Locations of The Lakes, 30 Years Later
Having always had a fondness for Great Britain, in my 50-some years on this earth I have visited many corners of this lovely country, but the Lake District had eluded me until now. So when I mentioned this to my friend Steffi, she was keen and a plan was born to travel there for our summer holiday this year.
Flights, rental car and a cottage were booked soon thereafter, and having embarked on an epic journey of catching up on John Simm’s filmography this year, at some point I had this epiphany of sorts. The Lake District. The Lakes. Wait a minute…
The internet helped me figure out where The Lakes was shot – mainly in Glenridding, Patterdale and surrounding area, which was on the agenda for our exploration and hiking holiday anyway. Two birds with one stone, what’s not to like? (Or, as we Germans say, two flies with one swatter.)
One fine weekend afternoon, I sat down and dug my TV enthusiast teeth into this: go through episodes of The Lakes and make screenshots of places relevant to Danny Kavanagh’s journey, then try to figure out where exactly they shot them.
The hotel they used was easy to find, also because this is already public knowledge – The Ullswater Hotel in Glenridding, which still exists today but is under new ownership, now named The Inn On The Lake. Other locations were a little harder to find, but this is where Google Street View can come in handy. Granted, it always feels a little creepy to do this, but I will say I’m not the type to go trespass into places I’m not supposed to be in, and so it was virtual location hunting ahoy.
The whole endeavour was fairly successful, albeit not entirely so, but successful enough that I was equipped with a list of places to seek out while in the area. Or rather a list of places, a Google map with saved pins, and photo prints of relevant screenshots. I guess being a project manager in my day job has its perks.
Come mid-September, Steffi and I were off to fly into Manchester. We were probably seen as odd ducks when we asked the lady at the car rental not to go for the free upgrade to a larger car. But I know what roads in rural areas of the British Isles are like, and I shall say it was definitely a good decision to stick to a more compact option. Three hours later, getting used to left-sided traffic again, we happily and safely arrived in Portinscale, ready for all kinds of adventures!
Glenridding – Take 1
We decided to dive right into the TV location adventures on day 2 after a very lovely and eventful hike around Ennerdale Water on day 1. That morning we set off for Glenridding and made for the Inn On The Lake right off the bat. Uncharacteristically, the sun was shining as we pulled into the car park, and off I was with my DSLR camera and a stack of screenshot photos to wander around the place and do the TV tourist thing.
Perhaps aptly so, my first Find The Location riddle was easy to solve since it was Danny arriving at the hotel when he first gets there. No TV magic here, it was basically just him walking across the car park to the hotel’s entrance.
If you look closely, you’ll notice that the hotel has undergone some changes in the past 30 years. Parts of the buildings were expanded, some structures didn’t quite look the same, but it is still very recognisable. Although, granted, a bit of mental gymnastics to imagine that a whole TV production had set up shop here three decades ago to make this the centrepiece of this little TV show that became quite popular. (Anyone interested in more info about the hotel’s history, you can read up on it here.)
The car park out front had more to reveal. Walking around, there was the odd shot from series 1 that was filmed here from various angles, although I will say that in my mind’s eye I had imagined the layout a little differently. And this is why I love seeing TV locations in real life. It adds a whole new perspective to the surroundings and the setting. (Okay, this sounds like I constantly visit TV locations. Which I don’t. It’s just that this wasn’t my first time.)
Of course life at the hotel for Danny didn’t only happen around the hotel entrance, but there was our first dilemma. The back of the hotel wasn’t freely accessible. Hmpf. But what is it they say? No risk, no fun, right?
No, no, don’t worry. We didn’t jump any fences. I did the reasonable thing and went inside to ask if we could look at the back of the building. Fully expecting to be politely told no, we were in for a very lovely surprise because the delightful man at the reception said yes.
Okay, let me rephrase that. He said “yes, but…” A wedding was being set up in the back, so it was off-limits for the day. But we were welcome to come back on a Tuesday or a Wednesday which are generally wedding free days. And as if that wasn’t kind enough, we were offered to leave your car there for the rest of the day without even asking, which saved us extra hassle and a sizeable parking fee, so definitely a win!
I’m honestly still amazed that we were being welcomed with such open arms, seeing how we were dressed in stereotypical hiking gear and didn’t mingle at all with the somewhat more upscale clientele that seems to stay at the hotel these days. Perhaps it was the fact that I came prepared with all these printed photos at the ready, or that this was a very unusual thing to ask, or if it’s just the Brits being genuinely nice people, but I wasn’t going to question it!
