Ambleside

	Ambleside Youth Hostel

Although there has been a settlement since pre-Roman times, Ambleside is largely Victorian. Of architectural interest is St. Mary’s church, completed in 1854, designed by George Gilbert Scott in the early English style, it is built mainly of local blue stone and has a sandstone spire, an unusual feature for a Lakeland church.

A short walk from the centre of the village leads to one of the most photographed scenes in Lakeland, Stock Ghyll Force, a spectacular 70 foot waterfall which tumbles down through a series of waterfalls to the centre of Ambleside, passing under the famous Bridgehouse.

Rumour has it that at one time the tiny building, which was originally used as an apple store for nearby Ambleside Hall, was once the home of a family with six children. Built over the water to avoid land tax the building is a popular subject for artists, including Turner.

Bridge House, Ambleside