Lake District National Park: landscape and origins
Wasdale is the wildest valley in the Lake District: England’s deepest lake, with its highest mountain above.
Wast Water lies in a U-shaped glacial valley in the west of the park. At its southern end The Screes plunge straight into the water; at its head stand Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Yewbarrow. According to the National Park Authority the view across the lake to Great Gable inspired its logo.
Above the valley stands Scafell Pike, at 978 metres England’s highest mountain. Wasdale Head at the end of the lake has a pub, a few houses and the tiny church of St Olaf.
The road into the valley is narrow and single-track. In summer the Wasdale Explorer runs from Ravenglass, Gosforth and Nether Wasdale to Wasdale Head; the National Park Authority recommends it because parking in the valley fills up quickly.
LDNPA: Explore Wasdale, Wastwater and West Coast ↗
The park in numbers
- Scafell Pike
- 978 m (3,209 ft)
- Wast Water
- 74 m (243 ft) deep
- Great Gable
- 899 m (2,949 ft)
- Access road
- narrow, single-track
- Shuttle
- Wasdale Explorer in summer
- Known for
- Britain’s Favourite View 2007
