The Brackenrigg Inn

View prices & book 7.2 15 reviews
Family camping at The Brackenrigg Inn
Family camping at the brackenrigg inn
Family camping at the brackenrigg inn
Ullswater
The brackenrigg inn
Family camping at the brackenrigg inn
Dog-friendly site and pub
Cooked breakfast available from 8am to 10am
Food served daily
1/22
New
Family camping at the brackenrigg inn
Ullswater
The brackenrigg inn

  • Pop-up pub site overlooking Ullswater, a 15-minute drive from Penrith
  • Gowbarrow Fell 10 minutes’ drive; Keswick 25 minutes
  • Dogs welcome; breakfast, lunch and dinner available in the pub
Dream of waking up to expansive views of Ullswater, followed by a Cumbrian breakfast and then an invigorating walk in the fells? If the answer’s yes, then a stay at The Brackenrigg Inn might well be in order. On the western shore of the lake, this pop-up site, a 15-minute drive from Penrith, stretches across a grassy meadow at the back of a modern country pub that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. For dry-land entertainment, make for the surrounding fells – from the relatively straightforward Little Mell (five minutes’ drive) to the more challenging Gowbarrow (10 minutes), from where it’s easy to reach Aira Force Waterfall (10 minutes), with its dramatic 65-foot drop.

Site type

Tent pitches 40
Open now
Opens 3 July
Please note
  • This site has no on-site shower facilities.

Occupancy

  • Bookings must not consist of more than 1 different households.
  • Group bookings of 3 or more adults are not permitted (couples and immediate family members excepted).
  • No hen/stag parties permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • Single-sex bookings of 3 or more people (couples and immediate family members excepted) are not permitted via Pitchup.com.
  • The site caters for families (immediate members) and couples only - bookings from all other forms of groups are not accepted.

Vehicles

  • Commercial vehicles (vehicles used for work-related purposes, carrying goods or fare-paying passengers) and sign-written vehicles are not permitted on site.

Admission

  • Guests under the age of 3 are not allowed on site.
  • Under 18s must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians.

Dogs

  • The site does not accept breeds/crossbreeds listed in the Dangerous Dogs Act (i.e. XL Bully, Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brasileiro).

General

  • This is a quiet site: no music is allowed.

Languages spoken

English

Open from Fri, 3 Jul to

No availability here for your search criteria

Reviews

7.2

Overall rating from 15 Pitchup.com customers

  • 40%
    10
  • 0%
    9
  • 6%
    8
  • 26%
    7
  • 0%
    6
  • 0%
    5
  • 6%
    4
  • 13%
    3
  • 6%
    2
  • 0%
    1
Location
 9
Value for money
 7
Accommodation
 No rating
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 7
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 8
Lake and/or mountain

80% would recommend this site to a friend

80% would stay here again

What customers say

Great spot by Ullswater with lovely views. Handy pub nearby. Site's clean, quiet and spacious, but limited loos and showers mean it's pricey for some. Weekend noise a bother for one guest.

Summary AI-generated from Pitchup.com customer reviews. Last updated 11/8/2026

Filter by topic

Reviews page 1 of 2
Arrival date (latest first)

Desperately need to sort the toilet facilities.

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 2
Facilities / Activities
 2
Customer service
 2
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 1
Wifi
 1
 Rachel S. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked The views of lake Ullswater. Having pub on site. Could be a good site for dark skies if car park light were switched off or down in late evenings.

Disliked Pitches on a slope
Very rough field
The toilets are disgusting🤢. I know the weather has been very hot ,but they are very grim and not cleaned. Over powering smell of ammonia.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site, as advertised but still exceeded expectations.

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 7
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 7
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
 Lee D. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked The camping field.
The pub, the staff and the beer garden. The location and the views.
The accessibility.
Price.

Disliked Small toilet block with quite poor water supply for the sink.
Stayed for two nights and it made me realise that I would prefer a site with showers.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Would definitely book again

Overall

3 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 7
Facilities / Activities
 No rating
Customer service
 No rating
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 No rating
Wifi
 No rating
Lynne H. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked The views , the pub and food was brilliant , we had dinner and breakfast

Disliked Unfortunately there was a group of four that were so loud until 4:30 in the morning so made it difficult to relax and sleep , I understand no fault of the owners but we left after a night

Recommend to friends Visit again

Fantastic location with great views and…

Overall

8 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 6
Facilities / Activities
 5
Customer service
 8
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Nick M. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Fantastic location with great views and staff at the pub were friendly and helpful.

