subject: The Pleasant Town Of Ambleside [print this page] The town of Ambleside, Cumbria can be found in North West England and is a favorite spot for mountaineering, hiking, and bike riding. The name originates from Old Norse and translates as "river", "sandbank", or "summer pasture". It is a tourist friendly location, with ferry rides to Lakeside and Bowness-on-Windermere to view the lake and mountains as well as hotels, pubs, guest houses and an assortment of fine restaurants.
In the year 1650, Ambleside was permitted a market charter and established its Market Places, which swiftly became the town's business center for produce and wool. In the early days of Ambleside's history, the packhorse trail traversing Ambleside and its neighbor Grasmere was the only real means of travel between the two towns, until the advent of a turnpike in the year 1770. When solid, dependable roads finally arrived, the famous packhorses were turned obsolete. From then on, the road was utilized by stagecoaches running between Keswick and Kendal by way of Ambleside.
The historical sites of Ambleside are fairly small in number but are overall very charming and worth a visit. The Bridge House, built over Stock Ghyll some three hundred years ago, is assumed to have been used originally as an apple warehouse for the Ambleside Hall. Locals bought the building in 1926 and donated it to the National Trust, and nowadays it exists as an information center for that organization. Ambleside also hosts a college campus-the University of Cumbria, at the northern end of town, was once St. Martin's College and then Charlotte Mason College.
A somewhat more famous site here is the house of the English poet William Wordsworth at Rydal Mount. It is not located within the town, but it is nearby. Outdoor shops are important actors in the Ambleside tourism industry, beginning in 1959 when The Climbers Shop opened. The tiny town is also home to Gaynor Sports, which is presently the largest single outdoor equipment store in Great Britain, with an impressive five departments on three floors.
The Homes of Football photograph gallery came to Ambleside on Lake Road in 1998. The exhibit features the work of Stuart Roy Clarke and is presently the most extensive collection of football/soccer photographs worldwide. Another important component in Ambleside tourism is its pub scene. The town has an incredible ten pubs, which is a bit insane for a town only a quarter mile wide. But putting aside its commercial appeal, Ambleside is a fantastic little town that should appeal to the tastes of most any vacationer.
