Windermere and Leven
Catchment Facts
- Total area: 220km2
- Main Rivers: Brathay, Rothay, Great Langdale Beck, Trout Beck, Cunsey Beck & the River Leven
- Main Lakes: Windermere, Grasmere, Rydal Water, Elterwater and Esthwaite
- Settlements: Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Hawkshead, Grasmere and Cartmel
- Windermere is England’s largest and longest natural lake
- Popular tourist destination
- Has a population of approximately 17,500 people
- The Great North Swim was cancelled in 2010 due to blue-green algae. There are on-going issues with nutrient enrichment.
- Flooding affected the catchment during 2008, 2009 and 2015 with drought conditions in 2010.
- Water is abstracted from the lake for distribution across Cumbria and the North West
- The catchment is largely rural, with farming in the lower parts of the valley
- Dramatic declines in population of Arctic Charr within the last 10 years
- Windermere and Leven Association is our local catchment partnership in the area.
- View a map of the Leven Catchment
The Windermere and Leven catchment is perhaps the most well-known catchment in South Cumbria, attracting large numbers of visitors year round. Windermere is England’s largest and longest natural lake and a public right of navigation means it has a rich boating history and is the busiest of all the lakes within the National Park. However, since 2000 there has been a gradual decline in lake condition, with increasing phytoplankton (micro-algae) levels and summer blue-green algal blooms combined with a depletion in oxygen concentrations in deeper parts of the lake, threatening native species.