Ullswater and Aira Force - a tent in the mud in the Lake District

Aira Force is one of the best-known waterfalls in the Lake District: the water falls about 20 metres into a rocky gorge above Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District. We visited in August 2019 with four kids, after a night in a tent pitched quite literally in the mud.

Before that, we drove through Wales (Wales in the rain: a playground in a church and the longest place name). The plan of the whole trip is in our post UK road trip with kids.

A visit in Macclesfield

From Henstent Park in Wales we drove to Macclesfield in England: 130 km, which took us 2 hours 15 minutes. We visited a friend I used to work with. He saw our Facebook post about our plan to drive around Great Britain. He told us where he lived, we agreed on a date and we met.

At that time many Poles had moved to Britain for work. Our friend invited us for lunch, we went for a short walk to talk, and he showed us the house he had just bought. A really nice afternoon.

Ullswater Holiday Park: a tent in the swamp

From Macclesfield we had another 200 km (2.5 hours) to Ullswater Holiday Park in Watermillock near Penrith, in the Lake District National Park. We booked our pitch on pitchup.com.

When we arrived, it turned out that after heavy rain the campsite did not let cars onto the grass, because they got stuck in the mud. Like Shrek in his swamp, we put up our tent in the mud. With every step on the grass, water came up from under our feet. Amazing.

The kids did not mind at all. They found something to play on the meadow by the tent straight away, and the sun came out over the campsite again.

Aira Force waterfall by Lake Ullswater

Before we drove further north, we went to see Aira Force waterfall. From the car park a forest path goes along the stream, over wooden bridges and stone steps.

First we stood on the upper bridge, right above the top of the waterfall, and then we went down to the bottom, where you can see the water falling in a narrow stream into a mossy gorge. We held our youngest by the hand, and the older kids climbed the stone steps on their own.

Fun fact: the Lake District is a UNESCO site

The Lake District is England's largest national park. In 2017 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a cultural landscape. Aira Force waterfall and the land around it belong to the National Trust.

From the waterfall we drove to Hadrian's Wall and on to Scotland (Hadrian's Wall and Loch Lomond with kids).

Practical info

Aira Force

• Location: by Lake Ullswater in the Lake District, in north-west England.
• The walk: forest paths with bridges and stone steps. It is not far, but steep in places. With small kids a baby carrier is better than a pushchair (when we visited in 2019).
• The site belongs to the National Trust. Check the current parking information on the National Trust website before you go.

Ullswater Holiday Park

• Location: Watermillock near Penrith, close to Lake Ullswater.
• We booked a non-electric tent pitch on pitchup.com.
• After heavy rain the campsite did not allow cars on the grass (when we visited in 2019), so bring shoes that can get muddy and a groundsheet for the tent.