how many lakes in the lake district uk

There is only one officially named “lake” in the Lake District (Bassenthwaite Lake), but the national park contains around 16 major lakes and 80+ bodies of water (including meres, waters and tarns), depending on how you count them.

Official “lake” vs total

• Only Bassenthwaite Lake has the word “lake” in its official name, which is why pub quizzes often say there is “just one lake” in the Lake District.

• Other famous waters such as Windermere, Ullswater and Derwentwater are technically lakes in the physical sense, but are named as “mere” or “water” rather than “lake”.

How many major lakes?

• Many guides and the national park’s own info talk about 16 primary lakes in the Lake District, covering the largest and best‑known waters (Windermere, Ullswater, Derwentwater, Coniston Water, etc.).

• Broader counts that include smaller meres, waters, tarns and reservoirs usually put the total at 80 or more distinct bodies of water within the park.

Why the number changes

• Different sources disagree because some only count the big, named lakes, while others include small high‑fell tarns and man‑made reservoirs.

• In casual conversation or quizzes you’ll usually hear:
  • “1 lake” = only Bassenthwaite Lake by name
  • “16 lakes” = the main large lakes
  • “80+ lakes/tarns” = almost everything with water in the park.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.