North end of Windermere Lake
Four miles or more.
Osmap Outdoor leisure map South Lakes.
Starting place: Waterhead, A591.
Car park: Waterhead car park, pay and display. Toilets payphone.
Set down point: Launch from fine shingle beach opposite direct onto lake. Avoid ducks and swans.
Cafés many nearby. Three Hotels within view.
Access to water: cross road from car park to lake shore.
Things to see en route: The route is circular and can be done in either direction depending on wind, as this is open water with four miles of fetch from Bowness. It is described here clockwise. First obstacle are all the commercial craft to and froing from jetties with the lake steamers accessing the biggest jetty. Unlike other water, Windermere is a highway, and has special navigation rules (from LDNPA). The hierarchy of craft is different. Two are important for canoeists, the lake steamers have right of way over every craft, powered or unpowered, and canoes give way to everything. We are the lowest as the most manoeuvrable.
Once past jetties, and Ambleside YH, (which isn't in Ambleside!) thread your way through moored craft to Holme Crag Field which is National Trust so landing okay. Picnic?
From Holme Crag, look east at Lowwood hotel, an old coaching inn. Refreshments and landing on beach.
Before striking out for Green Tuft island, look around for commercial traffic who have right of way. This is across open water, look at the Langdale Pikes in distance to west, with Fairfield Horseshoe of fells to north. Wray Castle is just visible above oak trees. It’s a modern folly, and in possession of the National Trust, as is the land behind Green Tuft Island, used as NT Low Wray campsite. Toilets. Landing possible.
Follow shore through gap behind Bee Holme to emerge at mouth of Blelham Beck, and Pull Wyke Timeshare is impressive mock Tudor building, Huyton Hill.
Large bay is Pull Wyke Bay, a water fowl refuge. Sandpiper, Red Breasted Merganser, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Pochard, Little Grebe, wagtail, Cormorant are all possible.
The right hand headland Pull Wyke bay is called Brock Crag but there are no badgers. They are in conifers further back.
The little island is Seamew Crag. A gull colony with dwarf battered tree. In the 1980s this island was uninhabited by birds. Watch out for under water reefs extending out from shore to Seamew Crag.
The park land on shore from Pull Wyke to Brathay River mouth is privately owned, including Brathay Bay shore and Brathay's natural harbour. One of three natural harbours on lake.
The large building looking down onto Brathay Bay is Brathay Hall; a Georgian mansion used commercially.
Once across Brathay river mouth, rough marshy ground leads back start point. Borrans Park is public council park at very head of lake.
Places to eat/picnic: all National Trust land
Finish venue: where you started
Egress point: where you got in
Car park: as above
Toilet facilities: have not moved
Nick Mortimer, Canoe England River Information Advisor