28-690: Ullswater 'Steamers' is a boat company which provides leisure trips on Ullswater in the north-eastern part of the English Lake District . It is based in Glenridding , Cumbria . Founded in 1855, it currently operates five diesel powered vessels between four locations on the lake. The oldest boat in its fleet was launched in 1877. The company was founded as the Ullswater Steam Navigation Company in 1855, and originally moved mail, workers and goods between
56-657: A slipway located at the Waterside Campsite, one of Lake District Estates properties near Pooley Bridge. Ullswater Ullswater is a glacial lake in Cumbria , England and part of the Lake District National Park . It is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere . The lake is about 7 miles (11 km) long, 0.75 miles (1 km) wide, and has a maximum depth of 63 metres (207 ft). Its outflow
84-523: A two-day round-the-island race in Birkett's memory, 2018 was the 60th anniversary of the event, with Lord Birkett's granddaughter in attendance. River Eden, Cumbria The River Eden is a river that flows through Cumbria , England. It rises on Black Fell Moss, near the village of Outhgill , and runs in a generally north-westerly direction through the Vale of Eden and Solway Plain before reaching
112-565: Is River Eamont , which meets the River Eden at Brougham Castle before flowing into the Solway Firth . The lake is in the administrative county of Westmorland and Furness and the ceremonial county of Cumbria . It is a typical Lake District " ribbon lake ", formed after the last ice age by a glacier scooping out the valley floor, which then filled with meltwater . Ullswater was formed by three glaciers. Surrounding hills give it
140-424: Is a popular tourist destination containing many campsites, static caravan parks, and holiday parks. The rural setting gives plenty of space for pitching tents as well as woodland shelter and screening. In 2022 greylag geese on the lake were seen to be dragged underwater by several witnesses on different occasions. The cause is unknown, though there was speculation that a large pike , a wels catfish or an otter
168-494: Is also the Old Norse noun meaning wolf, and Hutchinson thought that the name might refer to the lake as a resort of wolves, or to its elbow-shaped bend (citing a Celtic ulle )." Some say it comes from the name of a Nordic chief named Ulf, who ruled over the area. There was also a Saxon Lord of Greystoke called Ulphus, whose land bordered the lake. The lake may have been named Ulf's Water in honour of either of these, or after
196-595: Is in common ownership with the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway , a 7 miles (11.3 km) minimum gauge heritage railway that operates to the western side of the Lake District. Both companies form part of the Lake District Estates group, which also owns various tourist oriented properties in the area, and is controlled by Lord Wakefield's descendants. The vessels of the fleet are maintained on
224-608: Is the highest waterfall along its journey to the sea). The steep-sided dale of Mallerstang later opens out to become the Vale of Eden . The river flows through Kirkby Stephen and Appleby-in-Westmorland , and receives the water of many becks flowing off the Pennines to the east, and longer rivers from the Lake District off to the west, including the River Lyvennet , River Leith and River Eamont , which arrives via Ullswater and Penrith . Continuing north, it formed
252-641: The Greenside Mine at Glenridding and the village of Pooley Bridge at the opposite end of the lake. On 13 August 1859, the company's first purpose-built vessel, the paddle steamer Enterprise , was launched, although it subsequently sank in the lake. In 1877, the company introduced the steam powered pleasure cruiser the Lady of the Lake , and this was joined in 1889 by the Raven . Both are still in service. In 1900
280-476: The Norse god Ullr . Hodgson Hill, an earthwork on the north-east shoreline of Ullswater may be the remains of a Viking fortified settlement. Glenridding , is situated at the southern end of the lake, Pooley Bridge is at the northern end, other villages situated on Ullswater include Howtown , Sandwick and Watermillock . Ullswater is overlooked by Dunmallard Hill , which was the site of an Iron Age fort, on
308-821: The River Petteril and River Caldew from the south, as it winds through Carlisle . Its junction with the River Caldew in north Carlisle marks the point where Hadrian's Wall crosses the Eden, only five miles before both reach their end at the tidal flats. It enters the Solway Firth near the mouth of the River Esk after a total distance of approximately 81 miles (130 km). The river supports Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) and Eurasian otter ( Lutra lutra ). The river and its tributaries are designated
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#1732779723285336-468: The 1850s moved mail, workers and goods to and from the Greenside Mine at Glenridding, which closed in 1962. A 20 miles (32 km) walking route the Ullswater Way was officially opened in 2016 by writer and broadcaster Eric Robson . The route can be walked in either direction and from any starting point. Ullswater is also a sailing location with several marinas round the lake. It is home to
364-726: The Ullswater Yacht Club and the Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy, held annually on the first weekend in July. This regularly attracts over 200 sailing boats for two races covering the length of the lake. There are also facilities for diving, rowing and motorboats. Another of attraction is the waterfall of Aira Force , midway along the lake on the western side. Ullswater lies partly within the National Trust 's Ullswater and Aira Force property. Close to
392-569: The boundary between the counties of Cumbria and North Yorkshire ; the river gave its name to the former Eden district of Cumbria. Two other rivers arise in the same peat bogs here, within a kilometre of each other: the River Swale and River Ure . It starts life as Red Gill Beck , then becomes Hell Gill Beck, before turning north and joining with Ais Gill Beck to become the River Eden. (Hell Gill Force, just before it meets Ais Gill Beck,
