a mermaid. I didn’t actually see her fishy tail, but the head of the
young woman swimming leisurely in the middle of the lake was adorned with
the requisite flowing golden tresses.
Reality returned at the Inn on the Lake on Ullswater, a warm and comfortable
hotel set in 15 acres of grounds with a pitch and putt course, a croquet
lawn and which has a path leading conveniently to the adjacent Glenridding
Sailing Centre. From here we sailed back in time in a replica of a Loch
Broom post boat, a sturdy broad-beamed beauty with tan sails in an old
fashioned gaff rig, just like her forbears built for the stormy sea lochs of
western Scotland.
Ullswater is almost as long as Windermere, but it is quieter and more relaxed,
with dramatic scenery reminiscent of the Trossachs. Rob Roy MacGregor would
feel at home here. He would probably have recognised the lines of our boat
as we set sail for Norfolk Island, a grand name for an outcrop of rock and
bushes that offered a lee shore for tying up and tucking into a picnic lunch.
Above us soared the heights of Sheffield Pike, and we had the southern part of
the lake pretty much to ourselves apart from two other post boats, who
happily came to lend a hand when I couldn’t work out how to put the sails
back up. For future reference, waving a half-finished sandwich in the air is
an effective distress signal.
At Derwent Water’s marina, simple, furnished apartments look out on a quiet
backwater crowded with the masts of small sailing boats, their halyards
clinking like wind chimes. Here I found an eccentric local mariner who has
created a motorised tandem by fixing two kayaks together with planks of wood
and sticking an outboard engine on the back. “She goes like the clappers,”
he confided proudly. With the 10mph speed limit, she’s probably one of the
fastest crafts on the lake.
I set off in a more conventional Laser 16, a racing dinghy designed to skim
over the water rather than on it, with instructor Matt Hopkins at the helm.
On a breezy day, we fairly flew down the lake to where dark clouds brooded
over Borrowdale, said to be the wettest valley in England. Behind us, a
shaft of sunlight played on crags and forests, and hills unfolding in
mystical layers. “This is the best of the lakes,” Matt declared. “The
scenery is so varied. Even when it’s tippin’ it down I love being out here.
Every day is different on the water.”
This is a common sentiment in the marina, a friendly place with youngsters in
wetsuits splashing about in dinghies and older folk lounging in old boats
with the weekend papers and the galley kettle on. For home comforts and
genuine lakeland character, look no further than Nab Cottage on Rydal Water,
originally a 16th-century farmhouse rebuilt in 1702 and erstwhile domicile
of Hartley Coleridge, eldest son of the poet Samuel and hearty drinker. A
contemporary noted that it was not the length of the road home from
hostelries in Ambleside that troubled Coleridge, but the width of it.
The whitewashed stone rubble cottage now hosts a community of foreign students
learning eEnglish, along with yoga and meditation, but rooms are available
for visitors out of peak summer months. Rydal Water is small but perfectly
formed, with two islets framed by Loughrigg Fell and the crags of Nab Scar.
It was late afternoon when I paddled around it in the cottage's canoe, and
not a breath of wind stirred the surface of the lake as it began to reflect
a waning moon.
Wordsworth, who occasionally visited young Coleridge at Nab Cottage, penned a
verse about boating on nearby Windermere at the same time of day:
“…Oh! then the calm
And dead still water lay upon my mind
Even with a weight of pleasure, and the sky
Never before so beautiful, sank down
Into my heart, and held me like a dream.”
Rat said much the same thing, of course, only differently.
NEED TO KNOW
A place to stay:
Windermere: The Lakeside Hotel, Newby Bridge, has summer weekend breaks for
£215 pp for two nights B&B plus one dinner www.lakesidehotel.co.uk.
The Ambleside Youth Hostel at Waterhead has family rooms for four with
breakfast from £81, and dormitories for £19 pp (www.yha.org.uk).
Windermere Sailing & Adventure School has sailing dinghies for hire and
instruction from £25 for two hours, as well as windsurfers and canoes
(015394 43789, 07834 835050).
Conniston Water: Lake Cottage at Low Water End is available from £471 per week
from Welcome Cottages (www.welcomecottages.com).
Ullswater: The Inn on the Lake has B&B from £59pp, and two nights DB&B
from £139 (www.innonthelakeullswater.com).
Glenridding Sailing Centre has sailing boats for hire and instruction from
£13 per hour (01768 482541, gsc@hanage.com).
Derwent Water: Derwent Water Marina has self-catering studio apartments for
£285 per week, and for £155 for three-night weekends outside peak summer
period. Sailing boats for hire and instruction from £15 per hour (www.derwentwatermarina.co.uk).
Rydal Water: Nab Cottage has B&B from £24 pp, and dinner for £15 (www.rydalwater.com).
Further information: Cumbria Tourist Board (www.golakes.co.uk)
