Lakeland Steamers

The story of what is now a major tourist attraction in one of the most beautiful areas of the country.

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The first Lake District steamers were designed to serve the numerous villages and settlements along the side of the lakes. From the 1860s, larger railway-owned steamers such as the Swan, Tern, Swift and Teal were built to cater for the rapidly expanding tourist market of Windermere. Elsewhere, Ullswater had the Lady of the Lake and Raven, and Coniston had magnificent steamers such as Gondola. Many of these wonderful and nostalgic lake steamers survive to this day. Andrew Gladwell tells the history of the steamers and launches used on all of the Lake District's bodies of water, and the wonderful images show the changing scenery of Lakeland as well as the numerous vessels which once steamed the Lakes, and those that remain today. He is one of Britain's acknowledged experts on pleasure steamers and has written numerous books on pleasure steamers around the coasts of Great Britain.