Waterfoot Carpark Campsite

View prices & book 8.9 72 reviews
Pitches near the lake
Pitches near the lake
Pitches
Grass pitches by the lake
Grassy pitches
Grass pitches
The field
Grass pitches by the lake
Grass pitches with lake views
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Pitches
Grass pitches by the lake
Grassy pitches

  • Small campsite with direct access to the Ullswater Way walking path
  • A 10-minute walk from Pooley Bridge, past the Ullswater Steamer Pier
  • Just 500 metres from the lake; short walk from bars, cafés and shops
How’s this for the first morning of your Lake District trip? Rolling out of the tent to lake views, before strolling 10 minutes into the village for coffee and breakfast and then backtracking five minutes to take up a spot on a historic Ullswater steamer. Such routines are commonplace at Waterfoot Carpark Campsite… This small, simple campsite is in a field around 500 metres from the shore of Ullswater, with views over the lake, so there’s always something to satisfy the eyes. As for satisfying the stomach, it’s just outside of Pooley Bridge, meaning that restaurants, bars, cafés and shops are only 10 minutes’ walk away too. The Ullswater Steamer Pier is just five minutes’ walk away from the pitches, so you’re in pole position for getting to other spots around the lake without so much as touching your car’s steering wheel. If you have Cumbria hikes high on your priority list, you’re also in for a treat. The site has direct access to the 20-mile Ullswater Way, a round trip around the lake. From Pooley Bridge, you can also follow the Lowther Castle Loop and Dalemain Loop.

Site type

Tent sites 50
Open now
Opens July 11
Please note
  • This park has no on-site shower facilities.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.
  • The park does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Breed-specific legislation (i.e. Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).
  • No bachelor/bachelorette parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Minimum spacing of 2 metres between pitches.
  • Guests are advised to bring a good quality flashlight with them as parts of the park are unlit.
  • No gas barbecues allowed.
  • No electric barbecues allowed.
  • Please note that the toilet facilities are unisex.
  • There is no reception building on-site: on arrival please contact the number provided on your booking confirmation.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, Jul 11 to

Reviews

8.9

Overall rating from 72 Pitchup.com customers

  • 65%
    10
  • 2%
    9
  • 18%
    8
  • 0%
    7
  • 6%
    6
  • 1%
    5
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    3
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    1
Location
 10
Value for money
 9
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 9
Child friendliness
 9
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 5
Lake and/or mountainSpectacular scenery

89% would recommend this site to a friend

89% would stay here again

What customers say

This simple campsite offers a great spot, close to Pooley Bridge and right on Ullswater. Guests love the amazing lake views, the welcoming owners, and good value. Portaloos are clean and water's handy, but a few campers miss showers and sometimes toilet paper runs out. Be aware of potential noise from others and some uneven pitches.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews

Reviews page 1 of 8
Arrival date (latest first)

Great location. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
Megan G.

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Great location. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend

Recommend to friends Visit again

Was spacious and had portaloos…

Overall

6 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 No rating
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 No rating
Wifi
 No rating
Kathryn H.

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Was spacious and had portaloos

Disliked Very open and windy left early

Recommend to friends Visit again

Must Go Campsite

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Amazing views. Brilliant location (along a lovely off road path to Pooley Bridge. Excellent access to Ullswater. We’ll be back.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Good short stay to lake.

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 8
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 No rating
Tammy P.

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked The views of the lake were amazing and straight over the road to the lake and short walk to Pooley Bridge. Everything you expect for £30 a night. Able to have fire and bbq with no issues. Dose have running water spots to fill up and wash dishes.

Disliked Only portaloos which did start to smell in the heat, did spots checks late at night and the van lights were waking the whole site up while driving around.

Recommend to friends Visit again

From checking in the lady who booked us in was so friendly…

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Chelsea W.

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked From checking in the lady who booked us in was so friendly and informative to leaving we have had the most amazing weekend! This place is just absolutely beautiful. And a five minute walk into the village perfect location. Campsite basic and clean and excellent value for money I would say. The man came and spoke to us the night before we left and asked if we had heard any noise as he has had a couple of complaints about noise we were a bit further up the field but hadn’t heard anything anyway. But what I will say is if your wanting to go away and have silence don’t go camping. It’s not a house it’s not a caravan it’s tents and you can hear people snoring from one tent to another. All in all we had an amazing weekend and looking to book back up at the end of the month! Thanks guys

Disliked Nothing

Recommend to friends Visit again

Location was ideal. 50 metres to Ullswater for swimming and paddle boarding.…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 3
Accommodation
 1
Facilities / Activities
 1
Customer service
 No rating
Child friendliness
 5
Cleanliness
 6
Wifi
 8
Anonymous

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Location was ideal. 50 metres to Ullswater for swimming and paddle boarding. 10 minute walk to Pooley Bridge which has great pubs. 15 minute drive to Glenridding.

Disliked The field has barely any flat areas for pitching a tent. The field has two quite busy roads next to it. We heard traffic all through the night. The toilets are portaloos, not proper toilets. It is expensive compared to other locations considering you get no amenities for your money.

Recommend to friends Visit again

A very basic site, that is very noisy at night, feral kids run free!

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 5
Accommodation
 5
Facilities / Activities
 3
Customer service
 2
Child friendliness
 5
Cleanliness
 5
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked The site is a short walk to pooley bridge and a stones throw from the shoreline of Ullswater.

Disliked Very noisy music and drinking until at least 2am.
People letting their kids run around screaming until well after midnight.
Clearly nobody around to challenge the anti social behaviour.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Good Kit!

