Esthwaite Water
Esthwaite Water, located south of Hawkshead in the English Lake District, isn’t as grand, but is conventionally pretty, surrounded by low fells and minor roads.
Similar to Rydal or Grasmere but without the traffic, it’s a popular spot for tourists and locals drawn by its scenic beauty and abundant wildlife.
Esthwaite Water is 2.5km long, 600m wide, and 24m deep and is fed by a number of streams joining Black Beck, flowing through Hawkshead. Its outlet, Cunsey Beck, feeds into Windermere.
Esthwaite Water is also the biggest trout fishery in North West England.
Permits to fish are obtained from the trout farm at the southern end of the lake. the chances of getting a catch are as good as anywhere in the Lake District.
The lake itself is home to many species of fish, including trout, perch, and roach.
The fishery organizes day-long fly-fishing courses or you can simply take your own gear, buy a permit and settle down for the day.
The lake is close to Hill Top and is the home of Jeremy Fisher – the gentleman frog- who is one of Beatrix Potter’s most popular characters.
Above the lake head is a small round pond, which is a detached portion of the lake known as Priest Pot which is a national nature reserve. It is surrounded by typical fen-like conditions sat on a base of accumulated silt.
Wordsworth knew the tarn well, but nowadays it can easily be missed on the road to Hawkshead. When it turns sharp left to round the lake head, on the right is a settlement of Colthouse.
This is where Wordsworth lodges at the Green End Cottage when he was attending the Hawkshead Grammar School. The cottage is not open to the public.
Additionally, the poet William Wordsworth mentions the Esthwaite water in his poem ‘Prelude’.
Unfortunately, you can’t walk around the lake as young William did, except on tarmac, as some of the lake frontages are now privately owned.
Above the lake head is a detached portion of the lake known as Priest Pot which is a national nature reserve. It is surrounded by typical fen-like conditions sat on a base of accumulated silt.
The seventeenth-century Colthouse Quaker meeting house, where Wordsworth and his fellow pupils were taken by their landlady to worship ‘on very hot or very wet Sundays’, when it was too inclement to go all the way to Hawkshead church.
It remains unchanged and is still attended to this day.
Looking for a holiday cottage with easy access to Esthwaite Water? Enquire here.
