Windermere: Ferry's unreliability hitting locals and tourists

The ferry connects Bowness with Hawkshead

The "unreliability" of the Windermere ferry is deterring local people from using it and affecting local businesses, a councillor has said.

The vessel carries pedestrians and vehicles between Bowness and Hawkshead.

However, it is often out of service for maintenance or due to other reasons, and when it is not running motorists face a lengthy detour.

The operator says the vessel requires regular maintenance checks to comply with its licence.

The ferry is run by Cumbria County Council, and figures from the authority show that over the last four years it has been out of service for about a quarter of that time - 332 days - although that includes a period of lockdown due to Covid, and repairs following a fire.

It joins the B5284 that links Kendal to the ferry at Bowness, across the lake to the B5285 linking the ferry to Coniston.

From as far away as Kendal, there is a sign showing drivers the road to Hawkshead "via ferry".

'Emergency services'

Anne Brodie, who chairs nearby Claife Parish Council and sits on the Windermere Ferry Advisory Group, said its unreliability was impacting on tourism and worrying people.

"Many local people no longer use it because they can't count on it - they end up having use use Twitter to check and also the webcam to see it it's running or not," she said.

"Businesses in Hawkshead are also affected if the ferry isn't there.

"We need this route for emergency services to reach our communities because it's far too far, it takes them too long to get to us if they don't have the ferry."

Cumbria County Council said that the ferry was almost 30 years old and needed regular maintenance inspections to comply with its licence.