Ullswater, Lake District

You’ve arrived in England’s largest national park, the Lake District, where land rises and falls as if carved out by giants hands; creating implausible valleys walled by endless mountains, peaks and fells. Boasting the countries most breath-taking meres and glacial lakes, there are just as many water-sports activities here as tramping and hiking.

The area has a great history with literature, with William and Dorothy Wordsworth making it their home, as well as Beatrix Potter and John Ruskin. There are plenty of quaint villages and market towns to explore the national park from, such as Kendal, Ambleside and Keswick. The natural beauty of this area draws in hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, but with so many hiking trails to discover, you won’t find the pathways here too crowded unless its the summer holidays.

Ullswater is the second largest lake (or mere) in the Lake District, being 7 miles long and just under a mile wide. William Wordsworth was a frequent visitor to the Ullswater area and wrote three poems about the Aira Force waterfall nearby.

On 15th April 1802, William and Dorothy Wordsworth were out walking and passed a strip of land at Ullswater. Although there is no record of the fact, it is almost certain that this gave William the inspiration for his most famous poem “Daffodils”. A lover of this poem, you can understand why I wanted to visit the area where Wordsworth stood and dreamt up this beautiful stanza.

Our gorgeous cat Selma enveloped by a host of golden daffodils

Daffodils by William Wordsworth:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Start/end point: Car park opposite the Patterdale Hotel

Average duration: 4-5 hours

Distance: 14km loop walk

When to go: Year round

Difficulty: Moderate - wear trainers or walking boots as the start/end sections of the walk are extremely steep

Maps/Info: A popular route for hikers, there are a couple of signposts in the village of Patterdale which lead you to trails up towards the view of the lake, and the pathways are certainly well trodden. This route is not fully signposted.

All trails provides an in depth guide of the walk here:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/england/cumbria/ullswater-circular-route

The hike:

Leaving the car park in Patterdale and starting out on the pathway going anti-clockwise, you go past the public toilets and left over a small body of water, starting the hike with a short but very steep climb towards Rooking where you will see the path split in two; take the right trail which heads towards Boardale Head. The route is quite undulating and technical for the first 5km, with loose stones underfoot and sections which can be quite muddy if there has been recent rainfall.

Carrying on through lush green pathway, you will be surrounded by giant ferns on the side of the fell you are skirting. The route has now evened out and is more gentle than uphill; you will be able to take in your surroundings better. You may find yourself crossing small streams or babbling brooks on this side of the walk, as several small bodies of water criss-cross along and through the mountain pathways; coming from or going to the nearby lakes.

On the path you will come to Howsteadbrow, a settlement of a few stone houses where you join a ‘road’. Continue along this road and past the houses, after another 100m or so you will see a trail off to the left, leaving the road, take it. Another 100m and you will cross a small stream which is Borrowdale Beck. Keep to this pathway for another kilometre, heading straight for the small hamlet of Sandwick. If you want to stop here for a drink there is a café at Beckside Farm about 200m off route (check opening hours before you go).

Rejoining the path again you will be able to see glimpses of the body of Ullswater mere to your right through Scalehow Woods. You are now on the path that is heading back towards where you started the walk. The woods to your right are lavish and enchanting, lending yet another scenic backdrop to the walk. The end of the woods converges with the pathway you are on and you come out on the very edge of the land high above the lake, with panoramic vistas in all directions. You’ve been scouting for the views of Ullswater throughout the hike, wondering when it will appear and what it will look like. Now it has now been thrown harshly and dramatically upon you. Water is everywhere.

The path is easy from here, keep the water on your right hand side and follow the main trail all the way back. If you’re lucky enough you may encounter some waterfalls near Birkfell Slack and at other points on the route. The nature of the lake district is that the water changes its course frequently, with the amount of rainfall determining whether new routes need to be carved out to let it through, which they constantly do.

Towards the end of the route you will pass Side Farm Campsite and then in no time at all you come back towards the split pathway you took at the start. Turn right and you’ll be just outside Patterdale, with a steep descent back into the village.

Jumping for joy close to the end of the walk!