About a mile south from Ambleside is the northern extremity of Lake Windermere, 10-1/2 miles long, and varying in breadth from a mile in the widest part to a few hundred yards in the narrowest.  The surrounding scenery is magnificent, of a soft and graceful beauty, which forms a wonderful contrast to the wild and sublime grandeur of other parts of the Lake District.  There are a number of beautiful islands in the lake, which is very plentifully stocked with fish.

The little lake at Grasmere, a village to the north of Ambleside, is one of the gems of the Lakeland scenery; indeed, Grasmere is an excellent centre from which to visit some of the points of interest in the district.  Wordsworth’s cottage stands half a mile outside the village.

Within easy reach of Ambleside are Coniston village and lake, upon which a little steamer plies.  Near the head of the lake is Coniston Hall, now a farmhouse, but for long the seat of the Le Flemings, a well-known Westmorland family.

Among the numerous other places of interest near Ambleside are Hawkshead, the scene of Wordsworth’s school life, and a most charmingly picturesque village; Patterdale and the surrounding district; Langdale Pikes, Shap Fells, and Stockgill Force, a fine waterfall 150 feet high.

[Illustration:  Valentine & Sons, Ltd.

WINDERMERE.

It is ten and a half miles in length, and is surrounded by the most beautiful wooded scenery.]

ST. DAVIDS CATHEDRAL

=How to get there.=—­Train from Paddington.  Great Western Rly. =Nearest Station.=—­Haverfordwest (16 miles from St. Davids), thence
  by coach to St. Davids, past Roch Castle.
=Distance from London.=—­To Haverfordwest, 261 miles. =Average Time.=—­Varies between 6-1/2 to 9 hours.

                     1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=—­Single 42s. 0d. 26s. 3d. 21s. 0d. 
          Return 72s. 3d. 46s. 0d. 42s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=—­“Grove Hotel,” “City Hotel,” etc.

St. Davids, the most western town in Wales, is situated on the little river Alan, a mile from its mouth, near St. Davids Head, on the north side of St. Brides Bay.  The place is now little more than a village, though in the Middle Ages it was a large city, the great resort of pilgrims to St. David’s shrine.  The city, which was the =Menevia= of the Romans, is almost as isolated now as it was in their days, the only available communication being by the daily mail-cart from Haverfordwest, and an omnibus twice a week during the season.

The modern “city” of St. Davids is a mere village, consisting of one principal street and two at right angles, with a fine old cross at their junction, but the chief attractions are its grand old cathedral and the ruins of its once famous Episcopal palace.  The cathedral, originally built in 1176, is curiously situated in a deep dell, so that only the upper part of the lofty tower is visible from the village, and the close is entered by descending thirty-nine steps, locally known as the thirty-nine articles.  The entrance to the close is through a fine old tower-gateway, 60 feet high, where the records were formerly kept and a consistory court held.