Silver Bay on Ullswater, otherwise known as the “secret beach”, is an absolutely beautiful spot for a hot, sunny day. The walk in from Patterdale is approx 1.5 miles, with stunning views out over the lake, Glenridding and the Helvelyn range.
We parked on the roadside in Patterdale, near the George Starkey Hut at grid reference 394161 on OS map OL5. There is also full day pay and display parking for £4.50 at GR 396159, just a hundred metres down the road. From here, follow the footpath across the open fields to Side Farm, where there is a little tea shop.
Go through the farm and turn left, heading behind the cafe. Follow this path past the campsite and onwards through the forest, taking the left fork when you’re faced with a choice. Continue going until you reach Silver Point headland. The path is clear and easy to follow. As you wander along there are stunning views of the lake and its little islands and the surrounding fells.
As you reach the front of Silver Crag, which looms over you on the right, take the left footpath, through the bracken and down to the beautiful pebble “secret beach”, which is Silver Bay.
We took our sun shelter, swimming costumes, towels and toys, plus the obligatory picnic of course, and had an absolutely brilliant day, splashing around in the water, playing games and exploring.
The temperature today was 20 degrees and full sunshine and yet again, our Sawyer Water Filter saved the day! We refilled our water bottles several times from the lake water, which was cool and refreshing to drink. We can’t recommend these highly enough, particularly on these very hot days, when carrying lots of water would be super heavy. You can get one here.
When we were ready to go, we walked eastwards along the beach and then up a path near the end to rejoin the main path. But instead of walking back the way we came, we walked up the Col between Birk Fell and Silver Crag. Stunning views in all directions!
Going this way led us to discover an awesome cave at GR 399165. Only enter at your own risk. The kids had a supervised explore, before we headed off back to Patterdale village. We had some food at the Patterdale Hotel (lunch served between 12pm-5pm) which was delicious and not too expensive either.
Here’s the map of the route we took, which was 3.5 miles in total and all the photos are below.
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Categories: >2.5 miles, caves, great views, lake shore, Picnic Spot, pub
Family Walks and Pubs in the Lake District 