Ask where to walk with a toddler near Windermere and someone will send you to Grasmere. Which is lovely, and also a drive, a car park, and a nap in the wrong place. So here are three walks you can start on foot from Bowness itself, with a buggy, a small person who wants to push the buggy, and a dog who wants to go in the lake.
Two of them are on the national park's Miles Without Stiles list, which means proper paths and no stiles. The third is a council park on the lake. None of that means flat all the way, and we'll tell you where it isn't.
the short version
| easiest | the Glebe to Cockshott Point loop: about 1.8 km, about an hour, one steep bit |
|---|---|
| best for a play stop | Rayrigg Meadow: playground, picnic area and a path down to the lake |
| best for an adventure | the ferry across to the west shore, then a level stone track through the woods |
| with the dog | lead on near roads, cattle grids and the playground |
| in winter | the Ferry Nab toilets close, and the ferry doesn't run on Christmas Day or Boxing Day |
| cost | the walks are free. the ferry isn't (card only) |
getting to the start
From Fallbarrow Park it's about five minutes' walk into the middle of Bowness, and all three walks start from there or close by. So if you're staying in town, you can leave the car where it is.
1. the Glebe and Cockshott Point
This is the one to do first. The Lake District National Park Authority grades it "for all", which is their top grade for access, and calls it a circular walk of 1.83 km, about an hour.
Start at the Information Centre where Glebe Road meets the main road through Bowness. Walk along Glebe Road with the lake on your right. Where the road bends left away from the water, there's an information board. Go straight on along the surfaced path. Back in 2017 the park's rangers, United Utilities and the National Trust upgraded this path and put in gates that open from either side, which makes life easier with a buggy.
The path opens into a meadow with benches looking out at Belle Isle, the big island in the middle of the lake. It's a good place to stop and count boats. You'll usually see the car ferry going back and forth from here too, which small kids find more exciting than any of the scenery.
Two honest bits:
- Cockshott Point itself is a short detour across a grass field. The national park says it isn't easy to reach in a wheelchair, and in winter a grass field is a muddy field. If you've got the buggy, you can see plenty from the path.
- There's a "fairly steep" uphill section on the way back, before a smooth path returns you to Glebe Road. It's short, but it's there. Better you know before you're halfway up it with a sleeping two-year-old.
The loop carries on to Ferry Nab, where the boats come in, then back past the churchyard on Rectory Road to where you started. There are toilets at Ferry Nab, but they close in winter. Bowness has toilets and plenty of cafés for the rest of the year.
2. Rayrigg Meadow
If the kids need something to climb more than they need a view, go the other way out of town. Rayrigg Meadow is the council's recreation ground on Rayrigg Road, right beside the lake. The council lists a children's playground, a picnic area, public jetties on the lake frontage, and an accessible path down to the lake shore.
It's not a walk so much as a place to walk to. Go, let them run, have a sandwich on the shore, and come back. That's a morning, and nobody's carried.
With the dog: the council's page doesn't spell out dog rules for the meadow, and it says the area may be covered by a public space protection order. So look for the signs at the entrance, and keep the dog out of the playground.
3. across the water: the ferry and the west shore
This is the one that feels like an adventure. Walk down to Ferry Nab and get the Windermere Ferry over to Far Sawrey on the other side. It's run by the council, it carries foot passengers as well as cars, and the crossing takes about ten minutes. There's no timetable and you can't book: if you've just missed one, the next is usually about twenty minutes behind. It's card only, so leave the coins at home. The council says wheelchairs and mobility scooters can use it with help from the crew, but its page doesn't mention pushchairs or dogs, so ask the crew if you're not sure. It doesn't run on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
On the far side, the national park's route along Windermere's west shore starts at the ferry. The first kilometre is tarmac and the park warns there's traffic on it, heading for the car park and the caravan site, so hold hands and shorten the lead. The tarmac stops at the second of two cattle grids. From there it's a level stone track through Heald Wood, which the park says has been improved and is fine for wheelchairs.
With a pushchair, turn round at Strawberry Gardens, the caravan site. That's where the national park's grade changes from "for many" to "for some". Beyond it the track is still good, but there are sections as steep as 1 in 6. Skip the public footpath that cuts off the road loop near the start too: the park says it isn't suitable for buggies.
The café at Claife Station near the ferry has toilets, but the national park says they aren't currently accessible. Plan the loo stop for the Bowness side.
with the dog
All three walks are good dog walks, and that's half the reason we like them. The bits to watch:
- roads: Glebe Road at the start of walk 1, and the first kilometre of walk 3, both have traffic
- cattle grids: on the west shore, so there may be animals about. Lead on
- the lake: they'll want to go in. Pick a shallow, stony bit away from the jetties and the boats
- the playground: dogs out, every time
If you want somewhere to sit afterwards, here are the pubs in Bowness that work with a dog and kids.
when it's raining
These are all short, so you can do one in a gap in the weather. If the gap doesn't come, the cruise boats have indoor seats and toilets: here's which Windermere cruise suits small kids, a pushchair and a dog.
what we can't tell you
How long any of this takes with your two-year-old, whether the meadow at Cockshott is a bog this week, or whether anything above has changed since October 2026. Routes get improved, toilets change their winter hours, the ferry has days off for maintenance. Check the national park's Miles Without Stiles pages and the council's ferry page before you set out.
where to stay
The Lake House is a cabin on Fallbarrow Park, a minute's walk from the lake and about five minutes into Bowness. It sleeps six, there's parking for two cars (so you can leave yours there all weekend), and the dog's welcome. Every walk on this page starts from your front door, give or take a short stroll into town.
Checked October 2026 against the Lake District National Park Authority's Miles Without Stiles routes and Westmorland & Furness Council's Windermere Ferry and Rayrigg Meadow pages. Paths, toilets and the ferry change. Check before you go.