Having only ever visited the more crowded southern lakes in the Lake District (Windermere and Coniston, I’m talking about you), I was excited to experience something new. Not that Ullswater is a “hidden gem”. Lord, no. But it’s slightly less touristed than some of the others, which is both unfair and yet rewarding at the same time.
We began the day by driving to Pooley Bridge, where we parked the car and hopped on an Ullswater Steamer. Having gotten over the initial disappointment of the fact that it wasn’t an actual steam boat (I had visions of Mississippi paddle boats in my head like the fool that I am), I enjoyed taking in the scenery and snapping a few pictures as we sailed along to Glenridding.
It was here that we alighted the boat and set off on the Ullswater Way; a 20-mile walking route around Ullswater Lake. Since moving back to the UK, Scott and I have kinda sorta taken up walking. And before you say it – yes, I know we walk around on our two feet every day. I mean walking as in walking; up hills and the like. So we walked the length of the path from Glenridding to Howtown (a distance of around 6.5 miles), only stopping halfway for a quick snack on some Kendal mint cake (when you’re in the Lakes it’s the law to buy Kendal mint cake, no?).
The route is fairly new, as attested by the not-yet-weather-beaten signposts that point you in the right direction at regular intervals. The path can be walked in any direction, and forms a circular loop around the lake, starting and ending in Pooley Bridge (with sections that run to Aira Force, Glenridding and Howtown). The section that we walked takes in several hills and rocky stretches, as well as some more remote woodland, but Wainwright supposedly called it “the most beautiful and rewarding walk in Lakeland”. Who can argue with that?
Once we’d completed our walk, we wanted to get a higher aerial perspective of the lake, something we hadn’t really gotten on the path as we’d been walking around the perimeter of it. So we asked a few locals for their advice on which of the surrounding fells to climb for the best view, and the unequivocal answer was Hallin Fell.
By this point, my legs were starting to give up, and the sun came out, which made climbing the steep ascent a little harder. But once we got to the top and saw the amazing views, it was all worth it.
Making the descent was slightly easier than making our way up, but we were hurrying as we didn’t want to miss the last steamer of the day that was departing from Howtown. Being just a small hamlet with very few amenities and no taxis in sight, the last thing we wanted was to be stranded as it was going dark and have to walk all the way back to Pooley Bridge!
After all of that exertion, we decided to treat ourselves to fish and chips for dinner in the town of Penrith (not far from our B&B), at a place that had been recommended to us by a local. We filled ourselves up at the Angel Lane Chippy, before retiring back to the Basset, who had been blissfully snoozing on her bed all day and had no inkling that we’d been huffing-and-puffing up hills. Ahhh, the ignorance (read: bliss?) of a dog’s life.
Leave a Reply