bowness and ennerdale

[olpoll]

hi every one,
just had our first two nights wild camping and loved it,
first night was on the glebe at bowness on windermere its the side of the road down by the lake in front of the big car park near the casino its 2hr free parking through the day until 7pm then you can park all night until 9am (put your disc on at 9am then you have until 11) loads to do in bowness at night time, pubs, restaurants, cinema etc...
2nd night was at ennerdale bowness knott car park was there all night and all the next day with no problems

thanks Andrew

[imax70mm]

many tanks for that info, I will be touring Kendal and may possibly try the Glebe, since I was unable to book into the Windermere C&CC site on the road from Sat 13 feb until wed 17th Anyone else going to be around the south Lakes area.

[LIFEBOATMAN]

Where is Ennerdale Bowness knott? are we talking car park in Ennerdale or bowness.

[blobb140]

Its the car park on the western edge of Ennerdale water

[olpoll]

Originally Posted by LIFEBOATMAN

Where is Ennerdale Bowness knott? are we talking car park in Ennerdale or bowness.

the car park at ennerdale is called bowness knott

[olpoll]

Originally Posted by blobb140

Its the car park on the western edge of Ennerdale water

you cant miss it, if you drive down to the lake its as far as you can drive before having to stop and open a large gate (you can only go through this gate if your going to the youth hostel) the car park is on your left hand side just before the gate

[biggirafe]

Originally Posted by olpoll

hi every one,
just had our first two nights wild camping and loved it,
first night was on the glebe at bowness on windermere its the side of the road down by the lake in front of the big car park near the casino its 2hr free parking through the day until 7pm then you can park all night until 9am (put your disc on at 9am then you have until 11) loads to do in bowness at night time, pubs, restaurants, cinema etc...
2nd night was at ennerdale bowness knott car park was there all night and all the next day with no problems

thanks Andrew

Just had a look at the carpark on google maps, how easy would it be to get a large MH down there? It looks quite tight and is that a farm yard you have to drive through
Google Maps

Maybe I have the wrong carpark but this one looks good and has 2 cars parked

[olpoll]

Originally Posted by biggirafe

Just had a look at the carpark on google maps, how easy would it be to get a large MH down there? It looks quite tight and is that a farm yard you have to drive through
Google Maps

Maybe I have the wrong carpark but this one looks good and has 2 cars parked

yep! its the right place (the road to ennerdale lake is a dead end so its hard to miss) my van is a compass 100 its a little tight in the width in some spots but there's no tight bends so a bigger van could do it, ide go down early or late in the day to avoid traffic with it been a dead end once the fell walkers have gone its all yours you don't go through a farm just past a couple

hope this helps, Andrew

[Gareth Browning]

Im glad you enjoyed your stay in Ennerdale however I would like to point out that Overnight Camping or overnight stay by Motorhomes is not permitted at any of the car parks around the Ennerdale Lake.

Whilst we recognise that there are no signs saying "No Camping" this doesnt by default mean that camping is permitted. We prefer to tell visitors the activites they can do and assume that people will seek permission before carrying out other activities.

Bownes Knott Car Park is owned by the Forestry Commission and is thus covered by the Forestry Act and its associated bylaws. These prohibit the parking of a vehicle between the hours of sunset and sunrise (7iii) as well as prohibiting the set up or place of any caravan (5x).

Please accept that my comments mean no criticism of motorhome users who are welcome to visit Ennerdale and park in the car parks during daytime. I myself am a caravaner and know the enjoyment and freedom that comes from this activity. However the presence of motorhomes may attract others who think it is acceptable to stay overnight and we are concerned that this will lead to our car parks becoming semi permanent camping grounds which is not what they are designed for and is not what the majority of our visitors want.

We have seen an increase in litter and open fires around the lakeshore which appears to be connected to an increase in camping during this period of warm dry weather which we are tackling as well.

There are two caravan sites just out of the valley at Felldyke, Dockray Meadow managed by the Caravan Club and a privately managed site opposite.

Many thanks

Gareth Browning
Area Forester and Wild Ennerdale Partner

For more information abou the Ennerdale Valley and the Wild Ennerdale Partnership please visit Wild Ennerdale