15 Lake/ River/ Ponds to Explore in Cumbria

Checkout places to visit in Cumbria

The largest and most widespread industry in Cumbria is tourism. The Lake District National Park alone receives some 15.8 million visitors every year.World-famous for its beautiful lakes and mountainous fells, carved out long ago by glaciers, the Lake District today is a playground for walkers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Popular Activities And Trips in Cumbria

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Lake/ River/ Ponds to Explore in Cumbria

Bassenthwaite Lake

Bassenthwaite Lake, owned by the National Park Authority, is one of the largest at 4 miles long and 3/4 mile wide, but also one of the shallowest. It is the most northerly of the lakes and has no major settlements on its shores. It is often full of sailing boats from Bassenthwaite Sailing Club. This Lake is a very important place for wildlife. Hundreds of birds including the osprey migrate to the lake and fish such as Atlantic salmon come to Bassenthwaite Lake to spawn.

Brothers Water is in the Hartsop valley and is a small lake in the eastern region of the Lake District. The lake is located at the foot of Kirkstone Pass, where the road climbs from the valley of Patterdale before descending to the more visited areas of Ambleside and Windermere. The small lake sustains a trout population and is one of four locations in the Lake District to harbour a rare species of fish, the Schelly.

Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. The classic combination of lakes and mountains has made this popular with visitors since the beginning of tourism in the Lake District. The popular lake is regularly voted as one of the country’s favourite views.

Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a modest height of 451 m but despite this, it is one of the most popular fells in the area. Its distinctive shape catches the attention of many visitors to the Lakes who feel compelled to climb to the summit after seeing it from the viewpoint of Friars' Crag on the opposite side of Derwentwater.

A beautiful lake located in a picturesque location which is about half a mile down from the village, where you can hire boats and bikes from Coniston Boating Centre. There are shops, pubs, and places to eat in the village, and a range of guest houses, B and Bs and holiday cottages in Coniston and nearby. More recently Coniston Water was used to transport slate and ore from the many mines worked in the Coppermines Valley above Coniston village. It has three small islands, all owned by the Nationa

Crummock Water is the longest of three lakes in the Buttermere Valley cared for by the National Trust. This long lake is often ignored by visitors in favour of its smaller neighbour, Buttermere, and as such it offers a quieter alternative for a lakeside picnic and paddle if you are willing to walk a short distance.

Derwentwater, at 3 miles long, 1 mile wide, and 72 feet deep, is just a short stroll from Keswick town along well-maintained footpaths. The lake is very much a landscape of moods, varying from the dramatic waves splashing against Friar’s Crag when driven by southerly gales, to the absolute mirror-calm of early mornings. One of the iconic locations where you can spend some time and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Ennerdale Water

Ennerdale is the most westerly of the lakes, and the most remote, so it offers, even in high season, a place to escape. It is a deep glacial lake, 2.5 miles long 3/4 mile wide and 148 feet deep. It is a reservoir used for drinking water to supply the surrounding towns and villages. To the west of the lake lies the hamlet of Ennerdale Bridge, consisting of two pubs and a few houses. It is close to the port of Whitehaven.

Esthwaite Water

A beautiful natural 280-acre private water situated in the heart of the English Lake District with excellent facilities for boat or bank fishing. The lake has a mean depth of 6.9m, covers an area of 0.96km² and its drainage area forms part of the larger Windermere catchment. It is designated both as a Natural England Site of Special Scientific Interest and as a Ramsar Convention site on account of its diverse macrophyte community and the well developed hydrosere at the northern end of the lake.

Haweswater Reservoir

Haweswater is a reservoir built in the valley of Mardale. It started as a natural lake. Due to water demand increase, the reservoir system was built between 1935 and 1947. The dam was the first hollow buttress dam in the world. One of the iconic attraction in this area and attracts a lot of people here.

Loweswater is a peaceful lake that is often bypassed and nestled in a wooded valley in the far west of the Lake District. The lake is owned by the National Trust and rowboats can be hired from Watergate Farm located at the southern end of the lake. The lake is unusual in the radial drainage pattern of the Lake District in draining towards the center of the Lake District.

Rydal Water is one of the smallest lakes at 3/4 mile long, 1/4 mile wide and with a depth of 55 feet, but it is very popular partly because of its Wordsworth connections. Steps lead up from the western end of the lake to ‘Wordsworth’s Seat’ – reputedly the poet’s favourite viewpoint. The lake is both supplied and drained by the river Rothay, which flows from Grasmere upstream and towards Windermere downstream.

Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for instance, Armboth Fell and Raven Crag both of which give views of the lake and of Helvellyn beyond. It occupies the site of a former natural lake: this had a fordable waist so narrow that it was (and is) sometimes regarded as two lakes.

One of England's most beautiful lakes located in the Lake District national park sand it provides an ideal destination for holidaymakers and sits amidst in the splendor of some of the finest fells In Lakeland. The lake has three distinct bends giving it a dog’s leg appearance. Surrounded by gently rolling countryside at the northern end around Pooley Bridge, a trip south down the lakeshore gives way to sheer fellsides that drop away into the water below, culminating in the majesty of England’s t

Wastwater is perhaps the most awe-inspiring of all the lakes. Surrounded by mountains, Red Pike, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, and Scafell Pike – England’s highest mountain. The view takes in the lake with the mountains of Yewbarrow, Great Gable, and Lingmell behind. It forms the basis for the National Park's logo. Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, lies at the top of Lingmell.

Map of Lake/ River/ Ponds to Explore in Cumbria