Accommodation Lake District
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Ullswater

Reading time 4 minutes
Category Accommodation
Reviewed July 2026

Quick Facts

Where everything sits

A quick orientation before you dive in.

  1. Another Place, The Lake — Watermillock, on the shore
  2. Lodges & cottages — the Pooley Bridge cluster
  3. Aira Force — waterfall in ancient woodland, mid-lake
  4. The Inn on the Lake — Glenridding shore
  5. The Ullswater Inn — Glenridding village
  6. Leeming House — Watermillock, mid-lake
  7. Pooley Bridge — inns and cottages at the northern end
  8. The Crown Inn — Pooley Bridge village
  9. The Pooley Bridge Inn — Pooley Bridge village
  10. The Sun Inn — Finkle Street, Pooley Bridge
  11. The Brackenrigg Inn — Watermillock, western shore
  12. Sharrow Bay — eastern shore, under restoration

Schematic — not to scale. Keswick, Borrowdale and Bassenthwaite now have their own area guide. Our scheduled pickups are a fair drive south, so private touring suits this area better.

Staying at a hotel

We're building out our coverage of this area — here's what we have so far. Note that Farlam Hall sits well outside the national park altogether, in Hadrian's Wall country, and is included here as the nearest fit rather than because it is a Lakes hotel.

Brampton — Hadrian's Wall country

Things to Do Near Farlam Hall

Well beyond the national park, in north-east Cumbria near Hadrian's Wall and the North Pennines. Private touring only from here.

~1.5 hrs from Windermere

Glenridding, southern head

Things to Do Near the Inn on the Lake

Own grounds on the shore at the wild end of the lake, with Helvellyn behind and the Steamers pier a short walk.

Walkers' end of Ullswater

Glenridding village

Things to Do Near the Ullswater Inn

In the village at the foot of Helvellyn, minutes from the pier — boots, early breakfasts and the shore path to Howtown.

Minutes from the pier

Watermillock, mid-lake

Things to Do Near Leeming House

Twenty acres of garden to the water on the gentler shore — and the closest of our guides to Aira Force.

Closest to Aira Force

Pooley Bridge village

Things to Do Near the Crown Inn

Boutique rooms and a two-tier terrace above the River Eamont — the best seat in the village on a summer evening.

Minutes from the pier

Pooley Bridge village

Things to Do Near the Pooley Bridge Inn

A proper village pub with rooms — open fires, a quiet Stable Courtyard behind, and dogs and children equally welcome.

Family rooms available

Finkle Street, Pooley Bridge

Things to Do Near the Sun Inn

Straightforward good value in the middle of the village, with free parking and a garden with a playground.

6 min walk to the lake

Watermillock, western shore

Things to Do Near the Brackenrigg Inn

Above the middle of the lake with the long view down it — and Aira Force a few minutes south.

Midway along Ullswater

Eastern shore — currently closed

Sharrow Bay: Restoration Update

The original English country house hotel, and the birthplace of sticky toffee pudding — closed since 2020 and now undergoing full restoration.

Planning granted December 2025

Pooley Bridge, northern end

Staying in Pooley Bridge

The village at the top of the lake — the pier, the bridge that washed away in 2015, and Lowther Castle a short drive east.

For any inn or cottage in the village

Lodges, parks & cottages

Pooley Bridge, Watermillock, Glenridding

Staying in an Ullswater Lodge or Cottage

The parks cluster around Pooley Bridge, with farm conversions through Watermillock and cottages at the wilder southern head.

North end vs south end explained

Book your tour days

These are the days our guests plan their whole stay around. Seven seats, expert local guides, departing Windermere railway station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library — minutes from wherever you're staying above. Book online now and your Lake District is sorted before you've packed a bag.

Morning · small group

Beatrix Potter Morning

Hill Top, Near Sawrey and the illustration-matching walk through the village that inspired the tales — a morning of pure story.

See dates & book

Afternoon · small group · by boat

Beatrix Potter Afternoon

The same Hill Top and illustration-matching walk, reached by crossing the lake by boat instead of by road — a lovely alternative approach.

See dates & book

Morning · small group

Eight Lakes Morning

The same eight lakes as the afternoon tour, run in the opposite direction — an early start in soft morning light.

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Full day · small group · Yorkshire

Brontë Country

Across the Pennines to Haworth and the wild moors that made Wuthering Heights — a full literary day out from the Lakes. Oxenholme pickup available.

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Full day · small group · Yorkshire Dales

All Creatures Great and Small

Grassington's "Darrowby", the Wensleydale Creamery, Kilnsey Crag and Bolton Abbey — the filming locations brought to life with live scene technology.

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Literary day · small group

Wordsworth Tour

Dove Cottage entry included as standard, Grasmere, and the valleys that shaped the poems — with Dora's Field golden in daffodil season.

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