WOMEN OF WINDERMERE: DEEP WATER/THE LAKE DISTRICT

Deep Water follows the lives of three women, Lisa, Kate and Roz, all living among the beautiful scenery of the Lake District, but whose lives are considerably less perfect than the surrounding landscape.  Much of the filming took place around Lake Windermere, which forms a watery backdrop to many of the scenes.  Which is appropriate enough, as the series is based on the Windermere series of novels by Paula Daly.

Sunset in Bowness Harbour, Bowness On Windermere, England. Photo by Michal Klajban, via Wikimedia Commons.

One of the most striking properties used in the filming is the house where Kate (Roslind Eleazar) lives, set in an elevated position overlooking the lake.  The real-life property is near the village of Hawkshead, near the western shore of the lake.  Anna Friel’s character Lisa, meanwhile, lives in the countryside near the lake.   The kennels she runs are seen surrounded by the dramatic slopes which are a feature of this area.  Roz’s house is in the village of Staveley, a couple of miles to the east of the lake along the A591.  Staveley Primary School was used for the school gate scenes which form the common denominator between the three women.



There is a lakeside cafe which in the series is where Roz’s brother works and which is the scene of a number of meet-ups such as in episode 1, where Kate meets Lisa to discuss her son’s bullying.  The cafe which was used for these scenes is the Bluebird Cafe on Coniston Water, named after the jet-powered boat which killed Donald Campbell as he attempted to break the water speed record on the lake in 1967.  

Bluebird Café - geograph.org.uk - 900291. Photo by David Palmer, via Wikimedia Commons.

Lake Windermere is the largest of the Lake District lakes, as well as being the largest natural lake in England.  The main tourist centres are Bowness-on-Windermere and Ambleside, and there are frequent departures on leisure boats linking the two, as well as Lakeside at the southern end.  Coniston Water is a short distance to the west of Lake Windermere.  The National Trust runs trips on the restored Steam Yacht Gondola, which leaves from a pier near the Bluebird Cafe.  Hawkshead is a village a short distance from the west shore of Lake Windermere with a good range of pubs and cafes, as well as an array of shops, including a large branch of the Hawkshead outdoor clothing and equipment chain.

Map of the area.