Summer in Ambleside

The launch is in at the pier and half of Ambleside seems to be down at the water. A family motor out in a varnished wooden boat, swans glide across to see whether anything edible is going, and a woman aboard the red yacht is busy getting her sail sorted out before she casts off.

Behind them the grey stone hotels look on, the flag hangs over the terrace, rowing boats wait in a neat row, and the fells run green up beyond the trees.