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Windermere (Lake)Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, and is entirely within in the Lake District National Park. Located in Cumbria, it has been one of the country's most popular places for holidays and summer homes since 1847, when the Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line to it. Windermere is 17 kilometres (10 1/2 miles) long and varies from 400 to 1500 metres (a quarter of a mile to a mile) wide. It reaches a depth of about 65 metres (220 feet) near its northern end and has an elevation above sea level of 40 metres (130 feet). The lake is drained from its southernmost point by the River Leven. There are two towns which border the lake: Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere. The lake is largely surrounded by foot-hills of the Lake District which provide pleasant low-level walks; to the north and north-east the higher fells of central Lakeland commence. The town of Windermere is about a fifteen-minute walk from the lakefront, and has now grown together with Bowness-on-Windermere. The town was known as Birthwaite prior to the arrival of the railway. Windermere station offers train and bus connections to the surrounding areas, Manchester, Manchester Airport, and the West Coast Main Line. Racer Norman Buckley set several world waterspeed records on Windermere in the 1950s. For many years, power boating and waterskiing have been popular activities on the lake. However, in March 2000, the Government controversially decided to put in place a compulsory 10 mph (16 km/h) speed limit, technically starting in 2000, but enforced in practice from 29 March 2005. Many organisations, including the Lake District National Park Authority, support the move, primarily on the grounds of restoring the tranquil nature of the lake and making it safer and more accessible for all users. Opponents, particularly those interested in the affected sports, are concerned by the lack of other suitable inland waters to which to move these activities. Since 'mere' means 'lake', referring to Windermere as 'Lake Windermere' is tautologous.
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