Ullswater is a

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

, England and part of the

Lake District National Park The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

. It is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after

Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

. The lake is about long, wide, and has a maximum depth of . Its outflow is

River Eamont The River Eamont is a river in Cumbria, England and one of the major tributaries of the River Eden. The name of the river is from Old English (ēa-gemōt) and is a back formation from Eamont Bridge which means the ''junction of streams.'' T ...

, which meets the River Eden at

Brougham Castle Brougham Castle (pronounced ) is a medieval building about south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, ha ...

before flowing into the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

. The lake is in the administrative county of

Westmorland and Furness Westmorland and Furness is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Cumbria, England. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, Royal ...

and the ceremonial county of

Geography

It is a typical Lake District "

ribbon lake A ribbon lake is a long and very deep, finger-shaped lake, usually found in a glacial trough. As such, a ribbon lake is one of a number of glacial landscapes, including arêtes, corries, rock lips, rock basins and terminal moraines. Such a la ...

", formed after the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

by a

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

scooping out the valley floor, which then filled with

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

. Ullswater was formed by three glaciers. Surrounding hills give it the shape of an extenuated "Z" with three segments or reaches winding through them. For much of its length, Ullswater formed the border between the historic counties of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

Etymology

The origin of the name Ullswater is uncertain. Whaley suggests "Ulf's lake", from Old Norse personal name Ulfr plus Middle English water, influenced in usage by the Old Norse ''vatn'' (water or lake). ''Ulfr'' is also the Old Norse noun meaning wolf, and Hutchinson thought that the name might refer to the lake as a resort of wolves, or to its elbow-shaped bend (citing a Celtic ''ulle'')." Some say it comes from the name of a Nordic chief named Ulf, who ruled over the area.www.ullswater.visitor-centre.co.uk.
Gives meaning of name as "Ulf's Water". There was also a Saxon Lord of Greystoke called Ulphus, whose land bordered the lake. The lake may have been named Ulf's Water in honour of either of these, or after the Norse god

Ullr In Norse mythology, Ullr (Old Norse: ) is a Æsir, god associated with skiing. Although literary attestations of Ullr are sparse, evidence including relatively ancient place-name evidence from Scandinavia suggests that he was a major god in ear ...

. Hodgson Hill, an earthwork on the north-east shoreline of Ullswater may be the remains of a

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

fortified settlement.

Settlements

Glenridding Glenridding is a village at the southern end of Ullswater, in the English Lake District. The village is popular with mountain walkers who can scale England's third-highest mountain, Helvellyn, and many other challenging peaks from there. Et ...

, is situated at the southern end of the lake,

Pooley Bridge Pooley Bridge is a village in the Westmorland and Furness of the northwestern English county of Cumbria, within the traditional borders of Westmorland. The village takes its name from a bridge over the River Eamont at the northern end of Ul ...

is at the northern end, other villages situated on Ullswater include

Howtown Howtown is a hamlet in Cumbria, England, situated at a small harbour on the east shore of Ullswater in the Lake District. It lies within the civil parish of Martindale. Howtown is about three and a half miles from Pooley Bridge and is best re ...

, Sandwick and

Watermillock Watermillock is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Matterdale, in the Westmorland and Furness district, in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It is on the western shore of Ullswater, in the English Lake District. I ...

. Ullswater is overlooked by

Dunmallard Hill Dunmallet or Dunmallard Hill is a small hill in the English Lake District, near Pooley Bridge, Cumbria. It is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book ''The Outlying Fells of Lakeland''. It reaches and Wainwright describes the ascent, from ...

, which was the site of an Iron Age fort, on the western side of the lake is the Aira Force waterfall.

Activities

The lake has been a tourist destination since the mid-18th century. By the 1890s, Ullswater had become a fashionable holiday destination for the British aristocracy, thanks to its good sailing conditions and proximity to fell shooting estates. In 1912,

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

visited Ullswater and toured the lake on the MY ''Raven'', which was re-fitted to act as a royal yacht. A shooting lodge (The Bungalow) was constructed for the Kaiser at Martindale by the major local landowner,

Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale Hugh Cecil Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, (25 January 1857–13 April 1944) was an English peer and sportsman. He was president of Bertram Mills Olympia Circus and a vice-president of the RSPCA. Early life Born in 1857, he was the second so ...

. Ullswater's attractions include the Ullswater "Steamers" which offer trips around the lake calling at Pooley Bridge, Glenridding, Howtown and Aira Force. These sail all the year round and were originally working boats which from the 1850s moved mail, workers and goods to and from the Greenside Mine at Glenridding, which closed in 1962. A walking route the Ullswater Way was officially opened in 2016 by writer and broadcaster

Eric Robson Eric Bell Robson (born 31 December 1946) is a television broadcaster, author and documentary film maker who has lived for most of his life in Cumbria, where he has a Sheep husbandry, sheep farm. For many years he was the main presenter of Brass ...

