Keswick

Why base here

Keswick is the largest town in the northern Lake District, built on the slate trade and now on tourism, sitting on the River Greta just above the northern shore of Derwentwater. Skiddaw rises directly behind it; Derwentwater and the fells of Borrowdale fill the view south. Keswick lost its own railway in 1972, but it kept the market town’s grid of streets, its Moot Hall, and a bus network that reaches out to Buttermere, Borrowdale, Windermere and Grasmere. For a first trip to the Lakes, or a week that mixes low-level walking with one or two harder days, it is the most straightforward place to start from.

On foot versus by car

Derwentwater’s shore is walkable from the town centre in minutes: Friar’s Crag is about a kilometre from Moot Hall along a level path through Hope Park, and the Keswick Launch runs a 50-minute round-the-lake service calling at seven landing stages, including Hawse End, the usual starting point for Catbells. Reaching Catbells without the launch means a walk of several kilometres round the shore through Portinscale, so most people either take the boat or drive. Castlerigg Stone Circle is a 30-minute walk out of town, or a two-minute stroll from roadside parking on Castle Lane. Whinlatter Forest, Buttermere and Honister Pass all need a car or one of the seasonal bus services, since they lie beyond the town on the far side of Derwentwater or over a mountain pass. Blencathra starts from the small car park on Blease Road above Threlkeld, a short drive east along the A66. Grisedale Pike climbs the other way, from Braithwaite, two and a half miles west of the town at the foot of Whinlatter Pass.

Practicalities

Penrith, on the West Coast Main Line, is the nearest station, about 17 miles away, with a bus on to Keswick. The main roads in are the A66 from the M6 at Penrith and the A591 from Windermere and Ambleside, both ordinary A-roads rather than mountain passes. It is the onward routes that turn into passes: Honister Pass to Buttermere and Whinlatter Pass to the forest of the same name both climb steeply with sections of narrow road and passing places, best driven with time to spare rather than in a hurry.

With children

Catbells is the one Lakeland fell built with young families in mind, so much so that Wainwright called it “a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together.” The going is still real: the final stretch onto the ridge crosses two short rocky steps that need a hand held, and can be greasy after rain, but the whole round from Hawse End is about 6.5km and most parties are back within two to three hours, boat crossing included, since the Keswick Launch is the easiest way to reach the start. Castlerigg Stone Circle asks for less again: roadside parking within two minutes’ walk of thirty-eight standing stones on open, grassy ground, enough to hold a young child’s attention without a walk at all, though a pushchair will struggle once the field is wet. Whinlatter, a drive northwest of town, has the blue-graded Quercus trail, a 3.5km loop built for confidence rather than commitment, with bike hire at the visitor centre for anyone who arrived without their own.