Disliked No tap for drinking water and no showers.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great site, perfect location

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 10
Facilities / Activities
 10
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 10
 Tameside S. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Friendly staff, great location clean toilets

Disliked The wrath of the drizzle demons

Recommend to friends Visit again

V simple and bar not open in mornings for camping guests

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 5
Value for money
 4
Facilities / Activities
 4
Customer service
 7
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 9
Wifi
 5
 nadim s. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Bar in the evening we arrived.

Disliked I double booked by accident and a bit poor venue couldn’t cancel / refund the mistake

Recommend to friends Visit again

What you see sadly may not be what you get

Overall

2 out of 10
Location
 8
Value for money
 6
Facilities / Activities
 No rating
Customer service
 1
Child friendliness
 1
Cleanliness
 8
Wifi
 No rating
Mark B. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked The view and location are beautiful.

Disliked I emailed this almost word for word to the venue 5 days ago, but didn't receive any response:
_____________________

We elected to stay here with our children as it was highlighted as 'family friendly', but sadly the site located to the back of us and within earshot really wasn't.

On the first night we heard obnoxious drunken youths swearing and playing music until 1am (the guy beside us left in the early hours of the morning as he'd had enough).

I contacted The Brackenrigg Inn via email and was told 'We will mention to the owners of the site and that campsite is only open on the weekend so tonight should be much quieter'.

The second night was worse, but until 2am this time, when someone over there reached breaking point and kicked the youths tent down.

We then heard one of the youths shouting 'f*****g c**t' repeatedly, so in addition to having very little sleep, our children also had a vocabulary lesson on their very first camping trip.

This wasn't limited to ourselves, the whole site heard it all, and while I appreciate it was the weekend of Kendal Calling, the 'family camping' banner, along with the feel good images, didn't really match up.

We ended up cutting our trip short by a day as our bodies and minds had had enough by then; I can only hope this was a case of wrong place, wrong time, though to be fair this behaviour wouldn't be tolerated at many sites and has a negative effect on the business of both sites.

As a side note our tent was absolutely swarming with flying ants, to the point where I actually thought it was raining outside, until I stepped out and witnessed hundreds of them mating on my roof! 🤣 It felt pretty appropriate given the rest of the experience.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great and a perfect spot

Overall

10 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 9
Facilities / Activities
 8
Customer service
 10
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 9
 Joseph S. 1 review

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked It was great. Toilets were very clean. A warm cosy pub as well. Great live music

Disliked No showers.

Recommend to friends Visit again

The views from the pitch are…

Overall

4 out of 10
Location
 9
Value for money
 2
Facilities / Activities
 2
Customer service
 No rating
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 7
Wifi
 No rating
Anonymous

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked The views from the pitch are very good

Disliked There were no shower facilities which we were aware of before arriving but I felt that the pitch was then very expensive due to the limited facilities. There was also no toilet paper in the toilets one of the mornings which added to the frustration.

Recommend to friends Visit again

Great location, basic site. Overall happy :)

Overall

7 out of 10
Location
 10
Value for money
 6
Facilities / Activities
 6
Customer service
 No rating
Child friendliness
 No rating
Cleanliness
 10
Wifi
 No rating
Stuart T. 2 reviews

Non-electric grass tent pitch

Liked Location is perfect! Incredible view.
Very easy to book.
Nice large field where you can pitch up where you like.
Toilet facilities were basic but nice and clean.
Backs onto a pub so you can grab some food and drink.

