Keswick is an ideal place to base your holiday as you can reach all the major lakes and mountains listed with ease.
There are 16 lakes in the Lake District and many other bodies of water called tarns.
The lakes are: 1. Bassenthwaite 2. Buttermere 3. Coniston Water 4. Crummock Water 5. Derwentwater 6. Elterwater 7. Ennerdale Water 8. Esthwaite 9. Grasmere 10. Haweswater 11. Loweswater 12. Rydal Water 13. Thirlmere 14. Ullswater 15. Wastwater 16. Windermere
A walk - High above Borrowdale and
Derwentwater
A favourite walk for regular visitors and a must for new visitors is the ridge along the west side of Borrowdale. With spectacular views down to Derwentwater and up the Borrowdale Valley on one side and into Newlands Valley on the other it is both a perfect introduction to fell walking and a ridge of which you will never tire, no matter many times you explore it.
The best way to start your day is to catch the launch across Derwentwater to Hawse End – there is a walker’s special at 9.45am. Walk up through the woods to the toe of Catbells and start to climb the zig zag path up the ridge. Don’t let the increasingly super views distract you from choosing the best route up the rocky scrambles. This climb up Catbells is a wonderful introduction to the joys of the mountains for all ages and has been the first ‘real mountain’ for many of us.
From the summit, drop down to Hause Gate where paths lead down to the valleys on either side for those who have had enough excitement for one day!
If you still have plenty of energy, go straight across the col and climb up to the broad ridge of Maiden Moor. As the path levels off don’t be tempted to follow the broad track across the middle of the Moor but take the smaller path to your right that follows the tops of the crags giving you delightful glimpses down into Newlands Valley – look out for the white houses of Little Town far below you and the remains of Goldscope Mine at the foot of Hindscarth.
After Narrow Moor there is another wonderful viewpoint at the top of Blea Crag to your left followed by almost a mile of easy walking to High Spy with its superbly constructed cairn to mark the top. Downhill now towards Dale Head Tarn and left (mind the boggy bit!) through the remains of Rigghead Quarry. Look out for the old tunnels and the caverns where rock has been blasted out. The rough stony path brings you down to Borrowdale where you can get the bus back to Keswick from Rosthwaite or walk back along valley paths and perhaps take the launch across Derwentwater again.
Don’t forget to look at the weather forecast before you go into the hills and go suitably equipped.
Bowder Stone
The Bowder Stone on Grange Fell is one of the most famous rocks in the Lake District. It weighs 2000 tonnes, is 30 feet high, fifty feet across and ninety feet in circumference, and it is just sort of balancing alone. Bizarrely, it did not topple down from the mountainside, as you may assume, for it is not a local rock. It was most likely carried here from Scotland by an Ice Age glacier. It may get its name from Balder, son of the Norse God Odin. No one knows! You’ll find it a short walk from the National Trust Car Park on the Keswick to Borrowdale Road. There’s a fixed ladder which you can use to climb to the top.
Professor of Adventure
Millican Dalton, a Lake District legend and self proclaimed ‘Professor of Adventure’ lived in a cave on the side of Castle Crag for nigh on 50 years. It’s on the eastern flank of the crag and is actually two inter-connected split-level caves formed during the quarrying of slate. You’ll know you’re in the right spot if you read his own epitaph on the wall above where he slept in the upper chamber. It says “Don’t waste words, jump to conclusions.”
Millican Dalton was born in Nenthead, Cumberland, in 1867, his family moved to Essex and he worked as an insurance clerk until he was 36. Then he became one of the first people to downshift and
have a change of lifestyle - he was way ahead of his time.
He lived in his cave in the summer and moved to stay in a shed in Buckinghamshire in the cold winters. He was teetotal, vegetarian and
a pacifist. He spent his days taking paying guests on rock climbing and mountaineering expeditions around the Lake District. He was a deep thinker, a philosopher, a man who told stories around the campfire and had an opinion on everything. He kept detailed notebooks of his ideas and thoughts and sent regular
letters from Rosthwaite. He spent his entire life in the outdoors and was completely self-sufficient.
During the winter of 1947, while in Buckinghamshire for the winter, Dalton moved to a tent after his hut burned
down. Living under canvas was too much for the 79 year old, he caught pneumonia and died at Amersham hospital.
Today, companies who have a similar ethos to Millican Dalton are picking up on his story and offering adventures on the lake and even bags in his name!
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To find out more or to book online visit
www.keswick.org
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