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=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.
Ambleside, situated in the very centre of the Lake District, is by many
regarded as the most tempting spot in the whole region.
It is a long and straggling town of about 2000 inhabitants. The old
church stands up the hill, in the more picturesque part of the town. The
old ceremony of "rush-bearing," dating from the time of Gregory IV., is
still, in a modified form, an annual function in Ambleside, which, with
one or two Westmorland villages, can claim the custom as unique.
About a mile south from Ambleside is the northern extremity of Lake
Windermere, 10-1/2 miles long, and varying in breadth from a mile in the
widest part to a few hundred yards in the narrowest. The surrounding
scenery is magnificent, of a soft and graceful beauty, which forms a
wonderful contrast to the wild and sublime grandeur of other parts of
the Lake District. There are a number of beautiful islands in the lake,
which is very plentifully stocked with fish.
The little lake at Grasmere, a village to the north of Ambleside, is one
of the gems of the Lakeland scenery; indeed, Grasmere is an excellent
centre from which to visit some of the points of interest in the
district. Wordsworth's cottage stands half a mile outside the village.
Within easy reach of Ambleside are Coniston village and lake, upon which
a little steamer plies. Near the head of the lake is Coniston Hall, now
a farmhouse, but for long the seat of the Le Flemings, a well-known
Westmorland family.
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