Windermere took on the air of a long-forgotten Victorian or Edwardian summer when graceful craft plied the water at the annual rally of the Steamboat Association of Great Britain in 1995.

The week-long event had attracted 26 antique steam-powered vessels of all sizes and vintage from all over the country.

Skippers and crews dressed in Victorian and Edwardian costume and called at Windermere Steamboat Museum for lunch taken in a style reminiscent of the period for the benefit of the public.

Owners dined aboard their respective boats, sporting their best china and music was provided by a wind-up horn gramophone, admittedly of a slighter later vintage then the period the enthusiasts were evoking.

The vessels were on view at the museum during the afternoon, along with the museum’s own large collection of craft.

One thing the owners were unperturbed about was the prospect of a ten-miles an hour speed limit on the lake.

The vessels taking part in the rally were up to 150 years old and not given to hastening about the water at anything approaching such a rapid rate of knots.

In 1989 second year pupils from Windermere Junior School swung into action during National Environment Week.

Half the class went to the town centre to collect any litter in the streets and present shoppers with a questionnaire about environmental issues.

The others collected rubbish at Sheriff’s Wood.

In 1990 children from Windermere Primary School entertained guests at Windermere Manor Residential home for the elderly.

The pupils gave a musical performance at the Manor Open Day, where around £250 was raised. Guests were invited to come along and help raise money to send residents on trips. There were stalls and the sale of strawberry teas.

In 1991, pupils at St Mary’s Infants School, Windermere, had been doing a project on families and had raised £1,080 with sponsored family activity sheets.

The money was to be divided between the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the cost of equipment for the school.