It has been one of the country's most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere Railway's branch line in 1847.

Windermere is long and narrow, like many other ribbon lakes, and lies in a steep-sided pre-glacial river valley that has become deepened by successive glaciations.

[11] The current lake was formed after the Last Glacial Maximum during the retreat of the British and Irish Ice Sheet some time between 17,000 and 14,700 years ago, just before the start of the Windermere Interstadial.

Since 1907 the two places have been under one council and, although there are still two separate centres, the area between is largely built up, albeit bordering on woodland and open fields.

Windermere railway station is a hub for train and bus connections to the surrounding areas and is 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) from the Waterbus jetty.

[citation needed] Its older name was Lang Holme, and 800 years ago it was the centre of the manor of Windermere and later, in effect, of a moiety of the barony of Kendal.

Local government reorganisation in 1974 placed Windermere and its shores within the district of South Lakeland in the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria.

Since privatisation, three of the original large railway boats are operated by Windermere Lake Cruises Ltd, along with a fleet of smaller and more modern launches.

One crosses from Lakeside station to Fell Foot Park at the southern end of the lake, whilst the other links Bowness with Far Sawrey.

SWSC celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011 and has developed a strong junior section under the coaching of Julie Tomkinson[28] who in 2011 was honoured with an RYA Community Award for Outstanding Contribution.

The Ferry House Regatta was the subject of a painting by Thomas Allom and in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837 this was illustrated in the poem Regatta.—Windermere Lake.

[37] A 26 year old Windermere resident, Zoology Undergraduate Matthew Staniek, made national news by suggesting the lake could become "ecologically dead", with the growth of blue-green algae,[38] and microscopic organisms being incorrectly described as "toxic as cobra venom".

[39] However, beyond the resident's speculation, there was little evidence of this being true, with ecologists and subsequent studies showing pollution levels better than suggested, and localized to smaller areas of the lake.

Nutrients, climate change, more extreme weather patterns and the seasonal variations of the tourist population are all predicted to put the lake and its water quality under increasing pressure in the coming years.

[40] In 2023, it was reported that data from the Environment Agency showed that United Utilities released sewage from storm overflows into the lake for 246 days in 2022.

[41] In 2024, United Utilities was fighting in court to keep secret its data on the treated sewage it discharges into Windermere, claiming first that it “was not environmental information” and then that it was “internal communication” and therefore not subject to disclosure.

[42] William Wordsworth, one of the Lake Poets, described the view of Windermere from the crest of a hill in The Prelude, Book IV: Standing alone, as from a rampart’s edge,I overlooked the bed of Windermere,Like a vast river, stretching in the sun.With exultation, at my feet I sawLake, islands, promontories, gleaming bays,A universe of Nature’s fairest formsProudly revealed with instantaneous burst,Magnificent, and beautiful, and gay.

The BBC made a television series Swallows and Amazons in 1962; parts of this were filmed at the boathouse of Huyton Hill Preparatory School (now Pullwood House)[46] on the northwestern shore.

Born in Ulverston in 1890, his grandmother, uncle and aunt would take him and his cousins on excursions by train into the Lake District, visiting Flookburgh, Sawrey and Windermere.

Legends of female centaurs in Windermere served as the basis for Archie Fisher's 1976 song The Witch of the West-Mer-Lands, which was later covered by Stan Rogers.

Fisher cites "tales of antlered women with bodies of deer seen wading in the shallows of the lakes in the moonlight" as the inspiration for his song.

"Apparently deer used to swim across the shallow end of Lake Windermere and weeds got caught in their antlers and observers, probably wandering home from a local hostelry, took them to be these mythical creatures.

In November 2009, several scenes were shot on Windermere for the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, featuring the newlyweds Gail and Joe on their honeymoon.

Windermere and the surrounding countryside is the setting for mystery novelist Elizabeth George's 2012 book Believing the Lie, the 17th in the Inspector Lynley series.

Some people believe that there may be a lake monster,[51] similar to the one alleged to live in Loch Ness, and in 2011 anomalous photos were taken of the supposed creature;[52][53] it has been affectionately nicknamed "Bownessie".

[54] Taylor Swift mentions "Windermere peaks" and Wordsworth in her song, "The Lakes," included as a bonus track on her 2020 album, Folklore.

She writes:Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to dieI don't belong, and my beloved, neither do youThose Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cryI'm setting off, but not without my muse[55]