Written on 06/06/18 by Paul Oldham

In Praise of Keswick

For various reasons we've both always been particularly fond of Keswick and not just for the walking opportunities it offers. It's the most northerly of the Lake District towns and from there the A591 runs south through the other communities that make up the spine of Lakeland: Grasmere, Ambleside, and Windermere. It has a vibrant and interesting town centre with a wide variety of good shops with friendly staff selling everything from outdoor equipment to local food and it also has an excellent market on both Thursday and Saturday.

Keswick Moot Hall and town centre
Keswick Moot Hall in the Town Centre

Across the river (which you can now get to via the new bridge which was built after Storm Desmond swept away the old one in December 2015) you can spend some time relaxing in Fitz Park which is specially good place to go if you've got dogs which need a quick walk.

Bridge from Fitz Park to Keswick town centre
Bridge from Fitz Park to Keswick town centre

And while you're in the park why not visit Keswick Museum and its cafe. I've written here before in praise of the museum and I still recommend it. It's full of interesting things for all ages and has an ever changing programme of special exhibits.

The Keswick Museum and Cafe
The Keswick Museum and Cafe

But as we're WalkLakes I really should talk about the walking opportunities and we have a lot of walks which start in or near Keswick. A particular favourite of mine is our walk The Old Keswick Railway Line and Latrigg.

Walkers on Keswick Railway Path
On the railway path

When we first put this walk on our site it used the route which I'd first used to walk it years earlier where you went along the old railway line from Keswick all the way to the Brundholme Road before turning back to climb the backbone of Latrigg.

Keswick Railway Path Bridge
A surviving railway bridge over the River Greta

Sadly Storm Desmond put paid to that as two of the railway bridges over the River Greta were washed away, including one which you needed to use the old route, so we've now changed it so you only cross the Greta once rather than three times. It's still a fine walk, just a little shorter, and the view of Keswick from the top of Latrigg with Derwent Water beyond is its own reward.

Latrigg Viewpoint
Latrigg Viewpoint looking down to Keswick and Derwent Water

Finally, as we've mentioned here before there are plans to restore the Keswick to Threlkeld railway path so if you can help with a donation towards the appeal that would be great.

Tagged: walks


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