The only body of water in the Lake District actually called a lake, a shallow sheet under Skiddaw known for its returning ospreys
Odd fact first: Bassenthwaite Lake is the only one of the Cumbrian waters officially called a “lake” — the rest are meres or waters. It’s a wide, shallow lake at the northern edge of the Lake District under the bulk of Skiddaw, best known for the ospreys that came back to breed here in the early 2000s, the first to nest in the Lakes in living memory; in summer you can watch them from viewpoints in the forest nearby. It’s a quiet lake compared with Windermere or Derwentwater, with no public boat trips and a mostly private shore, so most people take it in from the road, from Mirehouse on the eastern side, or from a walk up one of the fells behind Bassenthwaite village. The tiny church of St Bega stands on its own by the water and is worth the short walk out.