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Great Welcome
Fab location for an evening in Pooley Bridge.
V clean toilets!

Disliked Wish we had more time to explore.

Recommend to friends Visit again

A great campsite, and planning next month already

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 9
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
David B.

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked We had a great time at this campsite. The campsite is exactly where you need it. There is a 7 min walk into Pooley Bridge, leaving the car safe at the camp site.
The campsite has a fresh water tap, bins and chemical toilets. This suited us both.
As well as close to Pooley zbridge, your a stones throw where you can enter Ullswater, either for your fresh water dip or launching kayaks (as we did).
I met both the owner, who are really nice and extremely helpful.
Were planning our next trip for next month at the same campsite.
This is areally chilled site, where you can relax and look over Ullswater (not from all locations)
This site allows access to many places with local buses (No 508) stopping at the Steamer (boat) quay, 3 mins walk.
Guys, if your reading this, thanks again.

Disliked We had a small noisy bunch the first night, which will happen on any site, but once informed the owner took immediate action to prevent a reoccurrence.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Excellent site with clean facilities. Very friendly

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Accommodation
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 10
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 1
Anonymous

Primitive grass tent campsite

Liked Get greeted by the owner and his wife very friendly people. With a short distant walk to get to the lakeside. Pubs and shops. Easy to find and only 15 minutes away from the motorway.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

No dogs allowed

Portable toilet

Pop-up campground

Leisure on park

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Playground Recreation room/arcade TV room Takeout Tennis Watersports Wild swimming

Amenities on park

Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Free wifi Grocery store Ice pack freezing Internet access Laundromat Parent & baby washroom Payphone Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Restrooms Shower available Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

Family friendly Motorcycle friendly Single-sex groups welcome Student groups welcome

Rules

Barbecue grills allowed Barbecue provided Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year No dogs allowed

Utilities

Charging facilities Dump station Electric car charging point(s) No hot water Propane/gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Convenience store nearby Dog walk nearby Public transportation nearby

Type

Medium (26-50 sites) Pop-up campground

Nearby leisure

Horseback riding nearby Mountain biking nearby Restaurant nearby

Location

Waterfoot Carpark Campsite

Pooley Bridge

Penrith

Cumbria

England

CA11 0LL

Directions

Timezone

Europe/London +0100 (GMT+01:00)

GPS

54.61132°N
2.83113°W

Nearest transport

Coach
7.4 km Rail Station
20.1 km Bus Station
21.2 km Lakeside House for Dove Cottage
Rail
7.3 km Penrith North Lakes Rail Station
14.2 km Langwathby Rail Station
17.5 km Lazonby & Kirkoswald Rail Station
Ferry
0.3 km Pooley Bridge Ullswater Ferry Landing
4.9 km Howtown Ullswater Ferry Landing
10.5 km Glenridding Ullswater Ferry Landing

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Local attractions

Get your hiking boots at the ready, as there are plenty of walks to get stuck into from your pitch. The Ullswater steamers can drop you off in Glenridding (otherwise 15 minutes’ drive) for a quick loop up Lanty’s Tarn, which has views of Helvellyn, England’s third-highest mountain. You could also get off the boat in Howtown (15 minutes), where there's a walk to Hallin Fell overlooking Ullswater. If you’d rather tackle Helvellyn (20 minutes), it's not far away either. Aira Force Waterfall (10 minutes) is another splendid place for a good stroll – this waterfall with a 65-foot drop was a favourite spot for William Wordsworth. If you fancy breaking up all that walking with a cycle, you can hire bikes at Lowther Castle & Gardens (20 minutes). The estate trails make for an easy ride, and if you’re visiting with kids, there’s also a handy adventure playground. Stop by in Penrith (20 minutes) if you have time too. It has a 14th-century castle and a museum, and it's close to a lovely walk up Beacon Hill.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Allonby 42.5 km Sea N/AGoodGoodGood

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Dalemain Historic House & Gardens 2.5 km

The Rheged Centre 5.1 km

Ullswater Steamers 10.5 km

Castlerigg Stone Circle 17.3 km

Rydal Mount and Gardens 20.7 km

National Trust

Acorn Bank Garden and Watermill 15.5 km

Grasmere and Great Langdale 22.9 km

Townend 23 km

Windermere and Troutbeck 25.3 km

Beatrix Potter Gallery 28.4 km

Cycle routes

Find local routes on the National Cycle Network - over 12,000 miles of cycling routes.

Other

Pooley Bridge and Heughscar Hill 0.7 km

Pooley Bridge - Loadpot Hill - Howtown - Pooley Bridge 0.7 km

DALEMAIN 2.8 km

Howtown - Patterdale - Glenridding 4.9 km

Howtown - Hallin Fell - Sandwick via Steamer 4.9 km

Please note: All distances on this page are calculated "as the crow flies" - please check actual distance depending on your mode of travel using the Get directions button above.

Nearest sites

Unfortunately, we have no nearby bookable sites.

Want to know more about camping in The Lake District and Cumbria?

Frequently asked questions

  • Does Waterfoot Carpark Campsite have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is Waterfoot Carpark Campsite dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near Waterfoot Carpark Campsite? Get your hiking boots at the ready, as there are plenty of walks to get stuck into from your pitch. The Ullswater steamers can drop you off in Glenridding (otherwise 15 minutes’ … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of Waterfoot Carpark Campsite?
    RV, travel trailer and tent sites
    Arrive:  10:30 a.m. –  8 p.m.
    Depart by:  10 a.m.
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at Waterfoot Carpark Campsite? From $46.26 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.