Places to eat

There are many places to eat in and around Pooley Bridge and Ullswater. A few of the nearest places are:

• Pooley Bridge Inn
  • This Inn is just across the road from our guest house, and offers a wide selection of good quality food, as well as a lovely old fashioned comfortable bar.
• The Crown
  • In the middle of Pooley Bridge, this is a Brewers Fayre pub - with a wide ranging menu, including a good choice for children. This pub has a lovely riverside beer garden for the sunny days.
• Sun Inn
  • The third of the pubs in Pooley Bridge, with a good selection of food, and beers from the Cumbrian Jennings Brewery.
• The Brackenrigg Inn
  (Watermillock - about 3 miles along the lake road)
  • Another Jennings place, with a bar menu and restaurant.
• The Queens Head
  (Tirril, about 3 miles towards Penrith)
  • A popular pub, with its own micro brewery, and excellent restaurant menu.

Out on the Lake

If you don't have your own boat, you can still get out and enjoy the water, without getting you feet (too) wet:

• Ullswater Steamers
  • Three boats run throughout the day, from the Pooley Bridge Pier. Boats run to Howtown (half way along the lake) right down to Glenridding. Full details of sailing times are available from the guest house.
• Boat Hire
  • A short walk from the village, rowing boats can be hired from the lake side.

Walking

The Lake district is full of walks, of varying length and difficulty. The guest house has walking guides and maps you can borrow, but a couple of popular walks are:

• Walking From Howtown
  • After taking one of the steam boats, a gentle walk up from the lake shore takes you up onto Martindale hills, where you can look down onto the lake and surrounding hills. If you have a few hours to spare, you can walk from here all the way down to Glenridding, where the steamer can bring you back to Pooley Bridge.
• Aira Force
  • Half way down the lake road, Aira Force is an impressive area of waterfalls. The low level walk are along well maintained footpaths, which eventually lead up onto the hills if you are keen enough. If not, you can always wander towards the tea rooms, and look out over the lake from there!
• Helvellyn
  • A day's walking, for those who bring their walking boots along. After a short drive to Glenridding, Helvellyn and Striding Edge offer a more challenging way to stretch the legs.

Rainy days

OK, so it happens sometimes up here - but when it does, we have a folder full of things you can do without worrying about finding the umbrella. A couple of suggests to wet the appetite, though:

• The Cars Of The Stars
  • Not the most obvious choice of Lakeland activities, but the selection of famous cars from TV and film shouldn't be missed! Knight Rider, Flintstones and Lady Penelope are just a few celebrities who garage their vehicles here!
• Rheged
  • The Rheged Visitor Centre is about 5 miles away from Pooley Bridge and has lots of information about The Lake District, including a large screen cinema, which shows a range of films about the local area, natural history and famous intrepid explorers. There is also a range of shops selling local produce.

Keeping the kids happy

The lakeside, hills and footpaths should be enough to tire the most active of children, but there are plenty of other things to keep them occupied whilst your enjoying your break in the lakes:

• The Alpaca Centre
  • A couple of miles away, a small farm of Alpacas can be visited (not a native Lakeland animal, apparently).
• The Aquarium Of The Lakes
  • This requires a drive over Kirkstone Pass, down into Windermere - but the aquarium will keep the kids entertained for a full afternoon.
• Pony Trekking
  • Park Foot is only about 1 mile from the centre of Pooley Bridge, and has regular trekking with very tame horses for both adults and children.