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It is difficult to overstate the beauty of Borrowdale , with its river flats and yew trees, lying at the head of Derwent Water and overshadowed by the peaks of Scafell and Scafell Pike , the highest in England. Climbs up these, as well as up Great Gable, one of the finest-looking mountains in England, start from the head of the valley, accessible on the #77/77A and #79 buses from Keswick. Just before the Derwentwater youth hostel, a narrow road branches left for a steep climb to the photogenic Ashness Bridge . The minor road ends two miles further south at Watendlath , an idyllic little tarn and tearooms which can be hopelessly overrun at times in summer - the National Trust's free Watendlath Wanderer bus runs here every couple of hours from Keswick on summer Sundays, via Ashness. Back on the B5289, a signposted path heads to the Lodore Falls , only really worth the diversion after sustained wet weather. Further south, past the wonderfully sited Borrowdale Hotel (tel 017687/77224, ; GBP110-150, with dinner), there's a slight detour across an old packhorse bridge to GRANGE , a peaceful riverside hamlet, peered down upon by Borrowdale's forested crags. At Grange, it's under a mile south to the 1900-ton Bowder Stone , a house-sized lump of rock scaled by way of a wooden ladder and worn to a shine on top by thousands of pairs of feet. Shaded paths through the wood, and the B5289, lead in around a mile to the straggling hamlet of ROSTHWAITE , which sustains the most concentrated batch of accommodation in the valley. As well as two or three B&Bs, there are comfortable rooms at the hiker-friendly Royal Oak Hotel (tel 017687/77214, ; GBP70-90, with dinner) and the smarter, neighbouring Scafell Hotel (tel 017687/77208, ; GBP70-90), whose attached Riverside Inn - the only local pub - serves popular bar meals. There's a pleasant youth hostel , Borrowdale Longthwaite (tel 017687/77257, ), a mile south of Rosthwaite on the riverside footpath to Seatoller; while across the river, on the eastern side of the B5289 is the Chapel House Farm campsite (tel 017687/77602). Another mile on, SEATOLLER and the Seatoller Barn National Park Information Centre (Easter-Nov daily 10am-5pm; tel 017687/77294) marks the end of the #79 bus route from Keswick. Seatoller House (tel 017687/77218; GBP50-60, GBP70-90 with dinner; closed Dec-Feb) here has rooms , and there's an informal campsite in a small field by the beck along the minor road south to SEATHWAITE , twenty minutes' walk away. This is a popular base for walks up the likes of Great Gable and Scafell Pike: the trout farm at the foot of the valley has a fine cafe (Easter-Sept daily 10am-6.30pm), serving fresh grilled trout or sandwiches.
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