Friends of the Ullswater Way

Connecting people, place and nature across Ullswater

Across Ullswater, our volunteers and partners are monitoring lake life, recording memories, mapping habitats and creating new ways to explore the valley.

We are Friends of the Ullswater Way, a volunteer-led charity helping people discover and connect with the landscapes, wildlife, heritage and communities that make this place special. In 2026, we celebrate ten years of exploring, understanding and connecting with Ullswater—and look ahead to what comes next.

Explore

Follow Ullswater’s walking routes, discover its heritage and art, and hear stories from across the valley.

Explore Ullswater

Understand

Discover research, shared knowledge and environmental monitoring that help us understand how the valley is changing.

Discover our work

Connect

Bring people, communities and organisations together through projects, talks and shared action across Ullswater.

Get involved

What’s happening now

Join our next Understanding Ullswater event or discover one of the projects currently taking place across the valley.

NEXT UNDERSTANDING ULLSWATER EVENT
Talks
Hedgerow Heroes
Sept 3
Watermillock Village Hall
Hedgerow Heroes
Watermillock Village Hall

Naomi Walker, Nature Recovery Officer at Friends of the Lake District.

Hedgerows may look modest, but they are vital corridors for wildlife, shelter and landscape character. Naomi Walker reveals why these living boundaries matter and how they can be restored.

Read more →
Watermillock Village Hall 
FEATURED PROJECT
Projects
Ullswater Ecology Education Project
Ullswater Ecology Education Project

Local secondary-school students investigate Ullswater’s freshwater ecology through practical fieldwork, shoreline sampling and environmental observation.

Read more → 
TEN YEARS OF FOUW

Ten years of connecting people with Ullswater

In 2026, Friends of the Ullswater Way celebrates ten years of helping people explore and understand the valley’s landscapes, stories and wildlife.

Our short film looks back at what people across Ullswater have made possible—and forward to what comes next

Tenth-anniversary film celebrating ten years of Friends of the Ullswater Way

Projects across Ullswater

Discover some of the environmental, heritage and community projects taking place across the valley.

Projects
Lakefly: Monitoring Ullswater’s Ecology
Lakefly: Monitoring Ullswater’s Ecology

Volunteers monitor freshwater life around Ullswater, building a shared record of ecological conditions and change over time.

Read more →
Oral Histories
Oral Histories

Recording and preserving memories of everyday life, work, landscape and community across Matterdale and the wider Ullswater Valley.

Read more →
Matterdale Habitat Survey
Matterdale Habitat Survey

Local volunteers are mapping Matterdale’s habitats through ecological training, field surveys, shared knowledge and digital mapping.

Read more →
See all our projects

Help shape what comes next

As Friends of the Ullswater Way enters its next chapter, we are looking for new trustees to bring fresh ideas, useful experience and enthusiasm for Ullswater.

FOUW trustees and volunteers meeting beside Ullswater
Find out how you can contribute

Coming soon: the Wordsworth Way aerial tour

A new bird’s-eye journey through the landscapes that inspired William and Dorothy Wordsworth.

Photograph by Colin Aldred/Aerial Artwork of Grisedale Tarn on the Wordsworth Way

© Colin Aldred / Aerial Artwork

Walk the Wordsworth Way
Walk the Wordsworth Way

Explore Ullswater

Follow the paths, stories, artworks and conversations that reveal Ullswater’s landscape and communities.

Walks and routes

Walker overlooking Ullswater from the fellside

Explore long-distance routes, lakeshore paths and shorter walks through the valley.

Explore the walks →

Heritage Knowledge Bank

Black and white photo of a group of people gathered around a food stall outdoors on snowy ground, serving hot drinks during the Big Freeze

Discover the people, places, wildlife and events that have shaped Ullswater.

Explore Ullswater’s heritage →

Virtual Art Gallery

Artwork "Ullswater Calm" by Andrea Kershaw showing Ullswater and the surrounding fells

See how artists have interpreted Ullswater’s landscapes, communities and changing character.

Visit the gallery →

Talks

Photograph of Donald Campbell on the Bluebird

Catch up on talks and conversations exploring Ullswater’s nature, heritage and communities.

Explore talks →

Ullswater right now

📣 Reminder! Tomorrow's 'Understanding Ullswater' evening talk will be given by Michael Firth, Chair of Sustainable and Integrated Transport for Ullswater (SITU). Michael will be speaking on 'Transport in the Ullswater Valley: Back to the Future?' ?
Join us for the next FOUW 'Understanding Ullswater' evening talk! We're delighted to welcome Michael Firth, Chair of Sustainable and Integrated Transport for Ullswater (SITU), who will be speaking on - 'Transport in the Ullswater Valley: Back to the
This month's Understanding Ullswater talk is a little different... We're heading outdoors! We're excited to announce a special Field Visit to Esthwaite Water, led by Mike Thornley. With 38 years' experience in wildlife management, Mike has dedicated
📣 Reminder! Tomorrow night, our Understanding Ullswater evening talk will be given by Tim Farron MP. The talk, 'Inspirational Ullswater,' promises an engaging evening with an extended Q&A session. Date: Thursday 2nd July. Venue: Parkin Memori

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