In his 1810 Guide to the Lakes, William Wordsworth described Wastwater as 'long, narrow, stern and desolate', and it's a description that still seems apt. The lake itself is owned by the National Trust and is the deepest body of water in the national park (around 79m at its deepest point). It's also the coldest, and one of the clearest; very little life can survive in its inhospitable waters, apart from the hardy Arctic char.
On the lake's southern side, the huge scree slopes reach to an altitude of 609m, created by thousands of years of natural erosion on the surrounding mountains.