Dayboating on the lakes? Help and reccomendations wanted please

[Cliveshep]

This year, with everyone fed up with up & down the Thames in the cruiser, we've bought a large inflatable with the intention of putting the 3.3 Mariner outboard on the back from the boat's tender and taking it and caravan up to Yorkshire somewhere for our Summer hols. We want to go somewhere very quiet with the caravan, preferably a large field somewhere remote, and have a large lake available nearby, preferably with islands for picnics, so we can chug up the lake and stop for an hour or two while the kids have a swim. The caravan is self-contained with a gennie and hot/cold water and shower so all we need of a site is a water supply and somewhere to empty the toilet. None of us have ever been to that part of the world so can anyone kindly suggest a scenic location to look for a CL for the van, and a lake where we will be allowed, albeit with licence payment, to put in an inflatable outboard dinghy and toddle up & down in reasonable peace and solitude. I did try to send a PM to LakeSailer asking the same question but I'm not sure if I sent it correctly. What we have in mind is a location similar to that described by Arthur Ransome in Swallows and Amazons, being old fashioned romantics at heart. Pubs, clubs, bright lights and noisy crowds are definitely not our scene.

 

[Jonny_H]

The only lake you are allowed to use a 'power boat' on is Windermere. You can sail on some of the others, but use of engines is only allowed for rescue craft for sailing clubs as far as I'm aware.

I think the regulations will classify a dinghy with small outboard as a powerboat.

I know you can use an auxilary engine on Ullswater or Coniston if your on a yacht, but never seen any none sailing boats using engines other than safety / rescue boats from the sailing clubs.

With this in mind I think your restricted to Windermere unless you want to row!

The licence for Windermere is quite expensive as a one-off as you need to register your vessel (if its still the same as it was many years ago when I last paid).

In terms of good campsites - lots around, Fallbarrow campsite is good and has lake access to Windermere. The Lake District National Park website is quite good here.

Finally, I think you will find most of the islands on the lakes do not allow access - again this is from memory though.

Jonny

 

[Nautorius]

You can use the inflatable and engine on Ulswater or Windermere. A good site for you may be 'Fallbarrow' at the southern end of Windermere. Hill of oaks is also good but the stands are on concrete but has a slipway and jetties. On ullswater you can go to Park Foot Caravan And Camping Park which is my recomendation. See Here

Hope that helps

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[PeteCooper]

Falbarrow is at the North end of Bowness, and whilst having lake access, it tends to attract a lot of jetski people. The site at the other end of Bowness, Braithwaite Fold, is quieter but not quite as convenient for launching but is reasonably near Ferry Nab slip - made famous by Lakesailor posting the link to the webcam there. A couple of years ago I stayed at Fallbarrow in October but would not want to stay there in Summer. It is nearly 20 years since I stayed at Braithwaite Fold.

 

[Jonny_H]

I can second Park Foot at Ullswater - beautiful setting.

I didn't realise you could use a tender with outboard on Ullswater otherwise this would have been number 1 on my list!

Jonny

 

[theforeman]

are the jet skis not but an unpleasant memory now ?

 

[ValleyForge]

Coniston Old Hall camp site ? Coniston much less developed than W'mere, May / June time you'll be intoxicated by the azeleas, blinded by rhodies & deafened by cuckoos. Ullswater more dramatic. You should have no problem with an inflatable & 3hp, 10mph speed limits apply of course.

PS - they won't like your genny - try a CC site, can't think of any near water though. (surprise surprise).
For summer hols you'd better book asap.
Take anti midge cream, brolly & thermals.

 

[Nautorius]

Sorry,

In My haste I got mistaken. Fellfoot is the one atthe south of the Lake!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DinghyMan]

License for Windermere for tender & outboard is now £10 first year and £5 thereafter - went down after everyone started using Part 2 reg instead of paying.

You can get the map/chart of the lake for £2 from the Wardens ofice when you go to pay the registration which shows where you can and can't access.

Some islands can be visited but others are private property - signs appear on the relevant ones.

Lakes Guides here

The Guide To Windermere shows all the private shorelines and access points, I think that the campsites allow you to launch unpowered craft but would asume you have to get registered to use an outboard.

 

[dunedin]

Of the lakes, personally prefer Ullswater, Conniston (caravan Club Site), Derwentwater (Caravan & Camping Club Site) to Windermere for using a small boat. Opposite way round with bigger boat.

 

[Cliveshep]

Thank you all very much. Derwentwater looks absolutely ideal, perhaps not too busy and with lots of beach access compared to the others. Many thanks to DinghyMan for the link, most informative. We might well find a Caravan & Camping Club or Caravan Club (we belong to both) farm site CL further out and drive to the lakes. Being sited lakeside is not a necessity as we are having a lightweight aluminium road trailer built that can travel up on the roof rack of our 4 x 4. Once on site we can off-load, re-assemble trailer, pump up dinghy with our gennie and compressor and thereafter tow the outfit to wherever and launch/recover.

 

[Alfie168]

Thought I'd just be pedantic and point out to the OP that all these lakes are in Cumbria, and he mentioned Yorkshire as his preferred camping location.

I'd also recommend http://www.uccmp.co.uk/index.php where we camped in 2006.

Which is about half way down Ullswater. I've camped at Park Foot a couple of times and this one, and have no complaints about either except one rowdy bank hol at Park Foot where a bunch of drunken lads played music all night and went round letting down tents. This was on the tent site next to the lake..we should have gone to the family section of the site across the road, so partly my own fault..as I wanted to camp close to the lake.

We are a bit short of lakes in N. Yorks..otherwise its my home turf and very beautiful. I miss it being in Lincs these days.

Its over 30 years since I've camped by the lake at Derwentwater. Its nice and central you have to book well ahead its so popular. We now camp 'up the hill' at Castlerigg. Lovely view of the lake, but no good for a boat. Good pub food at Sun Inn at Bassenthwaite (assuming its the same Italian owner) Good local lunch food at Grange in Borrowdale in centre of village, brilliant river for paddling/catching minnows/swimming (never mind the cold).

Been going there all my life.

Tim

 

[benjenbav]

As a boy, I stayed many times at Hoathwaite Farm, Torver which is (or was) a Caravan Club CL and runs down to the shore of Coniston Water.

I'm afraid I don't know whether it's still possible to stay there or what the current regs are for using boats on the lake. I haven't been there for years but it was a wonderful place. We used to buy unpasteurised milk from the farmer until he turned out to be a brucellosis carrier - never did us no harm - and nor did swimming across the lake to buy an ice cream - blinking cold water!

As for the Swallows and Amazons stuff. You can't do much better than Peel Island otherwise known as "Wildcat Island".

 

[Lakesailor]

I sailed my Heron into the Secret harbour there.

I have replied now to the PM (been without my Internetworkweb connection again)

I think he was looking for smaller sites than Fallbarrow and the others. Lots of these larger sites have drastically reduced the amount of tourer pitches available and are booked up from early on.

You can use motors on Derwent Water, Ullswater, Coniston and Windermere.
To register on Windermere you will also need 3rd party insurance. The other lakes don't require registration. You can't launch powered craft from National Trust land.
Launch sites are becoming much more restricted as the National Trust, the LDNPA and SLDC are all contriving to put little walls around possible launch sites at the road edges. This funnels you towards the pay-to-launch facilities. Coniston is still a good place to launch portable craft. You can launch at Waterside Farm camp site a bit further south than Park Foot on Ullswater. It's £10 a day I think to launch , but tents only, if you want to stay.
There are actually loads of campsites and small caravan sites up here, but understandably, they don't advertise around here, so we don't get to hear about them.