Bowness-on-Windermere sits on the eastern shore of the lake, about a mile down the hill from Windermere town and station, and it is where most of the action happens. The pier at Bowness Bay is the main starting point for lake cruises; the streets above are packed with cafés, gift shops, fish-and-chip places, and Beatrix Potter attractions.
It can be busy to the point of frustration on a sunny weekend — coach parties, queues for the steamers, traffic backed up on the lakeshore road. But arrive early or stay into the evening and Bowness is genuinely charming: small alleys of stone cottages, a 15th-century church (St. Martin's) with medieval stained glass, and the swans coming up to the pier for crumbs. Most accommodation, restaurants and tour operators are based here rather than in Windermere proper.