Best Wild Swimming Spots Near Carlisle
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best wild swimming spots near Carlisle are Thirlmere Infinity Pool, Brothers Water, Galleny Force Pools, Black Moss Pot, Buttermere Infinity Pool, Secret Buttermere Infinity Pool, Sour Milk Ghyll and Buckstones Jump.
Carlisle sits at the northern edge of Cumbria, an hour's drive from the heart of the Lake District, where the finest wild swimming in the region waits among the fells. Head south and the reward is a string of cold, clear pools scattered across the high ground.
Above Thirlmere, on the eastern fellside, Fisherplace Gill spills into an infinity-edge rock pool with a view over the reservoir. Further south near Patterdale lies gentle Brothers Water, while the Borrowdale valley holds Galleny Force and the deep gorge pool of Black Moss Pot.
Over to the west, two infinity pools sit high on Warnscale Beck above Buttermere, and around Grasmere you will find Sour Milk Ghyll and Buckstones Jump on Rydal Beck. Each one asks for a drive and often a walk up into the hills, but the settings are hard to beat.
Pack warm layers, sturdy boots and a sense of adventure. Here are eight wild swimming spots to seek out near Carlisle.
Thirlmere Infinity Pool
Photo: Michael Graham via Geograph.org.uk
Thirlmere Infinity Pool A drive south into the Lake District brings you to Fisherplace Gill, a beck that tumbles down the fellside on the eastern shore of Thirlmere reservoir. Here a natural rock pool catches the water just before it spills over a lip and drops into the fall below, so its far edge seems to fall away entirely.
The result is an infinity-edge view out across Thirlmere and the fells, at its finest toward sunset. Getting there means a steep, faint path of roughly a mile up from near Legburthwaite, through bracken with a slippery final stretch.
The water runs cold, and there are no facilities.
Brothers Water
Photo: Alexander P Kapp via Geograph.org.uk
Brothers Water Continue toward Patterdale and you reach Brothers Water, one of the smallest lakes in the Lake District, a shallow, reed-fringed sheet lying in the Hartsop valley below the Kirkstone Pass. On a still day it holds perfect reflections of the fells that rise steeply on every side, and its wooded western shore carries an easy, mostly level path.
The name is said to come from a sad old tale of two brothers who drowned here, when the lake was known plainly as Broad Water. Water lilies float on the surface in summer, moorhens and swans potter about the edges, and the whole green valley sits ringed by mountains.
Galleny Force Pools
Photo: Michael Graham via Geograph.org.uk
Galleny Force Pools Deeper into Borrowdale, Galleny Force is a run of pools and low waterfalls on the beck just above the hamlet of Stonethwaite, a spot many know as the Fairy Glen. The water slides over rock into clear pools set among trees, ferns and mossy boulders, and on warm days people come to paddle and swim.
A short walk upstream from the village leads to it, following the line of both the Cumbria Way and the Coast to Coast route. It rests in a green, sheltered fold of the valley, an easy detour on a longer walk through the dale.
Black Moss Pot
Photo: Adrian Taylor via Geograph.org.uk
Black Moss Pot Not far away on Langstrath Beck lies Black Moss Pot, a deep pool held in a narrow rock gorge in one of the quieter valleys of the central Lakes. The beck has cut a slot barely a few metres wide through the rock, filling it with a long, cold pool walled by low crags, with a small waterfall feeding one end and ledges above that people leap from.
Around it the Langstrath valley runs wide and empty, fringed with bracken and backed by high fells. Reaching it means a walk of a couple of miles up from Stonethwaite on a rough riverside path, passing another fall with a rope swing along the way.
Buttermere Infinity Pool
Photo: Anthony Parkes via Geograph.org.uk
Buttermere Infinity Pool Over on the western fells, the Buttermere Infinity Pool sits high above the lake on Warnscale Beck, below the craggy top of Haystacks. A small waterfall drops into a clear basin of cold mountain water, and the pool's far lip appears to fall away into nothing, so that from the water you look straight out over the valley to Buttermere lake far below.
That trick of the eye is what earns its name. Getting there is a climb up the Warnscale valley from the road at Gatesgarth, on a good path with a steep final pull.
It is the first of a string of pools, with one of the finest views in the Lakes.
Secret Buttermere Infinity Pool
Photo: Anthony Foster via Geograph.org.uk
Secret Buttermere Infinity Pool Higher up the same valley, the Secret Buttermere Infinity Pool is another swimmer's pool on Warnscale Beck, tucked below the fells of Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike above the head of Buttermere. Like its neighbour it rests right at the lip of a small waterfall, so the far edge seems to drop away, framing a view down the valley over the lake and the surrounding fells.
The clear, pale-green water is reached on a twenty to thirty minute climb up the bridleway from the car park at Gatesgarth, near Warnscale bothy, with a string of further pools above. Expect it to be cold all year.
Sour Milk Ghyll
Photo: Steven Brown via Geograph.org.uk
Sour Milk Ghyll Swinging south toward Grasmere, Sour Milk Ghyll is a white, foaming waterfall in the Easedale valley, the outflow of the little mountain lake of Easedale Tarn as it tumbles down the fellside. Its name comes from the frothy white look of the water as it cascades over the rock.
A much-loved walk from Grasmere village follows the ghyll up to the tarn, and there are pools at its foot where you can take a cold dip. Several waterfalls in the Lakes share this name, but this is the Grasmere one.
Buckstones Jump
Photo: Ian Capper via Geograph.org.uk
Buckstones Jump Last comes Buckstones Jump, a waterfall pool on Rydal Beck high in the valley above Rydal Hall, between Ambleside and Grasmere. A small waterfall drops into a clear, deep pool with an easy, shelving entry over pebbles, which makes it one of the gentler places to swim in the Lakes.
It sits among a string of falls and pools along the beck, in a green, fell-sided valley reached on a walk up from Rydal. The water runs cold and clear straight off the fells, and the setting is quiet woodland and open hillside.
People swim, paddle and picnic on the rocks, or press on to the wilder falls above.
FAQs
Where are the best wild swimming spots near Carlisle?
The finest pools lie south of Carlisle in the Lake District, from Thirlmere and Brothers Water to Buttermere and the gorge pool of Black Moss Pot on Langstrath Beck. All sit within roughly an hour's drive of the city.
Is the water cold at these Lake District swimming spots?
Yes. Fed straight off the fells above Grasmere, Buttermere and Borrowdale, the becks and tarns near Carlisle stay cold all year, so warm layers and a hot drink for afterwards are well worth packing.
Do I need to walk far to reach them?
Most do involve a walk. Several pools around Buttermere and Thirlmere sit a mile or more up steep fell paths from the nearest road, so sturdy boots are essential; gentler spots like Brothers Water near Patterdale are reached on easy, level ground.
Conclusion
None of these pools sit on Carlisle's doorstep, but that is part of the appeal. A drive south trades the city for some of the wildest and most beautiful swimming in England, whether you fancy the infinity edges above Thirlmere and Buttermere, the deep gorge of Black Moss Pot, or the gentler pools of Galleny Force and Buckstones Jump.
Most call for a walk up into the fells, so go prepared with proper footwear, warm layers for afterwards and a check on the weather. The water is cold year round and can rise quickly after heavy rain, so take care with your entry and never swim beyond your comfort.
Pick a bright day, take your time over the drive, and these are the wild swimming spots to seek out near Carlisle.