I actually also asked if anyone was still around who was there when the series was filmed, and our lovely hotel clerk was immediately off to inquire about it. However, we were told that the general manager, who wasn’t in that day, was the oldest standing member among the hotel employees, and he’d been there for 26 years. Would have been fascinating to hear some actual first-hand accounts, but of course 30 years is a long time…
So on we went – our next destination not very far – just up the road to what served as Emma’s family home. Things here had also changed a little, though not as much as you might expect. Still the same buildings, some with new coats of paint or different windows or doors, yet still quintessentially the street up the hill that we see multiple times throughout the series. It may seem pretty drab on television, but it’s actually a very beautiful spot, set at the foot of the impressive fells that rise above and frame the Ullswater.
We trudged up the road to where Emma’s home was situated. Amazingly, it still has a blue door, although not the same one you see on TV. Hard to imagine that behind those walls amidst the peaceful scenery, there was a constant ruckus of family feuds and beeping smoke detectors. When I think of this house, the one scene from the series that comes to mind is when Danny returns to the Lakes after he gets out of jail, he goes looking for an honest job, and then his first order of business is to do the decent thing and hand what remains of his wages to Emma for her and the baby. I had so much respect for Danny there, and it played out beautifully to be very memorable.
Seeing the real thing in person always adds an extra layer of immersion, but what struck me once more is how directors and cinematographers manage to make things look really spacious on screen when they really aren’t quite like that in real life. If I rewatched the series now, I’m sure I’d look at it with completely different eyes.
With another location ticked off the list, we let The Lakes be The Lakes and turned our attention to our regular holiday programme – in other words more hiking. The walk we had set our eyes on involved a 40-minute Ullswater Steamers boat trip to Howtown on the other side of the lake, and then an 11 km hike along the shore back to Glenridding.
I suppose we could have hired a rowboat to enact Danny and Emma’s sojourn out onto the lake that resulted in their first kiss on the pier behind the hotel, but I will say I’m not really a water person, so activities in small water-faring vessels aren’t very high on my priority list. (Much to my friend Steffi’s dismay, who loves all things water and sailing…) That said, the Ullswater Steamer’s route took us past the back of the hotel and past some of the places on the lake that are featured in the series, so I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything.
The walk along the Ullswater’s southern tip offered stunning views as well as clouds, sunshine and the occasional shower. But they say there is nothing like bad weather, there’s only bad clothing, and since this wasn’t our first holiday on the British Isles, we came well prepared.
What the walk also offered was passing by the Church of Saint Patrick in Patterdale, which they chose as Father Matthew’s home base in The Lakes, so a foray onto the church grounds was a must. (The church beckons with free WiFi, too.)
I can see why they chose it for the series. Not only is it barely a mile down the road from the hotel, it’s also idyllically situated and perfect in size for a small parish. The cemetery just outside with many old gravestones and Celtic crosses certainly made for very atmospheric surroundings. Exploring the church grounds, I managed to find a few specific places that they used on the series, like the spot where Danny was waiting for Emma near the gate that one time, or a particular shot by the church entrance.
What proved more challenging was trying to find the tree that Danny stood under during the burial scene of the drowned children, because that tree was nowhere to be seen in the immediate surroundings. Lo and behold, I did eventually spot it, but they employed some clever editing here, because the spot where they put Danny for this was a good 100 yards away, when the series makes it appear as if he’s just hanging back a little. The tree is in a field that’s not publicly accessible and a sizeable stone wall framed by unamenable brambles stood between me and that location, which hampered my ability to get that one specific approximation shot.
Also tricky to photograph was the wide angle shot of the church that you can see in one episode, because of course 30 years on, vegetation has changed, and a large, foliage-covered tree obscured that view. But I suppose you get the gist…
By the time we left the church and continued onwards back to Glenridding’s town centre, it was approaching evening and we decided to call it a day, but what struck me as we walked through the town was just how accurate it was in terms of isolating qualities that are often referred to in the series. Glenridding is, by and large, a launch point for hikers or water activity enthusiasts, or just people who like the tranquil qualities of a more out-of-the-way location without the tourist bustle that places such as Keswick (pronounced Kessick), Grasmere, Ambleside or Windermere encompass.
Unless you’re really into hiking, trail running or boating, there really isn’t much to do here, especially if you’re a mid-20s lad who’s looking for a good time. It’s not hard to imagine it transforms into a sleepy one-horse town out of tourist season.