. The route can be walked in either direction and from any starting point. Ullswater is also a sailing location with several marinas round the lake. It is home to the Ullswater Yacht Club and the Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy, held annually on the first weekend in July. This regularly attracts over 200 sailing boats for two races covering the length of the lake. There are also facilities for diving, rowing and motorboats. Another of attraction is the waterfall of

Aira Force Aira Force is a waterfall in the English Lake District, in the civil parish of Matterdale and the county of Cumbria. The site of the waterfall is owned by the National Trust. Description The stream flowing over the waterfall is Aira Beck, which ...

, midway along the lake on the western side. Ullswater lies partly within the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

's Ullswater and Aira Force property. Close to the falls is Lyulph's Tower, a

pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

or castellated building built by a former

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The premier non-royal peer, the Duke of Norfolk is additionally the premier duke and earl in the English peerage. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the t ...

as a shooting box. The Sharrow Bay Country House hotel stands on the lake's eastern shore.

Donald Campbell Donald Malcolm Campbell, (23 March 1921 – 4 January 1967) was a British speed record breaker who broke eight absolute world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s. He remains the only person to set both world land a ...

set the world

water speed record The world unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle, irrespective of propulsion method. The current unlimited record is , achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the ''Spirit of Austra ...

on Ullswater on 23 July 1955, when he piloted the jet-propelled hydroplane "Bluebird K7" to a speed of 202.32 mph (325.53 km/h). Ullswater Lake is a popular tourist destination containing many campsites, static caravan parks, and holiday parks. The rural setting gives plenty of space for pitching tents as well as woodland shelter and screening.

Ullswater geese deaths

In 2022 greylag geese on the lake were seen to be dragged underwater by several witnesses on different occasions. The cause is unknown, though there was speculation that a large

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

, a

wels catfish The wels catfish ( or ; ''Silurus glanis''), also called sheatfish or just wels, is a large species of catfish native to wide areas of central, southern, and eastern Europe, in the basins of the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. It has been intro ...

or an

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

was responsible. Dr Roger Sweeting, of the

Freshwater Biological Association The Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) is an independent scientific organisation founded in 1929 in Cumbria by Felix Eugen Fritsch, William Harold Pearsall, Francis Balfour-Browne, and Robert Gurney among others. Whilst originally created to ...

, also suggested that the birds could have become entangled in discarded fishing line and had become exhausted, losing their stability.

Notable people

Just south of Pooley Bridge on the lake's eastern shore is ''Eusemere'', where anti-slavery campaigner

Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...

(1760–1846) lived; the house gives one of the best views of the lower reach of Ullswater.

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and

Dorothy Wordsworth Dorothy Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romanticism, Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had ...

were friends of Clarkson and visited on many occasions. After visiting Clarkson in April 1802, Wordsworth was inspired to write his famous poem ''

Daffodils ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', ''I ...

'' after seeing daffodils growing on the shores of Ullswater on his journey back to Grasmere. Wordsworth once wrote of "Ullswater, as being, perhaps, upon the whole, the happiest combination of beauty and grandeur, which any of the Lakes affords". The politician William Marshall lived on the Ullswater shore at

. His descendants, the diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice and his brother Stephen Spring Rice, were brought up there. Nearby

has several memorials to members of the

Spring family The Spring family is a Suffolk Landed gentry, gentry family that has been involved in the politics and economy of East Anglia since the 15th century, as well as holding large estates in Ireland from the 16th century.Joseph Jackson Howard, ‘Spri ...

. In 1962 Lord Birkett led a campaign to prevent Ullswater from becoming a reservoir. He died one day after the proposition was defeated in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

and he is commemorated with a plaque on Kailpot Crag. The Birkett Regatta, held each year in early July, involves a two-day round-the-island race in Birkett's memory, 2018 was the 60th anniversary of the event, with Lord Birkett's granddaughter in attendance.

Gallery

Ullswater, Howtown Pier, Lake District, England.jpg, Lake steamer at Howtown Pier, Ullswater, circa 1895 Sailing on Ullswater - geograph.org.uk - 173422.jpg, Sailing is a common activity on Ullswater Place Fell viewed across Ullswater - geograph.org.uk - 192932.jpg, Place Fell viewed across Ullswater DV342 Ullswater from above Pattersdale.png, Ullswater painted in 1825 Ullswater from Glencoynedale.JPG, Ullswater from Seldom Seen in Glencoynedale STEAMER ON ULLSWATER.jpg, Ullswater steamer SS ''Lady of the Lake'' leaves Glenridding Ullswater - geograph.org.uk - 192925.jpg, View south towards Patterdale Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel.jpg, Sharrow Bay Country House 500 Pilothouse LDNPA.JPG, Quicksilver 500 Pilothouse used by the Lake District National Park Authority The Western Belle on Ullswater.jpg, The ''Western Belle'' on Ullswater Alder tree at Ullswater.jpg, An alder tree at Ullswater

References

External links

Ullswater and Aira Force information at the National TrustUllswater Yacht ClubUllswater 'Steamers'Ullswater Information, Photos and EventsThe Cumbria Directory - Ullswater
{{authority control Tourist attractions in Cumbria Lakes of the Lake District Westmorland and Furness National Trust properties in the Lake District Cumberland Westmorland LUllswater