While Windermere has watersports, amenities and crowds, Bassenthwaite has wildlife and wooded shores. If that sounds appealing, we think you should choose Overwater Woodlands for your next Lake District camping trip. This tiny off-grid campsite in a one-acre woodland offers nearly wild camping in the Northern Lake District, a couple of miles from Bassenthwaite Lake and village.
It’s the back-to-nature vibe of the place that qualifies it as “nearly wild” but there are some things that elevate it far above a wild pitch on the mountainside. One is the fact that there’s a toilet, another is hot showers and somewhere to do the washing up. But best of all are the included breakfast baps and unlimited hot drinks. No truly wild pitch comes with all that included but it’s on offer an Overwater Woodlands from cheerful hosts, Lois and Nick.
The pitches here are small: most designed for two campers, with one big enough for four in suitably-sized small tents. Pitch size is governed by the surrounding trees, you see, so palatial family mega-structures will not fit in here and nor will campervans. You park your car a little distance from your pitch and walk to find your clearing in the trees. All this helps keeps the place peaceful and encourages rather than deters the woodland wildlife you'll be sharing your space with. Red squirrels, woodpeckers and owls can all be seen or heard round here. There’s a communal campfire pit so you can get to know fellow guests if you want to and share the day’s sightings and adventures. Those might include the hike up nearby Skiddaw, a day watching ospreys over Bassenthwaite, a trip to the coast or further exploration of the Lake District National Park. All are possible from here.
Hosted by Lois M.
Joined in August 2023Overwater Woodlands is in the north of the Lake District National Park so there’s plenty to do in the surrounding area. Walking, of course, is one of the most popular activities in the area and you don’t need to go anywhere in the car – you can simply set out on foot. It’s less than three miles to the village of Bassenthwaite (and the nearest pub) and a little further to the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake (just over four miles) but Overwater Tarn is the closest body of water, and that’s just down the road. There, or at Bassenthwaite Lake, you might catch a glimpse of an osprey. Dodds Wood (six miles) on the shore of Bassenthwaite Lake is a good place to head for if spotting them is a priority for you. There’s also a manor house and gardens, Mirehouse, which is open to the public, and great walks there including a scenic three-mile signposted route to the summit of Dodd Fell. For a bigger peak, you could tackle Skiddaw, which at 931 is the one of the highest summits in the Lake District and England. It’s ever visible from here and it’s possible to hike up from Dodd Fell but a more popular and well-signposted route is to set out from just north of Keswick (10 miles away). The town of Keswick, on the shore of Derwentwater, is the closest classic Lake District town. It has cruises and boat hire on the water and the town is home to the small but interesting Derwent Pencil Museum and the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery with plenty of shops and eateries too. Grasmere is 22 miles away, the shores of Ullswater are 24 miles and Windermere 30 miles. You can reach the Solway Coast (20 miles) in just over half an hour.
A daily breakfast bap is included in the price of your pitch, cooked by your hosts, and free hot drinks are available too. For lunch or dinner, you might like to try The Sun Inn in Bassenthwaite, the nearest pub to Overwater Woodlands, just over two miles away. It serves good pub grub and pizzas – which are available to takeaway. About the same distance away, in Uldale, is Mae’s Tearoom. If you’re headed to Dodd Wood, there’s another, The Sawmill Tearoom. If you want to cook on the campfire or your camping stove, you can pick up supplies from the closest towns: Wigton or Keswick (both 10 miles). Wigton has a market on Fridays, Keswick has one on Thursdays and Saturdays. Both have plenty of shops and eateries too.