Glenridding – Take 2
Having missed out on the back views of the hotel previously, we decided to actually return the next day, seeing how it was a Tuesday with no scheduled weddings and it was conveniently on the way to further stops we had planned. And luckily, our lovely hotel clerk was manning the desk again, so we were kindly offered access to the back patio and the piers to the lake behind the building.
As you might expect, some back garden structures and the patio furniture have changed since the 90s, but the building itself underwent little alteration. We wandered around a bit and had a moment of revelation when we actually found one of the lanterns that had served as a landmark for one of the more obscure camera angles. Sometimes it’s like putting a puzzle together, and that’s the fun part.
The piers had been rebuilt and there were no boats moored there, but it wasn’t that much of a stretch of the imagination to see Danny and Emma standing there for a snog. Trying to get the right shot, it was serendipity that just at that moment, the Ullswater Steamer passed by in the background, looking almost exactly like the one in the screenshot I was using as a reference. It couldn’t have been more perfectly timed.
What I’ll also show you is a photo of Steffi trying to pose as Danny on the pier, though this shot was actually filmed at the boat landing and not at the back of the hotel, but eh. Close enough. Steffi’s commentary: “Standing around, looking broody, is something I’m very good at.” I tend to agree, though I would have preferred John Simm as a model. (Sorry, Steffi.)
Before we left for further exploits, we took a few silly selfies with the hotel as a backdrop and went on our merry way to… Patterdale – another relevant stop on Danny’s journey since they used the tiny village (population 501) as the bus stop Emma gets off at when Danny first arrives in the Lake District in episode 1.
I never thought I’d say this, but the weather was actually just a little too nice to recreate the glum, overcast day that starts Danny’s personal journey out here by the Lakes. Then again, I’d rather take sunshine over rain, so there.
There was another scene filmed here from the back of the coach when in episode 4 Danny threatens Lucy to tell the truth about the drowning, and you can see him standing in the middle of the road as the coach drives away. This is in front of the White Lion Inn just as you leave Patterdale. Amazingly, the vintage red phone box is still in exactly the same place. Sad trombone, though, because Steffi refused to stand in the middle of the road to pose as Danny this time around. Random side note: A lot of phone boxes in the UK nowadays had their pay phones decommissioned and house public defibrillators.
And then it was time for us to bid adieu to the heart and soul of The Lakes, though we weren’t quite done yet with our location tour.
Kirkstone Pass
Do you remember that time on the series when Danny and the lads take a trip to one of the larger towns nearby? This trip takes them along the invariably scenic Kirkstone Pass that connects Ullswater and Windermere. On the way, they stop to pick up some girls at the Kirkstone Pass Inn, an actual place that still exists today and said to be Cumbria’s highest inn, although it closed down in August 2026 because the building needs repair.
From here, you get stunning views of both sides of the pass, the fairly narrow asphalt road snaking down to Hartsop on one side and Troutbeck on the other. Danny flashes a winning smile through the battered burgundy VW Golf’s window just outside the inn before they set off towards the south, just like we subsequently did in our snazzy black Mazda CX-30. Well, minus the winning smile because we had our minds set on having a cuppa and a sarnie at the inn, only to be thwarted by closed doors.
Cumbria Constabulary
Our last stop on the nerdy part of my Lake District adventures took us to the Cumbria Constabulary, respectively the former Windermere Police Station that doesn’t appear to be an active police station anymore. This was used as the exterior location for the courtroom scenes in episode 4 where the truth about Danny’s involvement in the drowning finally comes out. And except for the crest above the door, it still pretty much looks like it did back then.
This was just another place that, in my mind’s eye, I had imagined very differently. Somehow the TV version made me think it was this place with a larger courtyard type space in the front, but not so. There’s a pretty busy street right in front of it and it’s not that roomy at all. TV can be so deceptive.
Fact and Fiction
I had frankly totally forgot about this particular detail until Steffi and I got into Windermere and we heard and saw fighter jets flying low just above us. If you recall, this was one of the defining memories for Danny when he arrives at the hotel and there is a jet noisily flying overhead.
What I subsequently learned is that the Lake District is an official UK military low‑flying training zone, known as Low Flying Area 17. Apparently the deep valleys and empty airspace of the Lakes make it ideal for practising low‑level flying, terrain masking and radar evasion. And they’ve done this here since the 70s.
And while we’re talking about things on TV that are actually accurate, I also need to mention things that aren’t quite as accurate. While the series was shot in Glenridding and surrounding area and Ullswater is mentioned in actual dialogue, I don’t think they ever gave the place a name or specified where exactly it was supposed to be. Danny enquires at some point where the nearest betting shop is, and is being told it’s an hour and a half away. But this isn’t actually accurate for where Glenridding is unless perhaps you take a convoluted bus route.
