Ullswater

Lake or "water"? (why it's never "Lake Ullswater")

A lot of people search "why is Ullswater not a lake?" — and the answer is that it absolutely is a lake; the confusion is just the name. "Water" is the old Cumbrian word for a lake (as in Derwentwater, Coniston Water, Wast Water), so the lake is simply Ullswater — you'd never say "Lake Ullswater", and saying "Ullswater lake" is a little like saying it twice.

It's the exact inverse of the Windermere muddle (where the name already contains mere). The Lakes use three old words more or less interchangeably — mere, water and tarn (a small mountain lake) — see our glossary. And to clear up the other common questions: Ullswater is a natural glacial lake, not a reservoir and not man-made. There's also no town on the lake itself — just the villages around its shore, with Penrith the nearest town.

The facts — size, depth, the name & the daffodils

Ullswater fills a long glacial trough in three reaches, giving it its distinctive curving, Z-shaped outline as you look along it from Pooley Bridge to Patterdale. It's about 14.5 km (about 9 miles) long and up to roughly 63 m (207 ft) deep — the second-largest lake in the District after Windermere, and among the deepest, though Wast Water (about 74 m) is the deepest of all. So "is Ullswater the biggest or deepest?" — no; second-largest, and one of the deepest.

The name most likely means "Ulf's water" — from an Old Norse personal name, Ulfr — though some link it to the Norse god Ullr; it's genuinely debated. And it's here that a famous poem's flowers grew: in April 1802, walking the western shore at Glencoyne Bay, William and Dorothy Wordsworth saw the host of wild daffodils that inspired "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud".

The 'Steamers'

The Ullswater 'Steamers' are a much-loved feature — historic passenger boats that have plied the water since Victorian times. The oldest, the Lady of the Lake, was launched in 1877 and is among the oldest working passenger vessels in the world. They run a hop-on, hop-off service for most of the year between Glenridding (head), Howtown (the remote eastern shore) and Pooley Bridge (foot). The pier near Aira Force is not in use at present: the operator says its Aira Force sailings “will not operate until further notice” and “will reopen in 2027” (Ullswater Steamers, read 28 September 2026).

They're a joy in their own right, but the classic use is as a walker's shuttle — sail to a pier, walk back along the shore, or vice versa. Fares and timetables vary by season, so check the official Ullswater Steamers site rather than relying on a fixed price.

Using the Steamer to reach the fells

Most people think of the boat as a way to walk round the lake. It is just as useful for getting up the fells — and on Ullswater's eastern shore it is often the sensible choice rather than a novelty.

The reason is parking. Howtown sits at the foot of a cluster of quiet Far Eastern fells — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Bonscale Pike, Arthur's Pike — and it is reached by a long, narrow lane with almost nowhere to leave a car. The pier solves that completely: sail in, walk up, and the car never comes down the lane at all.

It also turns out-and-backs into point-to-points, which is the better shape of day. Sail from Glenridding to Howtown and you can walk back over Place Fell — a proper high traverse with the lake below you the whole way — instead of retracing a shore path. Our walked Fusedale circuit Walked September 2024 works the same way from the Howtown pier.

One piece of advice worth following: if you are combining a sailing with a walk, take the boat first and walk back. A walk that overruns is a walk home; a boat that has gone is a problem. It is also what the operator recommends. Sailings are seasonal and the timetable changes through the year, so check the current timetable before you plan the day around it — we deliberately don't publish departure times here, because a stale one would be worse than none. (Service pattern checked 4 August 2026.)

By boat

The Steamer as a shape for planning a walk: the landings, the season and the day's caution, read from the operator on the date shown. Times and fares live on the operator's page and nowhere on this site.

The Ullswater Way & walking round the lake

The Ullswater Way is a 20-mile circular walking route right around the lake, opened in 2016 (partly as a recovery project after the 2015 Storm Desmond floods). It links Pooley Bridge, Aira Force, Glenridding, Patterdale and Howtown, and it's signposted throughout.

The brilliant thing is the walk-one-way, sail-back combination: with Steamer piers at Glenridding, Howtown and Pooley Bridge (for the pier near Aira Force, see the dated note above), you can walk a section and let the boat carry you home — turning the full circuit into bite-sized days. As for "can you walk it in a day?" — yes, as a long, full day (it's about 20 miles and, while mostly low-level, it's undulating, not flat); most people split it into two or three easier stages using the Steamer.

