Bassenthwaite Lake

Interestingly this could be said to be the only 'true' lake in the Lake District! Despite titles such as Lake Windermere, if you study the map all other 'lakes' in Cumbria have the title 'Water' or 'Mere'.

Bassenthwaite Lake is unique in other ways too, it is a protected nature reserve containing a variety of fish including salmon, trout, roach, pike, perch, minnow, dace, ruffe, eel and one Britain's rarest fish the vendace is thought to be present.

The protected habitat of Bassenthwaite Lake and the surrounding lands, brought about by various Trusts such as the National Trust, Lake District National Park and Forestry Commission, working together has been rewarded by maintaining a natural balance in this corner of Cumbria. One of the most gratifying results of the Trusts work has to be the return of the Osprey who now regularly nest in the nearby woods and fish the Lake.

Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the larger Lakes at approximately 4 miles (6.4 km)in length and 3/4-mile (1.2 km) wide. It is also very shallow, being approx 70 ft (21 m) maximum.

* Please note that access to the Lake for boats and canoes is very restricted. For more information on the no-boating zones and for details of fishing restrictions at Bassenthwaite please read more here.

Bassenthwaite Village

The Village of Bassenthwaite is set about a mile and a half back from the Lake and there are one or two holiday cottages here for visitors wanting to experience real Cumbrian Village life, away from all the tourist traps.


The map below shows the northen end of Bassenthwaite Lake. To the right it is useful to see the location of Bassenthwaite Village in relation to the Lake. The red circle is the approximate location of Armathwaite Hotel (details below), for accurate location of Armathwaite please use the link below to go to the hotel's website.

Bassenthwaite Hotels

Armathwaite Hall Country House Hotel

Stay in one of England's stately homes and enjoy the magnificent secluded spendour. Armathwaite Hall is set in 400 acres of deer park and woodland and is bordered by the tranquil Bassenthwaite Lake with the dramatic backdrop of Skiddaw and surrounding fells.

Armathwaite is a 4 star Country House Hotel, which is privately owned by the resident Graves family and reflects a quality of life and old world hospitality.

See more photographs of Armathwaite Hall and compare today's best web rates by just tapping in when you want to go. Read more and check availability here.

Ravenstone Hotel

All bedrooms at the Ravenstone Hotel have open country views of the Lake District.

The Ravenstone Hotel serves a mix of traditional and modern dishes and an extensive wine cellar to suit all tastes. Meals are sourced from the finest ingredients around the world combined with cuts of meat and gamet fish which are sourced from Cumbria.

A full size snooker table, pool table and table tennis table are available for guests to use, or relax in the spacious lounge with a warming fire and enjoy the stunning views through the picture windows.

Read more about Ravenstone Hotel and by entering your proposed holiday dates we can search the best prices on the web for you today.