Accessibility - Access to our boats
Choosing a cruise if you have specific access needs
Our fleet consists both of modern and historic vessels. If you have limited mobility, some vessels offer better access than others.
The guide below should help in choosing a cruise that is right for you. Our timetables show which type of vessel should be operating on each route and departure, but wheelchair users are advised to call us to confirm which boats are operating on each day.
Jump to 👉 Vessel Guides | Carer Goes Free Policy | Guide Dogs | Blue Badge Parking | Accessible Toilets | Quiet Times
Vessel Access Guides
MV Swift - our most accessible vessel
- Departures marked with a green wheelchair icon on our timetables.
- Step-free access from Ambleside (Waterhead), Bowness and Lakeside
- Step-free access to middle inner decks and lower outer decks (via lift). Sorry, no access to upper deck.
- Accessible toilet from main cabin (step-free, oversized and wheelchair friendly)
- Operates on the Red Cruise mostly. But can be sometimes on Yellow Cruise / Full lake during our peak season (April-October)
- View vessel on virtual tour / see vessel plan
Historic ‘steamers’ – MV Swan & MV Teal.
- Departures marked with a black wheelchair icon on our timetables.
- Step-free access from Ambleside (Waterhead), Bowness and Lakeside
- Step-free access to inner decks and outer decks
- Toilets are down some steep stairs on board (12 steps)
- Operates on the Red Cruise / Yellow Cruise / Full lake during our peak season (April-October)
- View vessel on virtual tour / see vessel plan
Historic ‘steamer’ MV Tern
- Departures marked in black on our timetables.
- Our oldest vessel (built in 1891) is our least accessible 'steamer'
- Step-free access to under cover, outer decks only
- Toilets are down some steep steps
- Operate on the Red Cruise / Yellow Cruise / Full lake during our peak season (April-October)
- View vessel on virtual tour / see vessel plan
Modern launches such as Miss Cumbria/Miss Lakeland
- Departures marked in blue on our timetables.
- Steps to inner cabins (3 steep steps) and outer cabins (6 steep steps)
- Step from pier to boat when boarding & no handrail
- Operate all year round on the Islands (blue) Cruise / Red Cruise / Yellow Cruise
- View vessel class on virtual tour / see vessel plan
Traditional wooden launches such as Queen of the Lake and Muriel II
- Our least accessible vessels
- 2-4 large steps to climb in/out the vessels
- No toilets on board
- Operate on Cross Lakes / Green Cruise during our peak season (April-October)
- View vessel class on virtual tour / see vessel plan
Carer Goes Free Policy
If a disabled adult in your group needs a carer, then the carer travels free. You can't buy "+1 carer" tickets online, simply purchase your tickets when you arrive at the pier. As not all disabilities are obvious, we ask that you bring one of the following with you:
- For those with a visual impairment – A copy of your Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI), BP1 Certificate (Scotland) or BD8 Certificate
- For those registered as deaf or who use a hearing aid – A copy of the front page of your NHS battery book, or a copy of your dispensing prescription for a hearing aid.
- For those with epilepsy (where you are prohibited from driving) – A copy of your Exemption Certificate for epilepsy medication and a letter from the DVLA indicating that you are unable to drive
- For those with epilepsy (where you suffer repeated attacks, despite taking medication) - A copy of your Exemption Certificate for epilepsy medication and a photocopy of your prescription for epilepsy medication.
- For those who receive attendance allowance – A copy of your award letter
- For those who receive personal independence payments - A copy of your award letter
- For those who receive disability living allowance – A copy of your award letter (which is no more than 12 months old) showing receipt of the same
- For those who receive Severe Disablement Allowance – A copy of your award letter
- For those who receive War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement - A copy of your award letter
- For those who receive War or Service Disablement Pension for 80% or more disability - A copy of your award letter
- For those who are buying or leasing a vehicle through the Mobility scheme – A copy of the leasing or hire-purchase agreement (which is no more than 12 months old)
In the event that you have a disability which is not covered by the examples above, or if you are unable to supply the documents listed, the decision to issue a concessionary ticket will be at the discretion of the Ticket Office supervisor or manager, whosedecision in this regard is final.
For more information about this scheme and to see all the terms and conditions, please read our company policy for disabled passengers (PDF, 120k).
Guide dogs
All dogs (including guide and assistance dogs) are welcome on board our cruises and self-drive boats and travel for free. You do not need to mention them when booking.
🐕 Looking for more dog friendly information ?
Blue Badge Parking
There are a number of blue badge parking bays in each council-run car parks around our piers. You can see a full list of the car parks at each location here .
The closest blue badge bays to each pier are below (on Google Maps)
Bowness Pier (Nearest postcode - LA23 3HQ)
- Nearest Blue Badge Parking: 4 places on Glebe Road, just along from the Tourist Information Centre
- Exact parking location: 📍Google Maps 📍 What 3 Words
- Drop off available directly outside Bowness Pier, but it is used by local bus services - no stopping please.
Ambleside (Waterhead) Pier (Nearest postcode - LA22 0EY)
- Nearest Blue Badge Parking: 6 spaces on the council-run pay & display parking (5 mins walk away from the pier)
- Exact parking location: 📍 Google 📍 What 3 Words
- Drop off available directly outside Ambleside Waterhead Pier, but no parking please.
Lakeside Pier (Nearest postcode -LA22 0EY)
- Nearest Blue Badge Parking: 4 spaces on our pay & display parking (1 mins walk away from the pier)
- Exact parking location: 📍 Google 📍 What 3 Words
Accessible Toilets
- Ambleside (Waterhead) Pier - There are disabled toilets in our Ambleside (Waterhead) Pier.
- Bowness Pier - The nearest disabled toilet to Bowness Pier is the community-run toilet block right next to the tourist information centre. Its a 2 minutes walk from our pier and needs a RADAR key.
- Lakeside Pier - We have our own disabled toilet on the pier/platform at Lakeside. Baby changing facilities too.
Quiet times
- For visitors who prefer not to be here during our busier times we would recommend that you visit outside of the school holidays and on weekdays where possible. Our earlier sailings are much, much quieter and you can usually find plenty of space on board on inner or outer decks.
- The first departure of the day from Lakeside on the Yellow Cruise is our quietest sailing - perfect to experience the beauty of Windermere but free from any crowds and queues.
- Bowness can get extremely busy during the summer months and there may be queues when boarding. If you wish to avoid queues then please select an earlier sailing in the day or choose a departure from Ambleside (Waterhead) or Lakeside.