420-587: The bridge at Pooley Bridge, severing connection between the village and pier. Both the pier and the ticket office at Glenridding were flooded. By Easter 2016, services had recommenced and a replacement bridge built; the Lady Wakefield was relaunched in May and docked for repairs. Ullswater 'Steamers' currently operates a fleet of five vessels from four jetties on Ullswater at Glenridding , Pooley Bridge , Howtown and Aira Force . Two services are operated, with
448-532: The company was renamed as the Ullswater Navigation and Transit Company . In the 1930s, the company converted its fleet of two steam powered pleasure cruisers, the Lady of the Lake and the Raven , to operate on diesel engines. In 1954 Sir Wavell Wakefield bought a controlling shareholding in Ullswater 'Steamers' to prevent the company from being wound up. The company is still in the ownership of
476-556: The diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice and his brother Stephen Spring Rice , were brought up there. Nearby Aira Force has several memorials to members of the Spring family . In 1962 Lord Birkett led a campaign to prevent Ullswater from becoming a reservoir. He died one day after the proposition was defeated in the House of Lords and he is commemorated with a plaque on Kailpot Crag. The Birkett Regatta, held each year in early July, involves
504-540: The eastern boundary of Inglewood Forest . It passes close to the ancient stone circle known as Long Meg and Her Daughters and through the sparsely populated beef and dairy farming regions of the vale of Cumbria on the Solway Plain . After flowing through Wetheral , where it is crossed by Corby Bridge , a Grade I listed railway viaduct of 1834, it merges with the River Irthing from the east, followed by
532-408: The falls is Lyulph's Tower, a pele tower or castellated building built by a former Duke of Norfolk as a shooting box. The Sharrow Bay Country House hotel stands on the lake's eastern shore. Donald Campbell set the world water speed record on Ullswater on 23 July 1955, when he piloted the jet-propelled hydroplane "Bluebird K7" to a speed of 202.32 mph (325.53 km/h). Ullswater Lake
560-494: The family of Lord Wakefield, as Sir Wavell subsequently became. In 2001, the company started to operate sailings during the winter; it had previously only operated during the summer tourist season. Between the years of 2001 and 2010, three additional vessels were acquired by the company, these being the Lady Dorothy , Lady Wakefield and Western Belle . All three were acquired from previous salt-water service and conveyed to
588-407: The lake by road. In 2015 a new jetty was opened by the company at Aira Force . The company was affected by the series of storms ( Desmond , Eva and Frank ) that hit Cumbria at the end of 2015. The Lady Wakefield , moored at Pooley Bridge Pier, broke free during Desmond and was damaged by the pier, resulting in her being deliberately driven ashore to save her from sinking. The same storm destroyed
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#1732779723285616-444: The main service providing a link the length of the lake between Glenridding, Howtown and Pooley Bridge, whilst a second shorter service connects Glenridding and Aira Force. The service frequency varies depending on the time of year, up to a roughly hourly service on both routes in summer. In addition to its scheduled passenger services, the company's vessels can be hired for private functions and parties on Ullswater. The steamer company
644-734: The sea at the Solway Firth . The river was known to the Romans as the Itouna , as recorded by the Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) in the 2nd century AD. This name derives from the Celtic word ituna , meaning water , or rushing . Thus there is no relation to the biblical Garden of Eden . The Eden rises in Black Fell Moss , Mallerstang , on the high ground between High Seat, Yorkshire Dales and Hugh Seat . Here it forms
672-407: The shape of an extenuated "Z" with three segments or reaches winding through them. For much of its length, Ullswater formed the border between the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland . The origin of the name Ullswater is uncertain. Whaley suggests "Ulf's lake", from Old Norse personal name Ulfr plus Middle English water, influenced in usage by the Old Norse vatn (water or lake). Ulfr
700-575: The western side of the lake is the Aira Force waterfall . The lake has been a tourist destination since the mid-18th century. By the 1890s, Ullswater had become a fashionable holiday destination for the British aristocracy, thanks to its good sailing conditions and proximity to fell shooting estates. In 1912, Wilhelm II, German Emperor visited Ullswater and toured the lake on the MY Raven , which
728-452: Was inspired to write his famous poem Daffodils after seeing daffodils growing on the shores of Ullswater on his journey back to Grasmere . Wordsworth once wrote of "Ullswater, as being, perhaps, upon the whole, the happiest combination of beauty and grandeur, which any of the Lakes affords". The politician William Marshall lived on the Ullswater shore at Watermillock . His descendants,
756-529: Was re-fitted to act as a royal yacht. A shooting lodge (The Bungalow) was constructed for the Kaiser at Martindale by the major local landowner, Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale . Ullswater's attractions include the Ullswater "Steamers" which offer trips around the lake calling at Pooley Bridge, Glenridding, Howtown and Aira Force. These sail all the year round and were originally working boats which from
784-706: Was responsible. Dr Roger Sweeting, of the Freshwater Biological Association , also suggested that the birds could have become entangled in discarded fishing line and had become exhausted, losing their stability. Just south of Pooley Bridge on the lake's eastern shore is Eusemere , where anti-slavery campaigner Thomas Clarkson (1760–1846) lived; the house gives one of the best views of the lower reach of Ullswater. William and Dorothy Wordsworth were friends of Clarkson and visited on many occasions. After visiting Clarkson in April 1802, Wordsworth
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