ONE of South Cumbria's newest visitor attractions is the £20m Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories and it is featured here alongside pictures from The Mail’s archive showing boating activities on the lake.

This showcase for an internationally important collection of boats is open daily 10am to 5pm and was developed by Lakeland Arts backed by National Lottery funding.

The site, near Bowness, was officially opened by Prince Charles in April.

In a very modern style, some exhibits including speedboats and even a glider which could take off from water, can be seen mounted on the walls or hanging from the ceiling.

The stylish steam-powered Branksome is in the main display hall at the Windermere Jetty. It was built by George Brockbank of Bowness in 1896.

Nearby is the Margaret, built by Purdy of Whitehaven, which is the oldest sailing yacht in the United Kingdom.

It was built for Isabella and John Christian Curwen who spent their summers at Belle Isle on Windermere

From the more modern era is the White Lady II hydroplane which raced on Windermere from 1936 and sank in June 1937. It was discovered, salvaged and restored in 1982.

You can see memorabilia of holidays and leisure time at Windermere, including souvenir crested china and painted ceramic containers for potted char.

A wall display features copper steam kettles used by boat owners to serve tea to their guests. They could boil a gallon of water (4.5 litres) in just 10 seconds

You can also discover the stories behind colourful Victorian characters - including Colonel John Ridehalgh, of Fell Foot, who had the steam yacht Britannia built for £12,000 - the equivalent of at least £1m today.

You can also see the two sailing boats which featured in the 2016 film Swallows and Amazons, based on the book by Lakeland author Arthur Ransome.

Visitors can see the conservation workshop or opt for a 45-minute ride around the lake on the restored steam launch Osprey, which was built in 1902.

You can find out more about the museum and its collections on the website at https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/l1gbC2xppuo5kADSn3xWr