Windermere Jetty Museum, Cumbria

About Windermere Jetty Museum

Windermere Jetty is a spectacular museum on the shores of Windermere that reflects industry and engineering in the Lake District National Park. It is part of Lakeland Arts, one of the most significant arts and heritage organisations in the North of England, with a national and international reputation for the quality of its historic buildings, museum and gallery collections, and programming.

A working destination, committed to conserving, saving and sharing its internationally important collection of historic boats, it also showcases the sights, smells and sounds of life on the lake.

Within this museum, one of the first contemporary buildings to be constructed on the shores of Windermere in decades, are steam launches, sailing yachts, motor boats and record-breaking speed boats, all exhibited in the boathouse, on the water, and in their exhibition galleries. Live conservation workshop will be open every day, where you can see this collection as they are painstakingly restored.

Hear tales of workers and boat owners, their lives and adventures, and discover the fascinating developments in design and technology that drove boat-building in the Lake District.

Boat Collection

Windermere Jetty’s collection is unique. It is one of the world’s most important collections of boats related to a single location. Originally brought together by George Pattinson, a private collector of steam launches who founded Windermere Steamboat Museum in 1977, the collection now comprises 40 vessels that tell the story of boating on Windermere from 1780 to the present day. Over half of their collection is on display.

Their collection includes some of Lakeland’s finest examples of boatbuilding, including SL Dolly, one of the oldest mechanically powered boats in the world; Margaret, the oldest sailing yacht in the UK; world record breaking speed boats; Esperance, one of boats that inspired Captain Flint’s houseboat in Arthur Ransome’s 'Swallows and Amazons', and even Beatrix Potter’s rowing boat.

The collection includes every type of wooden boatbuilding construction, and as such it captures a wealth of traditional boatbuilding techniques that have been developed over hundreds of years. It charts the development of boat design and innovations in engineering. Many of the boats were made by local boatbuilders, and so its story is also one of Lakeland life and local history.

Conservation Workshop

Conservation is at the heart of everything that they do and their dedicated workshop allows you to see their team of expert boatbuilders at work.

Watch live conservation through the workshop windows, learn about the six-step process for restoration in their displays, or speak to a member of their boatbuilding team to have your questions answered.

Heritage Boat Trips

You can book a Heritage Boat Trip on the lake on board Osprey, one of the Museum's fully-restored Edwardian steam launches.

Osprey was built in 1902 in Bowness and is the first steam launches to take to the water at Windermere Jetty, sister ship to Swallow, also part of the Museum's collection. Built originally for private use, from 1948 the boat spent many years in service as a passenger vessel for the Bowness Bay Boating Company.

Osprey was originally restored to steam by the old Steamboat Museum. The steam boiler was manufactured and installed in the early 1980s.  The steam boiler was manufactured and installed in the early 1980s. Prior to that, the boat may have run on petrol. Its original steam plant was scrapped early in the last century, replaced by an internal combustion engine. The vessel’s engine is a genuine Sissons of Gloucester Compound, manufactured early in the last century. This engine may have been used as an exhibit in a science museum and the later installed in SL Water Viper.

As a result of her life in service Osprey needed quite a lot of restoration and has had three replacement planks fitted on each side and a new stem built from locally sourced oak. Conservators have also fitted additional strengthening to the hull to support the heavy engine and boiler, and a new propeller was cast from Osprey’s sister boat Swallow. The team has also re-tubed the boiler, replaced valves, injectors, manifold and copper pipework. The engine is conserved for operational use. Replacement decorative features, flooring and linings were also crafted by our apprentice and conservation assistant and have been fitted to the interior of the boat. All the teak surfaces have been protected with eight coats of traditional oil-based varnish.

In October 2017, Osprey’s new boiler was installed and fitted to the steering, marking the final stages of restoration.

On 8 April 2019 Osprey enjoyed the honour of having aboard HM King Charles III, at the time HRH The Prince of Wales, during his visit to officially open the new Windermere Jetty Museum. Whilst aboard HM was also introduced to some of the team involved in restoring the boat to its former glory.

Osprey can either be seen on display in the boathouse at the museum or on the lake taking passengers for scenic boat trips. 

Latest News

March 2024 A historic Glencoe funeral boat has arrived at Windermere Jetty Museum for conservation Full story

Find out more:

lakelandarts.org.uk/windermere-jetty-museum

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