Why do over 1 million Lakes visitors try a Windermere Lake Cruise every year?

It’s officially the most visited paid-for tourist attraction in the park and in England’s top six nationally.

But what makes it so special? Ellis Butcher meets MD Nigel Wilkinson.

"THERE’S only one better view than that," says Nigel Wilkinson, looking up Windermere from the top floor of the company boardroom at The Glebe in Bowness.

“And that’s one with a full cruise going across it!” quips Nigel.

It’s not long before it happens...one of the company’s pleasure cruises powers past with the top deck packed with visitors of every nationality.

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More than a million of them do the same every year and its oldest cruise, MV Tern, is now 123-years-old.

Every year, the company consistently holds the number one spot in Cumbria’s top 20 most visited paid-for tourist attractions.

Nigel is the dynamic, straight-talking boss of Winander Leisure Limited, which runs both the enduringly popular lake cruise company as well as the Lakeland Motor Museum at Backbarrow.

In industry circles, Nigel is  a highly-regarded authority for having his finger on the tourism pulse.

Few know Nigel started out as an engineer and a chartered accountant back in his native York.

But in 1992 as a consultant, he came to be involved with what was then called the Bowness Bay Boating Company.

However, his love for the Lake District has been with him a long time.

“Schooltrips,” explains Nigel. “That’s what got me bitten by the Lake District bug. 

“So the opportunity to come up here and work here was one I couldn’t possibly refuse.”

But what is it about a trip on Windermere which remains perenially popular year after year?

Says Nigel: “I think it’s timeless and it’s also an ever-changing experience. 

“From the visitor research we have done, a large percentage of our visitors are repeat visitors and that hopefully shows we looked after them the last time they came to see us - which is very important. But also, every time you go out on the lake it’s a different experience.

“The time of year, lighting, weather, cloud formations... but, as boatmen like to say, I think relaxation is what they come for.

“To sit back, see that fantastic scenery unfold infront of them at less than 10mph and just have a period of relaxation or enforced contemplation – call it what you will.”

Nigel feels blessed to work for a local company with local roots – many of them stretching back decades.

“One of the things I’m immensely proud about is that Winander Holdings, which owns Winander Leisure, Windermere Lake Cruises and Lakeland Motor Museum, is a locally-owned business.

“As shareholders they live locally, the directors live locally, and therefore we are here for the long term. It’s our community too.

“You hear so much talked about corporate social responsibility...and creating employment is really important to us and acting in a considerate way is absolutely key because our reputations in the area are very important.

“As a board we pride ourselves on trying to provide year-round employment. if you can provide year-round employment people can settle here, they can raise a family here and put their children into school here etc, they are properly based in the community.”

Across the company the average number of employees is about 150 but during high season it rises to 180 and then tails off to a core staff of around 120 from November through to March.

Windermere Lake Cruises sails every day except Christmas Day.

In the lean months of January, passengers numbers for the whole month will dip to what the firm might carry over just two days in summer.

But the company is determined to keep sailing.

Nigel says: “The only way for us to keep staff on is for our staff to multi-task. So I’ve got boat captains who in the summer are captaining the boat with everything that entails...from serving champagne to wedding guests...but in the winter they are replacing a hull plate on a slipway with a driving north wind in freezing temperatures to help maintain the boats they will sail in high summer.

“That engenders a tremendous amount of pride in the boats – boats only look pristine like ours do because we invest a tremendous amount of time in them.”

Opening in winter also gives people a reason to still visit the Lakes year-round.

Nigel says: “I think it’s really important the Lake District has one of the most paid-for visitor attractions in England because we have a responsibility to the wider business community here.

“It provides activities for people to do, which means the guesthouses and the hotels have a raison d'être in the winter. 

“Other attractions like the Lakeland Motor Museum have followed our ethos and the Aquarium down at lakeside.

“The hope for the Lake District and Cumbria is to get growth in the ‘shoulder months’ when the area has the capacity and occupancy levels in the hotels can be increased - which are not some of the challenges we have in the absolute peak.”

As for this season, Nigel reports that business has been ‘reasonably encouraging’.

“Windermere Lake Cruises tends to do better when the sun shines and in the early part of the summer the sun shone. 

“In August, the Lakeland Motor Museum has done better because we have had some changeable weather – as I know because I took the grandchildren on holiday to the Lake District last week and we had our umbrellas out on more than one occasion but we got on with it and still had a great time.”

And as an RAF jet roars past his view, he says: “The day you don’t appreciate looking out at that, is the day that it’s time to give up!”