Walks & fells around Ullswater

The walking here runs from gentle shore strolls to an exposed ridge scramble:

• Helvellyn via Striding Edge Walked in part — the classic, exposed scramble from Glenridding over Striding Edge and back by Swirral Edge. A serious mountain day.
• St Sunday Crag Walked January 2025 — the superb ridge above Patterdale with a fine view of Ullswater.
• Hallin Fell — a short, steep little climb from Howtown (our easy route Walked in part) for a huge reward; a perfect Steamer-and-walk outing.
• Aira Force & Gowbarrow Walked in part — the National Trust's dramatic waterfall and the open fell above it, an easy-walks favourite right by the lake.
• Place Fell (guide) across the water from Glenridding, and the short stroll up to Lanty's Tarn & Keldas (one of our easy & family walks) for a classic view down the lake.

Check the live "Best Fells today" conditions before the high fells — especially Helvellyn. The Fells & walks nearby box below lists the closest summits with a full guide.

Boats, swimming & fishing

• Your own boat — you can launch your own craft, powered or not, but powered boats must obey the lake's 10 mph speed limit (in place since the 1970s–80s, which keeps Ullswater calmer than the pre-limit days). Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and sailing dinghies need no licence; costs are really just parking and any private slipway fee.
• Swimming — wild swimming is popular, with the usual cautions: cold water year-round, boat traffic (keep near the shore, clear of the Steamer lanes), and your own judgement on conditions.
• Fishing — you need an Environment Agency rod licence (and usually a local permit), so it isn't free. Alongside pike, perch, trout and eels, Ullswater holds the rare schelly, a glacial-relict whitefish found in only a handful of lakes.
• Wild camping is not permitted on the shores (busy and largely private) — it's tolerated only high on the open fells. Use a campsite.

Donald Campbell & Bluebird

Ullswater has a vivid place in speed history. On 23 July 1955, Donald Campbell set the world water speed record here — 202.32 mph in his jet-hydroplane Bluebird K7 — the first of seven records he would go on to set. (His final, fatal attempt came years later on Coniston Water, but it was Ullswater where the Bluebird story began.)

Getting there & parking

Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Penrith (North Lakes) (12 km away) and Langwathby (19 km away); the 508, 509, UB1 and UB2 stop at Knotts, outside Gowbarrow Cottages, 0.8 km from here in a straight line (times on bustimes.org). The UB1 and UB2 run until 1 November 2026, the last day of their season. The bus map has every stop we hold.

There's no town on the lake and no railway station beside it. The nearest town and station are both Penrith (about six miles from Pooley Bridge, just off the M6 at Junction 40); from there the 508 Ullswater bus runs down to Pooley Bridge and Glenridding, and the Steamer links the shore. It's a very doable car-free destination.

⚠️ A real parking warning. Ullswater's lakeshore lay-bys are heavily enforced — and there's a costly trap: parking on a grass verge next to double yellow lines is still illegal. Yellow-line waiting restrictions apply to the **whole width of the public highway — the carriageway, the pavement and the verge, right out to the boundary — so you can be ticketed for parking on the verge alongside double yellows even if no wheel is touching the markings. Lee has watched around a hundred cars ticketed in a single day on the verges here. Don't risk it: use the official car parks (Glenridding, Patterdale, the National Trust car park at Aira Force, Pooley Bridge), or leave the car altogether and use the 508 bus and the Steamer** on busy days. Howtown has no public car park; the nearest is the small free parking by St Peter's church at Martindale, at the top of the lane. (Local signage always governs — read the signs where you park.)

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Where to stay & practical

It depends what you want from the lake:

• Glenridding & Patterdale (the head) — the walkers' bases, best for Helvellyn, St Sunday Crag and the Steamer pier.
• Pooley Bridge & Watermillock (the foot) — livelier in parts but generally quieter, with the big camping sites and the easiest run from Penrith.
• Howtown — remote and peaceful on the eastern shore, reached by a tiny road or, better, the Steamer.

The area is CA11 (Penrith postcode); it's dog-friendly walking country. A note on history: Storm Desmond (2015) hit hard here — the old Pooley Bridge was washed away and replaced by the striking new bridge in 2020 — so the valley does flood in extreme weather. Easy day trips take in Glenridding, Patterdale, Pooley Bridge, Aira Force, and over the fells to Keswick — or south-east to the remote reservoir of Haweswater.