The history of Claife Viewing Station and Lake Windermere

A panoramic autumn view from the first floor platform in Claife Viewing Station across Windermere, Lake District, Cumbria — Panoramic autumn view of Windermere from Claife Viewing Station | © National Trust Images/Steven Barber

It’s hard to imagine today but people haven’t always flocked to the Lake District for the holidays. Discover the history of Lake Windermere and how Claife Viewing Station was one of the first purpose-built monuments to entice early tourists to the area to enjoy scenic views.

The formation of Lake Windermere

The glorious centrepiece of the Lake District, Lake Windermere is England’s longest and largest natural lake.

Although simply named Windermere, many people refer to it as Lake Windermere, so as not be confused with the village of the same name. Its name derives from a blend of the Old Norse placename ‘Vinandr’ and an Old English word ‘mere’ meaning lake.

It was formed in a glacial trough, running north-south after the ice retreated around 12,000 years ago. All around the lake is a rich and diverse landscape, from the more rugged volcanic northern basin to the softer shales and gentle fells of the south.

Early activity at Lake Windermere

Evidence of the earliest human activity in the valley comes from Mesolithic flints found under Ambleside Roman fort at Waterhead, now cared for by the National Trust.

There are also probable Bronze Age burial cairns on the Tongue at Troutbeck and on Cunswick and Scout Scars near Kendal. There’s likely to have been Norse settlement in the area and by the medieval period Bowness-on-Windermere was an important fishing village, centred on catching Windermere char.

A view across the water to Lake Windermere with mountains beyond — View across Lake Windermere, Lake District | © National Trust Images/Chris Lacey

The development of Lake Windermere

Lake Windermere in the 16th and 17th centuries

In the 16th and 17th centuries, farming was reorganised and expanded with many new tenant enclosures being created. At the same time, a new prosperity led to a period of rebuilding.

There are many examples of fine statesmen farm buildings from that time that remain today, including Townend, The Crag, Longmire Year, High Green and Town Head.

The railways arrive

In 1847, the arrival of the railway enabled a new level of tourism to Windermere. Along with its general accessibility by coach, the valley became an incredibly popular attraction – not just for the wealthy but for the working-class visitors, too.

The villages of Windermere and Bowness-on-Windermere quickly expanded to cater for the increasing numbers of visitors.

Windermere in literature

In the 20th century, Windermere became the focus of a number of writers. Arthur Ransome wrote his classic 'Swallows and Amazons' at Low Ludderburn.

In 1930, a 23-year-old Alfred Wainwright, writer and illustrator of the beloved guide books, did his first Lakeland walk at Orrest Head above Windermere and started his lifelong love affair with the region.

John Cunliffe, a Kendal schoolteacher, created his ‘Postman Pat’ books around a fictional Lakeland valley, based on Longsleddale.

Lake conservation

Conservation is a vital part of Windermere’s history, with the first environmental protest targeted against the building of the railway from Kendal. The conservation movement also prevented the construction of reservoirs and an airplane factory at Cockshott Point.

Modern conservation

Today, the National Trust owns and protects the beautiful Stagshaw Gardens, a designed landscape near Ambleside, as well as Cockshott Point on the eastern shores of Windermere.

Windermere is still one of the Lake District’s most popular valleys for visitors, but it’s also still a thriving community of farming and industry.

A new view on the Lakes

Until the start of the Picturesque movement in the 1700s, the Lake District was thought to be an unattractive wilderness – certainly not a place for tourists.

However, Thomas West published a guidebook to the Lakes in 1778, which highlighted key viewing stations around the Lake District and would spark a new wave of tourism in Europe.

People were struggling to complete the grand tour around the continent due to the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars so, following West’s guidebook, the Lakes became the fashionable destination for wealthy tourists.

Capturing the landscape

They set out armed with their guidebook and sketch pad to view the landscape in a predetermined way. Viewing stations were a key part of this experience.

Set in dramatic spots, the many trees and shrubs restricted the view as people walked up the path from the courtyard, creating a grand reveal of the landscape when they reached the top.

Claife Viewing Station

Built in the 1790s and later expanded, the building had windows tinted with coloured glass, designed to recreate the landscape under different seasonal conditions.

Yellow created a summer landscape, orange for autumn, light green for spring, dark blue for moonlight and so on.

We've recreated this today, with coloured panels as well as glass slides you can hold, to imagine the views these early tourists had.

Visitor looking at Windermere through coloured glass at Claife Viewing Station, Cumbria — Looking at Windermere through the coloured glass at Claife Viewing Station | © National Trust Images/Steven Barber

In the 1830s and 1840s Claife Viewing Station was used by wealthy visitors for parties and dances. This quote from Mary Maria Higginson, who attended a dinner dance here in the 19th century, paints a vivid picture of what it was like to come here:

‘The very nicest dance that I can call to mind was given by a friend at a place called the Station. It was built on account of the beautiful view it commanded, both up and down Windermere . . . the winding walks around the Station lighted up with Chinese lanterns and coloured lamps made charming promenades.’

– Mary Maria Higginson

National Trust restoration

By the end of the 19th-century, Claife Viewing Station had fallen out of favour and into disrepair.

We restored it in 2015 so that the public could once again benefit from this rare purpose-built viewing station. It remains one of the earliest tourist attractions in the Lake District.

As you explore the courtyards, paths, woods and buildings at the station, let your imagination take you back to those very first visitors to the area hundreds of years ago.