Ullswater

Ullswater bends twice along about twelve kilometres, which is why no single viewpoint takes in the whole lake and why it is often called the most beautiful in England. The Ullswater Steamers have run since 1859, and two of the boats, Lady of the Lake of 1877 and Raven of 1889, are still in service, among the oldest working passenger vessels anywhere. The path along the eastern shore from Howtown to Glenridding, about eleven kilometres, is generally reckoned the best low-level walk in the Lake District and is usually done one way with the steamer back. Wordsworth saw the daffodils at Glencoyne Bay in 1802, which his sister Dorothy recorded in her journal and which became his best-known poem. Helvellyn rises directly above the western shore.

What you actually see

• The Victorian steamers - working boats of 1877 and 1889 still in service.
• The Howtown shore path - eleven kilometres widely called the district's best walk.
• Glencoyne Bay - the shore where the Wordsworths saw the daffodils in 1802.
• The double bend - a Z-shaped lake that never shows itself all at once.

When to go

April to October for the steamers and the shore path; daffodils at Glencoyne are out in late March and April. Autumn colour on the eastern shore is excellent and the paths are quieter.

Honest expectations

Glenridding parking is limited and charged and fills early. The shore path is rocky and undulating rather than flat, and takes four hours or more. Steamer sailings reduce sharply out of season and cancel in high wind.

Nearby

Aira Force is on the western shore; Helvellyn rises above Glenridding.