Keswick Directory
Areas around Keswick
Keswick is the hub, with villages, valleys and lakes all within easy reach. Pick an area to see what there is to do, how to get there, and the places to stay and eat.
Keswick
The market town at the heart of the northern Lakes
Keswick is a lively market town on the northern shore of Derwentwater, sheltered by Skiddaw and Blencathra. It's the main base for exploring the northern Lake District, with walks that start from the town centre, boats on the lake, independent shops, pubs and cafés, and plenty to do when the weather turns.
Portinscale
A quiet lakeside village a short walk from Keswick
Portinscale is a small village on the north western shore of Derwentwater, about a mile from Keswick across the River Derwent. It's peaceful but close to everything: you can walk into town in 20 minutes, hire a boat at the marina, or head along the western shore to Cat Bells.
Braithwaite
A walkers' village at the foot of Whinlatter
Braithwaite is a small village about two miles west of Keswick, at the foot of Whinlatter Pass and the Coledale fells. It's a favourite base for walkers, with fell routes starting straight from the village, a handful of traditional pubs, and Whinlatter Forest just up the hill for mountain biking and family days out.
Bassenthwaite
Ospreys, quiet shores and the back of Skiddaw
Bassenthwaite is the peaceful area north of Keswick around Bassenthwaite Lake, beneath the western slopes of Skiddaw. It's quieter than Derwentwater, with woodland walks, a historic house, an old church on the lakeshore and, in spring and summer, the chance to watch ospreys nesting nearby.
Borrowdale
England's most dramatic valley
Borrowdale is the wooded valley running south from Derwentwater into the high fells, just a few miles from Keswick. It's a place of crags, ancient oak woods, waterfalls and small stone villages, and the starting point for some of the finest walks in the Lake District, including routes up Great Gable and Scafell Pike.
Threlkeld
The village beneath Blencathra
Threlkeld is a small village about four miles east of Keswick, tucked beneath the southern face of Blencathra. It's a great base for walkers and cyclists, with Blencathra right above the village, the traffic free railway path running into Keswick, and a quarry and mining museum for a different kind of day out.
Thirlmere
A forest fringed reservoir beneath Helvellyn
Thirlmere is a long, forest fringed reservoir about four miles south of Keswick, lying in the valley between Helvellyn and the central fells. It's a quieter corner of the Lakes, with woodland walks, crags with big views and some of the most popular routes up Helvellyn starting from its eastern shore.
Grasmere
Wordsworth's village, gingerbread and lakeside walks
Grasmere is a picturesque village about 13 miles south of Keswick, set beside a small lake and ringed by fells. It's famous as the home of William Wordsworth and for its gingerbread, and it makes an easy day trip from Keswick by car or bus, with gentle lakeside walks and some classic fells close by.
Ullswater
The Lake District's second largest lake
Ullswater is a long, winding lake about 15 miles east of Keswick, stretching from Pooley Bridge in the north to Glenridding and Patterdale beneath Helvellyn. It's one of the most beautiful lakes in England, with lake cruises, waterfalls, lakeshore walks and the famous Striding Edge route up Helvellyn.