Ullswater
On Gingerguide's self-guided Lake District audio tour, Ullswater is a stop worth about ~90 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type nature
- Suggested visit ~90 min
- Lake District Lake District guide
About Ullswater
Often called the loveliest lake, a graceful zig-zag through the fells where Wordsworth's daffodils grew, with Victorian 'Steamers', the Aira Force waterfall, and Helvellyn rising above.
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, after Windermere, about 11 km long and up to 1 km wide, with a maximum depth of about 63 metres. Carved by glaciers, it winds through the hills in a graceful zig-zag of three reaches. It was on its western shore, at Glencoyne Bay, that William and Dorothy Wordsworth saw the wild daffodils in April 1802 that inspired William's poem 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'.
The Ullswater 'Steamers' run passenger boats the length of the lake year-round; their oldest vessels, MY Lady of the Lake (1877) and MY Raven (1889), are on the National Historic Fleet, and the Lady of the Lake is believed to be one of the oldest working passenger vessels in the world. Near the shore, Aira Force is a waterfall of about 20 metres in the National Trust's Gowbarrow Park.
Did you know? On a windy April day in 1802, William and Dorothy Wordsworth saw wild daffodils along Ullswater's shore. Dorothy's journal entry inspired the poem every English child learns, 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'.
How much time do you need at Ullswater?
Around ~90 min works well for Ullswater — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Ullswater?
Yes — Ullswater made the cut as one of 13 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Lake District. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Lake District
Day 2 of the Lake District in 2 days itinerary →
Updated:
Hear the story of Ullswater
Preview the Lake District tour free in the Gingerguide app.