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| Loweswater | |
|---|---|
 View from the north side of the lake across to Holme Wood | |
| Location | Lake District,Cumbria |
| Coordinates | 54°34′57″N3°21′19″W / 54.58250°N 3.35528°W /54.58250; -3.35528 |
| Basin countries | United Kingdom |
| Max. length | 1.8 km (1.1 mi)[1] |
| Max. width | 550 m (0.34 mi)[1] |
| Surface area | 60 ha (150 acres)[1] |
| Average depth | 8.4 m (28 ft)[1] |
| Max. depth | 16 m (52 ft)[1] |
| Water volume | 5.4×10 |
| Residence time | 150 days[1] |
| References | [1] |
Loweswater is one of the smallerlakes in the EnglishLake District. The village ofLoweswater is situated to the east of the lake.
The lake is not far fromCockermouth and is also easily reached from elsewhere in WestCumbria. The group offells to the south of Loweswater is known as the Loweswater Fells and consists ofMellbreak,Gavel Fell,Blake Fell,Hen Comb andBurnbank Fell. To the north of the lake lies theFellbarrow range.
The lake is unusual in the radial drainage pattern of the Lake District in draining towards the centre of the Lake District: its outfall, Dub Beck, becomes Park Beck and runs east or south-east into the north end ofCrummock Water, close to that lake's exit. By way of theRiver Cocker andRiver Derwent, Loweswater's contents eventually reach the sea atWorkington.
The immediate vicinity of Loweswater consists mainly of rolling hills, in contrast to the rockymountains found elsewhere in the Lake District (though Mellbreak, part of the Loweswater Fells, is steep and craggy). Loweswater remains relatively untouched by tourism, and is much quieter than the neighbouring lakes,Buttermere and Crummock Water. There is, however, a popular lakeside path, which goes right round the lake. The south side of the lake is the site of Holme Wood, a small forest. Within this forest is Holme Force, a waterfall of great beauty, which is rarely visited as it is not noticeable from the lakeside path. A road follows the north side of the lake, which links the A5086 with the Lorton Vale.
"This is usually assumed (e.g. 'PN Cumb'[2]) to be 'the leafy lake' (ON 'laufsær', preserved in various instances of Swed[ish] 'Lövsjö(n)'), with the explanatory 'wæter'/'water' 'lake' added later"[3]
Loweswater is owned by theNational Trust. Rowing boats can be rented to use on the lake but use of one's own boat is not allowed. Recently the National Trust has done much work on the north side of the lakeside path, cutting down trees to improve views across the lake.
Every year Loweswater is the venue for theLoweswater show, which features traditionalCumbrian sports and has competitions to win farmers' produce
