The lower path.

On the way to the steamer I pass a walled terrace with the Birkett Memorial, it could have all been so different.

The Lady of the Lake, launched in 1877, glides into the jetty at Pooley Bridge. An enthusiastic crowd buoyed by the perfect weather climb aboard.  The lake is mirror calm. Only a handful disembark at the Howtown jetty and all disappear into the surroundings.

I go in search of The Howtown Hotel, which I used to frequent when we holidayed here with our young children.  Sadly, it is closed. But there is a nearby tea room  They tell me that the hotel may be booked in its entirety only, eight rooms.  Maybe a place for a family and friends celebration weekend! They have a lovely view from the garden.

Anyway, I enjoy my coffee and get into conversation with a couple of cyclists from the North East. One always comes across a lot of northeasterners in this part of the Lakes . I meet more as the day goes on, all very friendly.

It’s time to get walking . I’m already off route at the café so just follow the road up the hill to join the bridleway, traversing the fell side at about 200m under Bonscale Pike. I have to keep stopping to take in the views of familiar hills across Ullswater, especially up to the head of the lake. I watch the steamers and boats coming and going into Howtown Bay. What an idyllic setting. 

The Ullswater Way comes up to join the track I’m on, and I pick up the daffodil waymarks. It was on the shores of Ullswater that Wordsworth apparently saw the daffodils that inspired his well-known poem.

Shortly after, I’m faced with a choice – a higher route visiting the stone circle up on  Askham Fell or a lower route above the lake. I was around the antiquities before so I don’t feel guilty about choosing the lower route. Dunmallard at Pooley Bridge is getting closer, Sharrow Bay is down there somewhere, its famous hotel being refurbished at present.. One last look from ahigh up the lake.

Now mainly through fields. There are a lot of very muddy sections, even at this time of year. A few farmhouses and derelict barns are passed on the way, I spot a chicken of the woods.

Now, down on the road, I come to the entrance to Waterside House Camp Site. A massive endeavour. It is fairly busy with all sorts of campers, the attraction being its lake shore access. Paddle boarding seems to be the most popular pastime on the water.

Dog walkers are out from Pooley Bridge, and for the last half mile, there is litter, which hasn’t been a problem elsewhere. The holiday atmosphere ramps up a notch.

I’m early, so escape into the relative normality of  the Verey bookshop who also serve good coffee whilst I’m waiting for the bus back to Penrith. I resist book buying to a single one but make a mental note of lots more to seek out.

My after walk pint in The Dog Beck back in Penrith is an excellent Eden River Brew Co. Emperor IPA. Looking at the guide book I’m not finished with the Ullswater Way yet.

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