|
Standing on the shores of Derwent Water at the junction of the main north-south and east-west routes through the Lake District, KESWICK makes a good base for exploring delightful Borrowdale - the start of many walking routes to the central peaks around Scafell Pike - or Skiddaw and Blencathra, which loom over the town. For those not up to a day on the fells, the town remains a popular place throughout the year, with a big enough population (around five thousand) to warrant a bevy of local museums and sights. Granted its market charter by Edward I in 1276 - market day is Saturday - Keswick was an important wool and leather centre until around 1500, when these trades were supplanted by the discovery of local graphite. The Cumberland Pencil Museum , west of the centre at Greta Bridge, on Main Street (daily 9.30am-4pm; GBP2.50; ), tells the whole story entertainingly. On the edge of Fitz Park, on Station Road, you'll find the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery (Easter-Oct daily 10am-4pm; GBP1), a quirky Victorian collection of ancient dental tools, fossils and some prized manuscripts and letters written by the Lakeland Poets. Make time, too, for a couple of churches: St John's , on St John Street in the centre, where the novelist Sir Hugh Walpole (of Herries novels fame) is buried; and Crosthwaite Church , a fifteen-minute walk northwest of town, over Greta Bridge, resting place of the poet Robert Southey. Keswick's most celebrated landmark, Castlerigg Stone Circle , is made especially resonant by its magnificent mountain backdrop. From the end of Station Road, take the Threlkeld rail line path (signposted by the Keswick Country House Hotel ) and follow the signs. Thirty-eight hunks of Borrowdale volcanic stone, the largest almost eight feet tall, form a circle a hundred feet in diameter; another ten blocks delineating a rectangular enclosure within. Back on the rail path, you can easily continue all the way to Threlkeld itself, three miles from town, on a delightful riverside walk with the promise of a drink in one of Threlkeld's old pubs at the end. Keener hikers use Threlkeld as the starting point for the gut-busting climb up Blencathra , whose five great ridges loom above the A66: you'll need to be well prepared to tackle this. On any reasonably decent day, the best move in Keswick is down to the shores of Derwent Water , five minutes' walk south of the centre along Lake Road and through the pedestrian underpass. It's among the most attractive of the lakes, ringed by crags and studded with islets, and is most easily seen by hopping on the Keswick Launch (Easter-Nov daily 10am-6pm, until 8pm in July & Aug; Dec-Easter Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; GBP5 round-trip, 80p per stage; tel 017687/72263, ), which runs right around the lake calling at several points en route. There's also an enjoyable one-hour evening cruise (GBP5.80) from May Day bank holiday until mid-September.
Your Tip for Keswick
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Keswick - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Keswick - visit the main Keswick forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Keswick webguide section below! Thanks.
|
