Keswick & Derwentwater Why Go? Keswick ..........................113 Pocked with islands, fringed by pebbled shores and over- Thirlmere .......................122 looked by the hulking dome of Skiddaw, there are few lakes Bassenthwaite Lake ......123 with such an immediate wow factor as Derwentwater. Back O’ Skiddaw ............124 Neither as touristy as Windermere nor as wild as Wastwater, it’s a place that seems to encapsulate all the essential quali- Whinlatter, Lorton & Loweswater ................125 ties of the Lake District landscape. If you like nothing more than cruising on the water or wandering the hilltops, there Cockermouth ................ 126 are few places where you’ll be better served. Borrowdale The lively market town of Keswick makes a convenient & Buttermere ................ 129 base. South of town are the twin valleys of Borrowdale and Lodore, Grange Buttermere, while Bassenthwaite Lake and its wild ospreys & Rosthwaite .................129 is a few miles north. To the west you’ll fi nd the conifer Stonethwaite, Seatoller forests of Whinlatter, the peaceful fi elds of Lorton, and the & Seathwaite..................132 market town of Cockermouth, thoroughly polished up since Honister Pass .................133 2009’s fl oods and now (nearly) as good as new. Buttermere & Crummock Water .........134 Best Places to Eat When to Go In terms of festivals and events, May and June are defi nite- » Pheasant Inn (p124) ly the best months to visit Keswick: the town hosts lively » Kirkstile Inn (p126) celebrations devoted to beer, jazz and mountain sports. » Cottage in the Wood (p126) July and August can be oppressively busy, although it’s well » Quince & Medlar (p129) worth catching the gruelling Borrowdale Fell Race in August if you can. Mid-September brings one of the region’s largest » Morrel’s (p120) country meets, the Borrowdale Show, when local farmers bring out their prize Herdwicks, and there are traditional Best Places to wrestling contests, fells races, sheep-shearing competitions Stay and even a classic tug-of-war to watch. » Howe Keld (p118) » Swinside Lodge (p120) » Old Homestead (p128) » Winder Hall (p126) » Seatoller Farm (p132) 113 KESWICK wonderful Italianate house (Wordsworth thought it was an eyesore and tried to get it POP 5257 pulled down). The island now belongs to the Nestled at the head of Derwentwater among National Trust and is rented to tenants, who a thicket of towering fells, Keswick is one are required to open the house to the public of the handsomest of all the Lake District’s fi ve days a year. Phone %017687-73780 for market towns. Centred on a lively cobbled details of the next opening days. marketplace crammed with enough out- Paths wind almost the whole way around doors stores to launch an assault on Everest, the shores of Derwentwater, but it’s a long the town is the northern Lakes’ main com- walk from end to end, so it’s probably more mercial centre – so don’t be surprised if you sensible just to follow the fi rst section to encounter some crowds in the summer. the famous viewpoint of Friar’s Crag, 15 Countless classic fell walks criss-cross the minutes’ walk from the Keswick jetties. encircling hilltops, while barges and row As always, the best way to explore the boats scull out from the northern shores of lake is by boat, either motorised or paddle- the lake near Crow Park. And if the weather powered. The Keswick Launch Company turns, you can always head indoors to (www.keswick-launch.co.uk) calls at seven landing browse the curious exhibits of the Keswick stages around the lake: Ashness Gate, Lodore Museum, or settle in for some grub at one of Falls, High Brandlehow, Low Brandlehow, the town’s tempting pubs and cafes. Hawse End, Nichol End and Keswick. History There are eight daily boats from mid- Keswick’s name derives from the Old Norse March to mid-November, dropping to three cese-wic (cheese farm), and agriculture a day from mid-November to mid-March. was an important industry throughout the A circular trip costs £9/5 per adult/child. Middle Ages, following the endowment of You’re free to hop off and walk to the next the town’s market charter in 1276. The town jetty if you wish; single fares to each landing later became an important industrial centre, stage are also available. In summer there’s KESWICK & DERWENTWATER especially for slate and graphite (then also a twilight cruise at 7.30pm, plus special KESWICK & DERWENTWATER known as plumbago, or black lead), which Father Christmas cruises in December. was discovered at Seathwaite in 1555. In 1864 a railway between Cockermouth, F Keswick Museum Keswick and Penrith opened up the area & Art Gallery MUSEUM to tourists and industrialists, leading to a (Station Rd; h10am-4pm Tue-Sat Feb-Oct) Tucked building boom around Keswick, Hope Park along Station Rd overlooking the orderly and Fitz Park. The line was closed during lawns of Fitz Park, this endearingly oddball the Beecham cuts of the 1960s and ’70s, and museum has hardly changed since its open- now forms a lovely section of the Sea to Sea ing in 1898. Glass display cabinets house a Cycle Route (C2C). hotchpotch of exhibits including a Napole- onic teacup, a penny farthing bicycle, a rare Sights & Activities fi sh pickled in a jar, a mounted golden eagle, KESWICK 1 ACTIVITIES & SIGHTS Derwentwater LAKE a spoon made from a sheep’s leg bone and a Studded with islands and ringed by scowl- cluster of letters from Southey, Wordsworth, ing fells, Derwentwater is, for many people, de Quincey and Ruskin. the prettiest of all the Lakeland lakes. It But the museum’s most famous exhibits stretches for 3 miles from the green expanse are its mummifi ed cat (allegedly 664 of Crow Park, a short walk from Keswick years old) and the Musical Stones of Skid- town centre, to the 90ft tumble of Lodore daw, fashioned from hornsfel rock in 1827 Falls at the lake’s southern end. by stonemason Joseph Richardson. The The lake is famous for its islands: the larg- stones’ plink-plonk melody was a famous est is St Herbert’s, named after the ‘hermit 19th-century tourist attraction, and even of Derwentwater’, who supposedly lived featured in a gala performance for Queen there in the 7th century, while the smallest Victoria. is Rampsholme Island. In the northeastern Cumberland Pencil Museum MUSEUM corner is Lord’s Island, formerly the prop- (www.pencilmuseum.co.uk; Southey Works; adult/ erty of local earls, while nearby Derwent child £3.75/2.50; h9.30am-5pm) Plumbago, Island was owned by eccentric aristocrat or graphite, has been an important export Joseph Pocklington, who built the island’s for Keswick since the 16th century. Local .