In our second journal where we give you an insight into our shop locations, we move north from the shoreline hush of Bowness to the steeper, slate-built heart of Ambleside. Here, at the top of Windermere, the town gathers closely around itself, tall grey houses, narrow chimneys, cobbled cut-throughs glistening after rain. Light arrives and changes quickly, slipping between the fells and across the rooftops, giving even the quietest corners a shifting, lived-in warmth.

Writers and thinkers have long found companionship here. Roman traces at Galava Fort, the 15th-century Bath House, and the steady rhythm of walkers heading for higher ground all add to a sense of place shaped slowly over centuries. Ambleside invites wandering rather than rushing, noticing rather than collecting sights.

Below, we share the paths, cafés, and small cultural pockets that form its gentle character, places that sit naturally beside our Bowness chapter and continue this series of journals across the Lakes.

Stockghyll Force
Just above the town, a soft woodland path leads to the falls. The water shifts in colour with the seasons, deep amber in spate, pale glass in summer, and its constant hum becomes a grounding presence. In spring, the gorge brightens with wild garlic and moss. A simple, restorative place to begin a day.

Rydal Water & the Climbing Tree
A quiet walk north follows Wordsworth’s favoured route along the edge of Rydal Water, where silver birch and slow bays frame some of the gentlest scenery in the Lakes.

Above the western shore stands the old oak known locally as the climbing tree, the muse behind our perfume of the same name. Its branches curve low and reach out over the lake, offering shade, stillness, and views back towards Nab Scar.

Buckstone Jump & Wild Swimming
For colder thrills, Buckstone Jump is the place, clear water, fast drops, polished rock. Higher up, the pools above Rydal Water provide quieter swims: pale green shallows, smooth stone shelves, and only the faint echo of sheep higher on the fell.

Walk to Loughrigg Fell
A gentle climb with wide reward. The summit gives a sweeping view over mirrored lakes and folded valleys. On still days, the smaller tarns below are perfect for skimming stones, our other perfume namesake, sending brief, widening rings across their flawless reflections.

The Armitt Museum
At the edge of town, the Armitt gathers Ambleside’s quieter stories. Alongside its collections on Charlotte Mason and local naturalists, it holds the remarkable natural-history studies of Beatrix Potter, precise fungi and botanical drawings that reveal her deep scientific curiosity. A place for slow browsing and quiet discovery.

Coffee & Afternoon Pause
Ašap Coffee offers clean, thoughtful simplicity: careful brewing, a calm room, and a sense of deliberate stillness.

The Copper Pot brings a softer, homely warmth, generous cakes, relaxed chatter, and walkers warming their hands beside the window.

Eating in Ambleside
The Old Stamp House - Set within the former office of Wordsworth’s brother, this Michelin-starred restaurant offers deeply rooted Cumbrian dishes, grounded in place and season.

Lake Road Kitchen - Refined, intimate, and quietly ambitious. A true destination for those seeking a slow, thoughtful dining experience.

A Detour: Coniston & Brantwood
West of Ambleside, Coniston Water lies long and silver beneath the Old Man. On its eastern shore stands Brantwood, home of John Ruskin, writer, critic, and early advocate for protecting the natural world. His belief in the value of beauty within everyday landscapes still resonates strongly in the Lakes.

Ambleside, Held Between Fells and Water
Ambleside lingers with you, its waterfalls, slate houses, steep paths, and sudden glimpses of ridge lines between chimneys. The town is also enriched by a thoughtful mix of independents: bookshops, small artisan spaces, and our own Bath House shop, where the British fragrances shaped by these landscapes find their home.

Much of our vegan perfume and skincare collections began here, influenced by the cool green of the fells and the brightness of moving water.

A town that invites you to look a little closer, breathe a little deeper, and walk just a little further.