High Dam
Getting there, parking, where to stay and the fells you can walk straight from High Dam.
High Dam at a glance
High Dam is a tranquil tarn in the Finsthwaite woods above Newby Bridge, at the quiet southern tip of Windermere. It's a former bobbin-mill reservoir — built to power the water wheels of the valley's mills — now wrapped in oak and conifer woodland and circled by an easy family walk. Off the tourist trail, it's a peaceful contrast to the busy lake nearby.
Quick facts
| What it is | A wooded tarn (a former mill reservoir) above Finsthwaite |
|---|---|
| The walk | An easy ~1.5-mile woodland loop from the car park |
| Can you swim? | Quietly popular for a dip in summer — sheltered, but cold and weedy in places |
| Famous for | A gentle, family-friendly woodland walk near Windermere |
| Getting there | The small car park above Finsthwaite village |
The walk
From the car park above Finsthwaite, a path climbs gently through the woods to the tarn, where an easy loop circles the water on good tracks and boardwalk — about 1.5 miles. The reflections and the autumn colour are the draw. The National Park lists a Greenwood Trail from the Bobbin Mill to High Dam, Yewbarrow and Finsthwaite (4.3 km or 10 km); check its page before you go.
Fells & walks near High Dam
- Finsthwaite Heights
- Gummer's How
- Staveley Fell
- Bigland Barrow
- Raven's Barrow (Cartmel Fell)
- Newton Fell North
Straight-line distances from the centre of High Dam — the nearest summits with a full guide on this site.
Places nearby: Esthwaite Water · Coniston Water · Lake Windermere · Bowness-on-Windermere
All walks near High Dam → — the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km, ranked, with today’s conditions.
Nearby
High Dam sits above Lakeside at the foot of Windermere, handy for the steamers and the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway, and the climb to the Finsthwaite Heights and the Pennington monument extends the walk.
Getting there & parking
Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Windermere (11 km away) and Grange-over-Sands (12 km away). The bus map has every stop we hold.
Follow the narrow lane up through Finsthwaite to the small car park; it's signed for High Dam. From there the woodland walk begins on foot.
Where is High Dam?
High Dam near Newby Bridge, in the Lake District. Zoom and pan to explore — or see all the Lake District lakes & waters on one map.
Parking near High Dam
All the car parks around High Dam on the parking map →
Straight-line distances from the centre of High Dam. We publish whether a car park charges, and who runs it, but never the price — tariffs change and a stale one is worse than none, so check the sign or the operator’s own site on the day.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Can you stay overnight?
- High Dam, Finsthwaite (paid) — run by Lake District National Park Authority, which does not permit overnight parking. “The only legal places to park are on formal camp sites.” (checked 2026-08-05)
These are the land managers’ and the council’s own published rules, quoted. Where a car park is not listed here we have found no published rule for it, which is not the same as permission.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Events across the Lake District
Planning a trip around a show or festival? See our Lake District events & festivals guide for what's on near High Dam — traditional Lakeland sports, agricultural shows and seasonal events, month by month.