Spending so much time in nature, I’ve began to forget what it is like to be around humans (my photographer doesn’t count!). As I was staying so close to Keswick I decided I just had to pay the popular town a visit.
Many of my UK readers will know the popularity of this town in the Lakes. It mainly became popular because of the pencil museum and it is a backdrop for many of the Beatrix Potter books. It is the main centre for tourism in the North Lakes. Situated between Derwent Water and Skiddaw makes the town in an area of natural beauty. I particularly enjoy the stone and whitewashed houses, they are just quintessentially English.
I had expected to find a small market town which is the central point for several of the surrounding villages. What I wasn’t expecting to find was the sheer crowds in the town itself. Visiting midweek I thought was a brilliant idea, the town should be a lot quieter.
Wrong! I think all of the humans in the UK has decided on a day in this cute little town. I parked by the rugby club, in a nice quiet location. The car park was rather cheap £4 for 24 hours, unlike the bigger car parks close to the lakeside.
I could barely walk down the high street due to the crowds, only bonus is the fact it is pedestrianised. I would recommend anyone wanting to visit wears a face mask, for safety.
Getting stressed with the crowds, I headed past the theatre and towards Hope park. Did you know the RAF use the valley and Derwent lake to do low flying exercises? I did not and found this to be thrilling. Also hilarious when my photographer kept ducking to avoid the planes!
As I am absolutely terrified of geese, I made it to the launch office and immediately kept walking. Under the shady old oak trees I finally had enough space to relax and enjoy where I was. My photographer’s grandmother was an avid photographer too. Recently I found several black and white images of Derwent lake. I am happy to report it is even more beautiful in colour. The only difference was the size of the trees on the lakeside.
I chose to walk all the way to a hilly area covered in trees called Friars Crag. Named by the monk who used the spot to travel to Saint Herbert Island in the 7th century. It was a relatively easy walk, suitable for everyone. At the end there was lots of benches facing the views through the Windows the trees had left. It was so clear I was able to see all the way down the length of the , and all the way over to borrowdale.
It was quiet, calm and the perfect place to watch the boats. Though the steamer only floats on Windermere, I had hoped to ride it. My disappointment didn’t last as I was happy to explore the trees and paths. Amidst the ancient roots and through the hollows I managed to get closer to the lakeside. I hadn’t realised there is a beach on Derwent lake, I would have had a swim if I knew about it.
Instead, I chose to enjoy the view from the end of the crag. The last of the summer sun was making the water glitter. It is a beautiful spot and it did get very busy, very quickly. I am grateful to have had the view to myself for a short period of time.
A morning in the sunshine is hungry work, especially for a dinosaur. So I decided to be a brave adventursaurus and head back towards the town. Taking a different route I chose to walk through the Hope Park. As with everywhere else in Keswick it was unnecessarily busy. I think there is a lot to do in the park, such as mini golf. I stayed in the park of the park which was filled with wildflowers. Since lockdown kicked in I have became rather green fingered (even though I don’t have any hands). This area of Hope Park was designed beautifully, all of the flowers were in groups with similar colours (and smelled delicious).
Back on the main street in Keswick, my mind was focussed on finding somewhere to have lunch. Everywhere I was looking was full to the brim, often with a queue outside of the eatery. Until I stumbled upon Bryson’s right at the end of the street. Even better was the cheap deals with eat out to help out scheme. My entire lunch cost £7.50, this included a goats cheese, chilli and beetroot toastie, lemon French fancy and two cappuccinos. The entire meal was drool worthy.
The only grumble I had was the lack of cleaning going on in between uses of the table. Though I was lucky enough to be sitting outside and had brought my trusty packet of baby wipes. My morning had been rather busy and I was tired or being surrounded by humans so I chose to head back into the countryside where I could be surrounded by calm and nature once again.
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