The area of South Lakes sometimes called South Lakes Peninsulas has a great selection of heritage transport exhibits all close to each other near the south of Lake Windermere and all capable of being combined in one trip:
The Lakeland Motor Museum at Backbarrow, with Cafe Ambio.
The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway.
The Windermere Steamers. Ambleside – Bowness – Lakeside.
Check what’s running first. The railway gets full before Christmas.
You could drive to the Motor Museum for free parking and walk or drive the mile to the railway. Get the train to Lakeside. Then get the boat to Bowness. Or there is a bus from Lakeside to the Motor Musuem and probably one between the museum and station.
The River Leven runs fast after rain. Kayakers shoot the rapids and shoot the weir. You can view the river from the Cafe Ambio at the Motor Museum sitting at a table outside.
The Lakeland Motor Museum has a good collection of cars and motor cycles including a Donal Campbell exhitiion in a separate building. It has an interestnig history display as Dolly Blue die and gunpowder used to be made in the building.
Below the station at Haverthwaite has a cafe and a shop that are open when the trains aren’t running. It’s a decent cafe.
It isn’t shown here but near the above bikes is a great display of racing bikes and an Isle of Man TT exhibit area with a tribute film to the Morecambe Missile, John McGuinness. What riding! I’ve watched it over and over. The fastest average speed in the time trials is 136mph.
The locos at Haverthwaite are held in a shed that is open more often than the railway.
The hotel by the river at Backbarrow. The Whitewater Hotel and Leisure Club. An old mill, it looks good from the outside. Rooms overlooking the river rapids.
To travel from Bowness is about 4 miles by boat to Lakeside. Then decide how to get to the Lakeland Motor Museum and Cafe Ambio or to go on the train to Haverthwaite.
There are walks near the hotel above. One goes under the railway about 200yds west from this spot.