Waterside House, Ullswater
Waterside House Campsite is situated on the shores of Ullswater at the foot of Barton Fell. When the weather warms up the kids love to spend time wading through the shallows and paddling around the lake. Sam asks to camp here often, especially in the summer months.
It is quite a large campsite that fills up fast in the holiday season, so worth booking well in advance. They have all weather electric pitches on the lakeside (the most popular), all weather electric pitches elsewhere and grass pitches. Their main camping area is flat but the back field is a little hilly, however, everyone seems to find a decent spot.
On this trip we were staying on an electric pitch. We arrived late, grabbed some ice cream from The Gathering Cafe on-site, and let the kids play in the fenced off park. We then a took a walk through the back of the campsite onto the footpath around the Lake. The kids had a play on the beach and burned off some energy.
The next morning I woke first and walked past the lake to the shower block, taking in the morning view. The facilities are hot and always clean. They also have a family bathroom which is ideal for bathing little ones who don't like the shower. We cooked breakfast and headed to Whinlatter Forest. We each have our own role in the morning and can quickly pack up camp.
Whinlatter usually has a themed trail on for the kids. In the past we’ve seen the The Grufflo, Superworm and Zog. If you go to the visitor centre complex (which also has a delicious cafe) a little trail bag can be picked up for a few quid. In this case, the kids got a Zog trail booklet, some Zog wings to decorate, stickers and crayons.
When the kids were ready we set off on the trail. The kids trails are always quite gentle and have tricky trails and activities along the way. They are well signposted and the kids run ahead to get to the next stop.
We returned back to camp and headed straight for the lake. We brought the paddle boards but we also hired a double kayak from the campsite for myself and Esme (I didn’t quite trust her to sit still on the paddleboard). You can also hire paddleboards from Wake and Surf on-site.
We put in orders for pizzas from the cafe whilst we were sitting by the lake. The weather was perfect and we sat until the kids were worn out and ready for bed.