Disliked I think the price is high considering it is just a toilet block in a field. Location does over compensate for this as the views really are stunning, the site is located higher up so you really do get the best view of Ullswater and in a prime spot to set off for some walking into the hills or loop around Ullswater

Recommend to friends Visit again

Features

Pop-up campsite

Dogs allowed

Leisure on site

Bar or club house Cycle hire Evening entertainment Fishing Fitness centre Games room Indoor swimming pool Kids' club On-site restaurant/cafe Outdoor swimming pool Play area TV room Take away Tennis Watersports Wild swimming

Amenities on site

Bath available Composting toilet Dog park Drying room Food shop Free wifi Ice pack freezing Internet access Launderette Parent & baby washroom Pick-up from public transport Portable toilet Pub toilets Public telephone Shower available Toilet block Washing-up area Wifi

Groups welcome

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

Rules

Barbecue provided Barbecues allowed Campfires allowed Commercial vehicles allowed Dogs allowed Dogs allowed all year

Themes

Lake and/or mountain Walkers' paradise

Utilities

Charging facilities Chemical disposal Electric car charging point(s) Gas cylinders available Recycling available Renewable energy

Nearby amenities

Bar nearby Dog walk nearby

Type

Medium (26-50 pitches) Pop-up campsite Pub campsite

Accessibility

Uneven terrain; gravel or loose mud

Nearby leisure

Canoeing/kayaking nearby Horse riding nearby Indoor pool nearby Restaurant nearby Sailing nearby Watersports nearby

Location

The Brackenrigg Inn

Watermillock

Penrith

Cumbria

England

CA11 0LP

Directions

Timezone

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

GPS

54.60143°N
2.85509°W

Nearest transport

Coach
9.2 km Rail Station
18.5 km Bus Station
19.4 km Lakeside House for Dove Cottage
Rail
9.1 km Penrith North Lakes Rail Station
16.1 km Langwathby Rail Station
19.3 km Lazonby & Kirkoswald Rail Station
Ferry
2 km Pooley Bridge Ullswater Ferry Landing
3.4 km Howtown Ullswater Ferry Landing
8.6 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

The streets in the market town of Penrith (15 minutes’ drive) are lined with red-sandstone buildings, including a late 14th-century castle now in ruins. On the outskirts of town, the wetlands and ponds of the Thacka Beck Nature Reserve attract birds and dragonflies. On the northeastern corner of Derwentwater, Keswick (25 minutes) has the Derwent Pencil Museum, which explores the history of this humble writing instrument, said to have been created right here following the discovery of local graphite deposits. Let the kids burn a little energy at the Fitz Park BMX Pump Track before heading to Friars Crag to soak in glorious lakeside views. At National Trust - Acorn Bank (25 minutes) a series of walled gardens shelter fruit orchards and medicinal herbs. A stroll through the estate might take you past the Acorn Bank Watermill on Crowdundle Beck, which is home to otters and birds.

Water quality at nearby bathing waters

Name Distance Type 2020201920182017
Allonby 41.6 km Sea N/AGoodGoodGood
Seascale 46.9 km Sea N/AGoodGoodGood

Data source: European Environment Agency

Must see

Dalemain Historic House & Gardens 4.2 km

The Rheged Centre 6.9 km

Ullswater Steamers 8.6 km

Castlerigg Stone Circle 15.7 km

Rydal Mount and Gardens 19 km

National Trust

Acorn Bank Garden and Watermill 17.2 km

Grasmere and Great Langdale 21.1 km

Townend 21.6 km

Windermere and Troutbeck 23.9 km

Beatrix Potter Gallery 26.9 km

Cycle routes

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

Other

Pooley Bridge and Heughscar Hill 2.5 km

Pooley Bridge - Loadpot Hill - Howtown - Pooley Bridge 2.5 km

Howtown - Patterdale - Glenridding 3.4 km

Howtown - Hallin Fell - Sandwick via Steamer 3.4 km

Howtown - Rampsgill Head - Angletarn Pikes - Howtown 3.6 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.

Offers

Tent pitch
Non-electric grass tent pitch

  • 25% off

    –
    Expires 24/8/2026

  • 25% off

    –
    Expires 26/8/2026

Conditions apply - see pitch type section for details

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

Frequently asked questions

  • Does The Brackenrigg Inn have a swimming pool? No View all features
  • Is The Brackenrigg Inn dog friendly? Yes View all features
  • What attractions are near The Brackenrigg Inn? The streets in the market town of Penrith (15 minutes’ drive) are lined with red-sandstone buildings, including a late 14th-century castle now in ruins. On the outskirts of town, the wetlands and … Read more
  • When can I check in and check out of The Brackenrigg Inn?
    Camping and touring
    Arrive:  12:00 –  21:00
    Depart by:  11:30
    Read more
  • How much does it cost to stay at The Brackenrigg Inn? From €26.32 (for 1 night, 2 adults) - prices may change depending on your dates and party.