to Ambleside and Grasmere, while the council's wheelchair-accessible minibuses run around the edge of town. The Windermere Ferry, a car carrying cable ferry, connects Bowness at Ferry Nab on the eastern side of the lake with Ferry House Far Sawrey on the western side of the lake, a trip of approximately 10 minutes. For those looking for a more leisurely way to travel, Windermere Lake Cruises operate regular lake cruises running from Bowness Bay to the north end of the lake at Ambleside and south end at Fell Foot. Media Readers of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books will recognise Bowness as the lakeside town of 'Rio'. The collection at the Windermere Steamboat Museum on Rayrigg Road includes TSSY Esperance, 1869; one of the iron steamboats on which Ransome modelled Captain Flint's houseboat. Bowness-on-Windermere is also home to The World of Beatrix Potter attraction, opened in July 1991 by Victoria Wood. See also Listed buildings in Windermere, Cumbria (town) References External links Windermere Town Council Cumbria County History Trust: Windermere and Bowness Bowness-on-Windermere guide Populated places in Cumbria Former civil parishes in Cumbria Westmorland Windermere, Cumbria