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Ullswater |
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the Lake District and is approximately 13kms (8 miles) long and 1 km at its widest point. At its deepest it is 60 metres. It is one of the prettier lakes and has several villages on or close to its shore. There are many laybys on the road between Pooley Bridge at the north end and Glenridding & Patterdale at the south end where visitors often stop for a few hours just to enjoy the serenity of the area.
There is a passenger boat service for approximately 6 months of the year. The Ullswater Steamers have been plying the lake for trade for well over 100 years and, indeed, the two current boats, MY Raven and MY Lady of the Lake, were both assembled on the shores of the lake at the end of the 1800s. There are piers at Glenridding, Pooley Bridge and Howtown.
Bluebird K7 had been transported under police escort to a new boathouse at Glenridding, at the head of the lake in late January 1955. Leo Villa was in charge of preparing Bluebird and the boathouse for Donald Campbell’s arrival later in the week.
Already the project had its problems, the wooden slipway constructed by a local joiner Tom Craig, could not be placed flat on the lakebed because of a sandbank a few yards from shore. Patterdale’s fire brigade came to the rescue, and using a high powered jet removed the sand bank.
The attempt on the record began on February 11th, when Campbell’s 26 year old wife, Dorothy, smashed a quart bottle of champagne on the boat and said ‘I name this boat Bluebird. May God bless her, her pilot and all those who work with her.’
With Campbell in the cockpit, Bluebird was towed out onto Ullswater for her first slow trial run. Astute newspapermen positioned themselves near a radio monitor station, on the shoreline, in the hope of catching the conversation passing between Donald and his team.
On first trials, it was found that water was leaking into the boat, the nose went down in the water and water was entering the air intakes and fear was that this could damage the turbine engine.
Many modifications had to be made to Bluebird, and it was mid-March before Donald could reach speeds of around 100 mph. Major modifications had been made to the shape of the cockpit canopy. It was replaced by a clear plastic one, the shape of the boat's nose was heavily modified and modifications were made to the shape of the sponsons.
It was to be July before high speed trials could begin again. On July 13th, Donald informed the Marine Motoring Association that they intended to make an attempt on the world water speed record.
As soon as the news was published, a spate of reporters and cameramen began to flood into the small village, all wanting to know when Campbell was make the record attempt and seeking general information about Bluebird.
On July 23rd 1955, Campbell averaged 202.32 mph. This run was described as a trial, but on her first run Bluebird achieved 215.08 mph, and on the return 187.57 mph, the average of the speed was enough to break Stanley Sayer’s record in Slo Mo Shun.
Campbell left Ullswater, but was remembered by the dales men, not as a record breaker, but as a modest and pleasant individual who attended functions, chose beauty queens, presented cups and left behind the Campbell Trophy, to be awarded annually to the best local sportsman of the year.
John Bullivant 2002
‘Bluebirds- The Story Of The Campbell Dynasty’ by Gina Campbell & Michael Meach
‘The Water Speed Record’ by Kevin Desmond & Leo Villa
‘The Record Breakers – Sir Malcolm and Donald Campbell Land And Water Speed Kings Of The 20th Century’ by Leo Villa & Tony Gray
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