Lakes is a large civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, with a population of 5,127 according to the 2001 census,decreasing to 4,420 at the 2011 Census. It covers the small town of Ambleside, and the villages and hamlets of Clappersgate, Rydal, Grasmere, Troutbeck, Chapel Stile, Elterwater, Little Langdale, and Waterhead.