Ullswater

Ullswater is the second largest lake in the Lake District, nearly 12 kilometres long, bending in a long zigzag from Pooley Bridge in the gentle north east to Glenridding and Patterdale under the crags of the Helvellyn range in the south west. Many people consider it the most beautiful of all the lakes because of the way the scenery builds along its length.

The Ullswater Steamers, some of whose boats date back to the nineteenth century, run between Pooley Bridge, Howtown, Aira Force and Glenridding, and they make linear walks easy. The Ullswater Way, a 20 mile path round the whole lake, can be walked in sections, and the stretch from Howtown back to Glenridding along the eastern shore is one of the finest lakeside walks in Britain.

Aira Force, a National Trust waterfall in wooded grounds above the western shore, is a short walk from the car park and one of the most visited sights in the Lakes; Wordsworth's daffodils grew on the shore nearby at Glencoyne Bay. Hallin Fell above Howtown gives a big view for very little effort, and Place Fell and Helvellyn give bigger ones. Spring, when the daffodils bloom along the shore, and autumn, when the woods turn colour, are the finest seasons.

The A592 along the western shore is narrow and busy in summer, and the car parks at Aira Force and Glenridding fill early. The eastern side has only a dead end road to Howtown and Martindale, which is steep and twisting. The Steamers and buses are the relaxed way to see it.