Ulleswater, Cumberland

Historical Description

Ulleswater, a lake on the mutual boundary of Cumberland and Westmorland, from 5 to 12¼ miles SW of Penrith. It begins at the foot of Patterdale, extends in three lines of zigzag NE to Pooley Bridge, is 9 miles long and nowhere more than 1 mile wide, and has a surface-elevation of 380 feet above sea-level and a maximum depth of 210 feet. Patterdale Beck enters at the head, numerous streamlets enter at the sides, and the river Ramont issues from the foot. A semicircular range of lofty mountain culminating in High Street and Helvellyn separates it from the river-systems of the Kent and the Leven on the S and from that of the Derwent on the W, and sends off spurs which almost everywhere, except for intervening glens, surround it to the edge. Most of these spurs around the head are abrupt and grand, those farther down have much diversity of character and are largely clad with wood, and those toward the foot sink into comparatively tame hills, and are overlooked by the shoulders or summits of Fairfield, Helvellyn, and Saddleback. A range of heights, including Place Fell, Birk Fell, Hallin Fell, Swarth Fell, and Moor Dovock, also flanks the lake along the E, and in some instances is overtopped by remoter mountains. Much of the surrounding scenery is savagely sublime, romantically picturesque, or richly ornate with woods and villas and parks, and the whole exhibits a surpassingly rich mixture of power and beauty, and presents innumerable attractions to tho tourist and the sketcher. The waters are noted also for profusion of fine trout, for large shoals of skellies, for great quantities of migratory eels, and for a few char.

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cumberland is available to browse.