The nearest city that has a fairly decent selection of shops is Penrith – about a 30-minute drive by car and about an hour by public transport. The next larger city is Carlisle, a 50-minute drive and actually worth a visit since I found it very quaint and the cathedral has an impressive star-clad ceiling. I’m not even sure where in the Lake District you’d have to be to be 90 minutes away from a betting shop… But hey, this is what suspension of disbelief is for, right?
Elusive Places
For my Lake District TV tourist adventures, I had picked what I deemed relevant from series 1, seeing how I didn’t actually like series 2 all that much. And while I’m very happy with the location sleuthing we set out to do, there are two particular locations that I never managed to find.
One place, perhaps one of the most iconic ones, was the boat landing Danny worked at – the scene of the drowning at the end of series 1. This location, however, was difficult to pinpoint, and there’s a real possibility that it doesn’t exist anymore the way it was shown on the TV series.
My best guess is that it was adjacent to where the pier for the Ullswater Steamers is, but this area looks very different today and there are no piers with stone walls that reach into the lake there like you see on TV. If the boat landing was where I think it was, it had to make way for a car park to serve the Ullswater Steamers pier.
The other location I would have loved to pay a visit was on top of one of the fells that overlooks the area where Danny climbs around on his own while reciting a W. H. Auden poem in episode 1. This scene in particular had something that resonated with me – the idea of this young man trying to escape a life he feels trapped in, with the juxtaposition of wanting the freedom and excitement of young adulthood, and on the other hand seeking solace in nature and poetry. But from what you see on TV, there is very little go on other than a structure with horizontally layered rock and a narrow asphalt street somewhere down below. This could be anywhere, though it’s very possible it’s actually somewhere along the Kirkstone Pass.
Not actually elusive as such, just something I didn’t seek out specifically to take pictures of is the school that is also quite prominently featured on the series. The building they used is the Patterdale CofE School that still functions as a primary school to date, and it still has the blue roof accents and downpipes. Just for you to have a visual, this is from Google Street View, captured in September 2024, but I can attest that it still looks like that.
From The Horse’s Mouth
The DVD commentary with John Simm for episode 1 had some interesting insights on what it was like, shooting The Lakes at the Ullswater for months on end, feeling a little trapped in this remote place.
“This place was such a big part of my life. We were [at this hotel] for about six months. I’m quite a private person, so I got sick of the bar and actors chatting about actors and ended up staying in my room a lot, withdrawing myself a bit. Which was great for the role but not great for my sanity, because I started to go bonkers after a while. I was just desperate to see a shop, you know.”
Glenridding now actually has a handful shops. Granted, most are very small and geared towards tourists, but there’s a Mini Market that offers a very limited selection of grocery essentials. Though that’s probably not quite what John had in mind…
Glenridding’s remoteness wasn’t all bad, however. John also talked about how the isolation helped him get into Danny’s head.
“I’ve always found it easy to leave [the character] at the door. This was quite extreme for me, because after a while I was literally crawling the walls in this hotel. Like I say, that kind of helped me, but you’ve got to be able to leave things alone when you finish work. […] You can’t stay in their head for 24 hours.”
Having spent some time there myself now, I can definitely understand the sentiment, especially considering that this was the mid-90s and that the cast and crew were there to do a job that can be pretty demanding.
Onwards and Upwards
Stopping by all these places during my Lake District holiday has been a real treat and gave me a sense of the surroundings and how they fit into the larger picture of Danny escaping to a place that was very different to his old life in Liverpool, but also a place that he ended up being just as trapped in as where he grew up.
And somehow I can’t help but wonder what kind of life Danny would be living now. Where was he off to and where did he end up? Did he eventually manage to get a grip on that gambling habit? Did Emma perhaps change her mind and allow him to play a part in his daughter’s life, or did she vanish without a trace and Danny never saw her or his daughter again? Or was he indeed the selfish bastard that Emma said he was and his stint in the Lakes taught him nothing at all?
Sadly, we’ll never know and Danny’s story will have to live in our imaginations. Personally, I’d like to count on his redeeming qualities and imagine him getting his shit together. So I’ll hold on to that thought and envision him sitting on the pier of the hotel three decades later with his adult daughter, looking over the lake and reminiscing the olden days, the sun vanishing behind the fells with a golden glow.
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