Howtown to Patterdale along Ullswater
Start Howtown pier
Getting here Parking: Ullswater 'Steamers' says there is no car parking at Howtown (read 9 Oct 2026). This walk starts off the boat: park in Glenridding and take the steamer to Howtown. Bus: the UB1 stops at Howtown, at Pier, a 120 m walk from this start. Parking & buses ↓
Hardest part Hard navigation: Care needed in cloud — 24 path junctions near the line. Hard – estimated from the map, not checked on the ground
Before you choose
- OpenStreetMap marks fords where the line crosses streams at about 3.1, 3.3, 3.7, 5.6 and 9.0 km.
- A short flight of steps is mapped at about 0.4 km, near the start.
- From Howtown to Sandwick, about 2.4 km, the line follows a path round the foot of Hallin Fell that OpenStreetMap does not record as a public right of way; the rest is public footpath and bridleway. That is a map-data note, not a ruling on access: check the access land and rights of way maps before relying on this stretch.
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: No mapped stiles, but the ground underfoot has not been assessed; not a buggy line on what we know.
- Knees: No sustained steep descent in the track’s height model (steepest 250 m about 12%). Steps, wet rock and the surface underfoot are not assessed; your own knees still matter.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground (estimated from the map). The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 7% around the 3.0 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Hard. 4 mapped crag feature(s) near the line — check the airy sections.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-08)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Not assessed.
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 14 gates · 2 kissing gates
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-08. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (local extract).
Route map
Easy 100%ModerateHardSevere
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
Howtown pier → Sandwick (2.8 km, 55 m)
We have written these directions from the map, not on foot. From the Howtown pier, follow the paths west-south-west across Fusedale Beck, with a short flight of steps mapped at about 0.4 km. The path then heads north-north-west round the foot of Hallin Fell, passing below Kailpot Crag at about 1.5 km, and turns south-west to Sandwick Beck and the lane end at Sandwick, at about 2.85 km. OpenStreetMap does not record this path round Hallin Fell as a public right of way.
WaypointsThe Howtown pier, Fusedale Beck, the steps, Kailpot Crag, Sandwick Beck, Sandwick Road End.
Easy to get wrongOpenStreetMap maps kissing gates at about 0.4 and 1.4 km, and six gates between about 2.3 and 2.8 km.
If you need to get offThe map shows no mapped way off the path round the foot of Hallin Fell shorter than going back to Howtown or on to the lane end at Sandwick, at about 2.85 km; never more than about 1.4 km; not walked for this guide.
Sandwick → Scalehow Beck (1.0 km, 42 m)
From Sandwick, take the public bridleway west-south-west along the side of the lake. OpenStreetMap marks fords where it crosses streams at about 3.1, 3.3 and 3.7 km. Scalehow Beck is crossed at about 3.9 km.
WaypointsThe public bridleway, the three fords, Scalehow Beck.
If you need to get offThe map shows no path from the bridleway to a road between Sandwick and Scalehow Beck: the way off is back to the lane end at Sandwick, never more than about 0.9 km; not walked for this guide.
Scalehow Beck → Silver Point (2.8 km, 67 m)
Keep on the bridleway, west-north-west at first and then south-west for about 2 km, crossing Birkfell Slack at a ford OpenStreetMap marks at about 5.6 km. At about 6.5 km a path leaves the bridleway and loops round Silver Point, rejoining it at about 6.7 km.
WaypointsThe bridleway, Birkfell Slack, the path round Silver Point.
Decision pointThe loop round Silver Point is a path off the bridleway, not part of the public bridleway; the bridleway itself runs past it.
If you need to get offThe map shows no usable way off the bridleway between Scalehow Beck and Silver Point: the one mapped way up from it passes mapped quarry and scree. So the way off is back to the lane end at Sandwick or on to the A592 at Goldrill Bridge, up to about 3.2 km either way; not walked for this guide.
Silver Point → Goldrill Bridge (2.8 km, 39 m)
From Silver Point the bridleway runs south towards Patterdale, past the bench OpenStreetMap names Artists' Seat at about 7.9 km, and becomes a track from about 8.0 km. Where the bridleway ends, at about 8.9 km, take the public footpath south-south-west, across a ford OpenStreetMap marks at about 9.0 km, to Goldrill Bridge at about 9.4 km.
WaypointsThe bridleway, Artists' Seat, the end of the bridleway, the public footpath, the ford, Goldrill Bridge.
If you need to get offThe map shows the line reaching a road only at Goldrill Bridge, at about 9.4 km; from Silver Point the way off is on along the bridleway and the footpath to Goldrill Bridge, never more than about 2.8 km; not walked for this guide.
Goldrill Bridge → Finish (0.5 km, 11 m)
Over Goldrill Bridge, cross the A592 and take the public footpath opposite. At about 9.7 km it bends north to the A592 by the Patterdale Hotel bus stop, the finish.
WaypointsGoldrill Bridge, the A592 crossing, the public footpath, the Patterdale Hotel bus stop (finish).
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
More about this walk
A planned line, drawn from the map; not yet walked. It starts at the Howtown landing of the Ullswater ‘Steamers’, so the plan is the boat from Glenridding first and the walk back: Howtown is the landing to arrive at, not to aim for. We hold no sailing times; check the operator’s timetable. The line finishes on the A592 by the Patterdale Hotel bus stop, about 2 km on foot from the Glenridding pier. For about 8.8 km of its 9.9 km, all but its last kilometre, the line follows the Ullswater Way as OpenStreetMap maps it: see the National Park’s Ullswater Way page.
Conditions and timing
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Getting there and back
Parking
Ullswater 'Steamers' says there is no car parking at Howtown (read 9 Oct 2026). This walk starts off the boat: park in Glenridding and take the steamer to Howtown. Ullswater 'Steamers': Contact & Find Us (opens in new tab)
2 more places to park near the start
Positions are approximate.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
Buses
The UB1 stops at Howtown, at Pier, a 120 m walk from this start. Return buses leave from Patterdale Hotel (opp), where this walk ends. The last bus is 19:46 towards Windermere (508) and 15:09 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The UB1 passes this route at 0.1 km (Howtown, at Pier, 60 m off the line). Other services cross it too — 508 at 9.9 km. Seasonal: the UB1 does not run from 2 November 2026 to 21 March 2027.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Hard overall — hardest: Navigation (estimated from the map, not checked on the ground); terrain not assessed; exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. None of them was set on the ground: they are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | 9.9 km | 214 m | 2:20–3:06 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Aira Force — 4.4 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.