Pooley Bridge sits at the northern, gentler end of Ullswater where the lake narrows into the River Eamont, and it is the practical capital of this shore: the pier, the shops, the pubs and most of the holiday parks are here or close by. If you have booked anywhere in the village — the Sun Inn, the Pooley Bridge Inn, the Crown, a cottage or one of the parks — this guide is for you.
Quick Facts
Worth knowing, because visitors often assume the handsome structure in the village is medieval. The original sixteenth-century bridge was destroyed by Storm Desmond in December 2015, when the Eamont rose far enough to take it out entirely — the village was cut in two. The replacement, opened in 2020, is a striking modern steel arch, and it is a rather good piece of design that a lot of people walk over without registering the story.
The flood marks around the village are worth looking for. This is a landscape that occasionally reminds people it is still working.
The pier here is the northern terminus and the busiest, and using the boats properly is the best thing you can do from this village. Sail the full length to Glenridding and back for the finest cheap hour in the eastern Lakes, or go one way to Howtown and walk the shoreline path — around seven miles, largely level, and rated by Wainwright as the most beautiful walk in Lakeland.
A short drive east takes you out of the national park and into country almost no visitor sees. Askham is a village of two greens with a couple of very good pubs. Lowther Castle nearby is an extraordinary thing: a vast Gothic shell, roofless since the 1950s, with the gardens around it being brought back after decades of neglect. It is romantic, strange and genuinely unlike anything else in Cumbria.
Worth saying plainly, because it still appears on booking sites and in older guidebooks. Sharrow Bay, on the eastern shore, is closed. It shut in March 2020 and went into administration that September, and has not reopened. For decades it was among the most celebrated country house hotels in England — and it is generally credited with inventing sticky toffee pudding, which is not a small legacy. If you have seen it recommended somewhere, that recommendation is out of date.
Supplies: the village has a small shop and good pubs; Penrith fifteen minutes north has the supermarkets. Parking: the village car park fills through the season — walk or use the boat. Kirkstone Pass is the direct route to Windermere and is magnificent and steep; the A66 round is longer and easier in poor weather or a large vehicle.
Our scheduled small-group tours depart from Windermere station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library — all a fair drive south over Kirkstone or round by the A66. Joining one as a day trip from here is awkward. A private day collected at the door is the practical answer, and it can run the northern fells or head south to the famous central lakes.
From Ullswater this is genuinely how it works rather than an upsell — the scheduled pickups are a fair drive away, so we collect at the door and shape the route around your party. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard, travelling safely in our vehicle crates.
Not sure which route suits your plans, or want a day built entirely from scratch — a family reunion, a wedding anniversary, scattering ashes somewhere that mattered? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll design a day around it — see our guide to celebrating a special occasion for ideas, or get in touch directly.
The grand sweep: ten lakes, the high passes between them, and an Ullswater Steamers cruise exclusive to this tour. If a celebration stay deserves one great day out, this is it.
See dates & bookCollected at the door, your party only, the day shaped to you — literary landscapes, hidden valleys, or simply the most beautiful roads we know. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard in our vehicle crates.
Enquire about a private dayDove Cottage at Grasmere — entry included as standard — and the valleys that made the poems, with Dora's Field carpeted gold in daffodil season. The right literary day for this most Georgian of addresses.
See dates & bookAcross the lake to Hill Top and Near Sawrey, with our illustration-matching walk through the village lanes — back for a long lakeside lunch.
See dates & bookThe afternoon version crosses the lake by boat rather than by road — worth choosing if you'd like the crossing itself to be part of the day.
See dates & bookA slow hall morning, then eight lakes and their valleys at a seven-seat pace — the most civilised way to spend a Lakeland afternoon.
See dates & bookThe same eight lakes as the afternoon tour, run the opposite way round in the morning — ideal if you'd rather keep your afternoon free for the lawns.
See dates & bookA full literary day east to Haworth — the Parsonage, the cobbled village, and the moors that gave Wuthering Heights its weather, newly magnetic with the recent film. Oxenholme pickup available.
See dates & bookInto the Dales for Grassington's "Darrowby", the Wensleydale Creamery, Kilnsey Crag and Bolton Abbey — filming locations brought to life around you with live scene technology.
See dates & bookNo — the sixteenth-century bridge was destroyed by Storm Desmond in December 2015. The current steel arch opened in 2020 and is worth a look in its own right.
A good deal — the Steamers run from the village pier, the shoreline walk to Howtown is superb, and the village has shops and pubs on foot. Bus service is limited compared with the central Lakes.
On private tours, yes — we can collect at your accommodation. Scheduled departures leave Windermere station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library, all a fair drive south.
Lowther Castle, a short drive east — a roofless Gothic shell with restored gardens, just outside the national park and almost unvisited by Lakeland tourists.
We are an independent local tour operator. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by any inn or cottage owner in Pooley Bridge.