The Quiet Site at Ullswater

A very pleasant looking site, tucked away up a lane about 1.5 miles from the lake.  The amenities consist of Toilets/showers/laundry room/pot washing area etc, shop/office, adventure park for children of all ages, dog walk, flower meadow, small TV room (which may be welcome on a rainy day but looked like an old folks home), games room and bar.  The bar is on 2 floor levels and full of old world character including lots of stags heads and other country style bric a brac.  The big roaring log fire and chairs made from barrels make it very comfortable with a nice ambience.  The large room off the top level is well stocked with toys and books for younger children, thus giving a safe haven for tiny tots where they can not get out and offers some peace for parents and the other drinkers.

We booked a hard standing and grass pitch which easily accommodated the campervan and awning and the electric hook up was great.  We were well placed for lovely walks, some of which were from information supplied by the site giving the mileage and timings which we found very useful as we are both rambling and camping novices.  The site got very full over the weekend with pitches being quite close but privacy seemed to be maintained. The Quiet Site lived up to its name most of the time although 1 family chose to stay up drinking and playing cards, having a great time which we all shared until the early hours.  The toilets were mainly clean, sink taps were of the press down variety which although may purport to save water were difficult to operate and invariably splashed all surroundings, which meant your wash bag, towels etc always got soaking wet. The paper hand towels provided were not absorbent enough to dry up the constant pools of water.  Showers temperatures were pre set at comfortable warmth in the Ladies showers but the Gents showers were set far too hot which meant they were unsuitable for most youngsters.  However the 3 Family bathrooms proved very useful and the addition of a hair drying space and mirror was a bonus.

Pooley Bridge is the nearest decent sized village with plenty of pubs, shops, parking and the Ullswater Steamer which provides a pleasant trip, you can get off at places, do a walk and pick up the steamer again.  We found Pooley Bridge a convenient place to get a meal at short notice and there are plenty of seats outside which accommodate people and their dogs.  A few miles further we found Aira Force, a National Trust site with a great climb to splendid waterfalls, parking, toilets and tearoom.  We visited Bowness in Windermere and took the Steamer and Haverthwaite Railway package trip.  We also had a stroll alongside the lake at Keswick where parking, tea rooms and toilets are all conveniently placed, also loads of shops should you need them. 

We had a great trip although it did rain for most of it, which at the very least was inconvenient but did not spoil our fun.  The Quiet Site was fine and broadly lived up to the website information, although I am unsure when it received the accolades mentioned. 

Irene Podolanski
September 2007

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