The Ullswater Inn sits in Glenridding at the foot of Helvellyn, a few minutes from the Steamers pier. It is a walkers' village first and foremost — boots, weather talk and early breakfasts — and the inn suits that well. This guide covers what to do from the door whether or not you intend to go up anything.
Quick Facts
Glenridding exists because of the fells around it — first as a lead-mining settlement, then as a base for people going up things. The practical consequences are good ones: early breakfasts, drying rooms, a village shop that sells maps and blister plasters, and pubs where nobody minds boots. It also means the village empties by mid-morning and fills again at five, which makes the middle of the day unexpectedly peaceful.
It is worth knowing that Glenridding flooded badly in 2015 and rebuilt itself; the becks running through the village are managed rather more carefully now.
Take the Steamer to Howtown and walk the shoreline path back — about seven miles, largely level, and rated by Wainwright as the most beautiful walk in Lakeland. It is the single best day out from this village for anyone who does not want a summit, and the boat leg makes it feel like an expedition rather than a stroll.
North along the lake, Aira Force falls sixty-five feet through ancient woodland. It is also the ground where Dorothy Wordsworth saw the daffodils she described in her journal — the entry her brother turned into the most famous poem in English two years later. The National Trust car park fills early; go first thing.
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 & bookIn Glenridding village at the southern head of Ullswater, a few minutes from the Steamers pier and at the foot of the Helvellyn range.
On private tours, yes — we collect at the inn. Scheduled departures leave Windermere station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library, all a fair drive south.
Sail to Howtown and walk the shoreline path back — around seven miles, largely level, and one of the finest low-level walks in England.
Reasonably — the Steamers work as transport, the 508 bus runs the valley seasonally, and the village has shops and pubs on foot. Services thin out in winter.
We are an independent local tour operator. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Ullswater Inn.