This past weekend my wife and I took a short trip by Ullswater, mostly in the car. I wasn’t very energetic but wanted to be outside so we drove from Appleby to Glenridding and up into Patterdale as far as the Brotherswater Inn.

At the Head of Ullswater on a February Afternoon

It wasn’t an especially good February day weatherwise, but the Lake District is special at all times of years and even when a bit dull and misty. From time to time the light improved a little so I was able to get a few pictures to share here. We parked the car in Glenridding with the intention of taking a gentle stroll down to the Ullswater Steamers jetty but first diverted into the National Park information centre from which we emerged several pounds lighter (wallets, not body weight!) from some modest book-buying, and of course carrying the afternoon’s stock of Kendal Mint Cake.

Glenridding - The Greenside Copper Mine is high in the valley

Glenridding today is a tourism centre but in past centuries was populated substantially by miners seeking lead and other minerals in the mountains around. For hundreds of years they tunnelled into the rock extracting (and sometimes failing to find) the precious ores. Looking at the scenery today it is easy to forget that the hillsides that look so solid are in fact penetrated in all directions by miles of tunnels, shafts and caverns – the work of twenty or more generations of the hardy people of these mountains.

Head of Ullswater - Looking toward Patterdale from Glenridding

Following our stroll to the jetty and back (no rucksacks, boots or anything too energetic today!) we headed up Patterdale in the car. I had hoped for a photo of Brotherswater but by this time the light was poor so we turned at the Brotherswater Inn, came back down to the National Trust carpark and ate our sandwiches. From here I took this photograph of Hartsop – another old mining village now devoted to tourism.

Hartsop, Patterdale

Some day I’d like to walk up past Hartsop to Hayeswater and The Knott, stopping from time to time to reflect on the centuries when men toiled inside these mountains around Ullswater to give our ancestors the metals they needed for life in the towns and cities. Happily, there was rarely loss of life in Cumbrian metal mining, either here or at Coniston, the Newlands Valley and other major ore mining sites, but who today would want to climb a mile up a mountainside, summer and winter, to crawl into a dark damp hole at daybreak only to emerge as the sun went down or later? These were men!

Holes in the Crags

Hotels by Ullswater

Holiday Cottage near Ullswater

Click on the image above or here for details of Fellgate Farm, Helton, near Ullswater.
Holiday cottages elsewhere in the Lake District

Ullswater is easily visited while staying in centres such as Keswick, Ambleside and Penrith and here is a selection of hotels close to the lake.

• Glenridding Hotel
• The Inn on the Lake
• Patterdale Hotel
• Leeming House
• The Brackenrigg Inn
• Rampsbeck Country House Hotel
• Sharrow Bay Hotel

This afternoon I was in the process of preparing another article on Wordsworth for after Christmas (Yes, occasionally I do manage to do things in advance!) when I came across a video of Jeremy Irons reading “Daffodils”.

I hadn’t planned on putting up anything new today but am sure that many of my readers here on Around-England will enjoy this. On a cold, damp winter’s day how good it is to be able to picture the golden flowers “tossing their heads in spritely dance”.

Wasn’t that good! Spring is only three months away. Or does that sentiment offend my friends who are lovers of snow-covered mountains? Yes, I agree, there’s beauty in all the seasons.

Video from YouTube

'The Lady of the Lake' arriving at Pooley Bridge, Ullswater

The Ulswater steamer, ‘The Lady of the Lake” is thought to be the oldest working passenger vessel in the world. She has lived all her long life on Ullswater, and was first launched here in 1877.

I say “first launched” because the Lady has had a challenging life, having twice been sunk, firstly in 1881 and again by a ferocious storm in 1958. Not being one to give up she was quickly back on the water again carrying passengers to admire the beauties of the Lake District scenery but then in 1965 was damaged by a fire. It took fourteen years to get her back into action again that time, but for more than thirty years since being relaunched in 1979 she has faithfully travelled backwards and forwards between Pooley Bridge and Glenridding.

The photograph above shows her earlier this week arriving at the Pooley Bridge pier, which itself has had a difficult time in recent years. The November 2009 Lake District floods, which caused such havoc across the region, raised the water level of Ullswater several metres above normal and caused serious damage both to the booking office and the jetty. Now it is all renovated to a very high standard.

The view below was taken from ‘The Lady of the Lake’ as she approached Howtown.

The Bay at Howtown from the 'Lady of the Lake' - Ullswater

Yesterday I mentioned an excellent Winter Breaks deal at the Leeming House, overlooking Ullswater. (Later note added: This was a time-limited offer in late-2010, but click here for up-to-date details of this very nice hotel).

Today, though, I thought I’d put up a black and white photo of Ullswater from Purse Point – fifty-five years ago.  It’s from the Francis Frith collection which includes a remarkable range of photos of Lake District places, many going back into 19th century.  Click on the picture to look for more.

Reproduced courtesy of Francis Frith.

The header photo of this blog shows Ullswater in the summer time. I took it myself three or four years ago during an beautiful week with my wife on a campsite by the lakeside near Pooley Bridge.  January and February are not, of course, the months for camping holidays unless you’re really into toughing it, but that does not mean you have to give up on Ullswater’s possibilities.

During January and February 2011 (except for Valentine’s weekend) Macdonald Hotels have a special offer of  B&B at only £39 per person per night at the Leeming House.  What’s more, if you want to book for dinner also, DBB will be only £49.

This 200-year-old country house is set in more than 20 acres of gardens and woodland on the shore of Ullswater and  has great views over the lake, and yet is only about fifteen minutes drive from the M6. So it’s easily accessible and, just in case you insist on combining business with pleasure, there’s wireless internet available during your stay so you’re not shut off from the wider world.

For all the details, terms and conditions, and to book, click here or on any of  the links in the body of this post.  Don’t delay.  The offer closes on Monday, 20th December.

Oh, and by the way, although I’ve focused here on Ullswater and the Leeming House, when you click through to the Macdonald Hotels site you’ll see that the same offer is available at many other locations around the country.

The header photo both of this blog and our “English Lakes” site is of Ullswater. The second largest body of water in the Cumbrian Lake District, Ullswater is much less commercialised than the larger Windermere. There are few significant centres of human habitation. At the northeastern end of the lake is the small village of Pooley Bridge. At the southern end is Glenridding, and this is the focal point of an article in the December ’09 issue of Country Walking magazine.

Headed “48 hours in Glenridding” the article suggests walks over Place Fell on a Saturday followed by Glenridding Dodd on the Sunday morning. It also points to places to while the time away over a meal, and of course advises a trip on the Ullswater Steamer.

One of the outstanding features of Country Walking is its monthly selection of walks in places all over Britain. These “Route Cards” are graded for difficulty and arranged to be cut out and carried with you for reference. Detailed maps are included, and helpful notes on such matters as refreshments, public transport and public toilets (where there are such things). The Place Fell walk (‘Challenging’) and the Glenridding Dodd circuit (mostly ‘Easy’ but with a couple of steep and rough sections) are described in detail in this month’s selection of 27 walks.

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Next month’s issue (January 2010) has “The Lake District in Winter” as a major theme. Don’t miss it.