A dramatic trip to Keswick

The weather has finally turned more autumnal, with dark clouds sweeping the tops of the mountains and occasional sharp showers. It seemed perfect for a trip to Keswick, so yesterday morning we set off early to beat the crowds and headed north over Dunmail Raise pass and past a shockingly low Thirlmere. We may not officially be in ‘drought conditions’ in this region, but my goodness we’re still short of rain.

We got to Keswick just as some of the cafes were opening so darted into the Honeypot for coffee and a toasted tea-cake between us. Suitably fortified, we then marched through the town and Hope Park to the lake, and along the shore as far as Friar’s Crag. This famous viewpoint was really living up to its name, with stunning views out across the lake to Grisedale Pike, Causey Pike, and Borrowdale.

Keswick has long had a reputation as an arts and crafts town, as far back as the early twentieth century when it housed the Keswick School of Industrial Arts and had its own artistic style. There are still many gorgeous shops and galleries, and we pottered round several of these including Viridian Gallery where we got a few inexpensive goodies. My treat was a couple of life sized wooden cherries to add to my ‘fake fruit’ collection. They’re in bubinga wood, which I’ve discovered from Google is an African hardwood. It’s a lovely rich mid-brown and the cherries look great on my fruit bowl. I just hope no one tries to eat them!

The moody skies were great for photography. The picture above shows Cat Bells and Maiden Moor (don’t you just love some of these mountain names?) looming over Derwent Water, but I took a load more…

Two go to Friar’s Crag

Saturday brought another sunny but bitterly cold morning. For the first time in ages we drove to Keswick for a walk down to Derwent Water and along the shore path as far as the well-known viewpoint of Friar’s Crag.

The ‘Crag’ is a small rocky promontory overlooking the lake which was acquired by the National Trust in the 1920s and has been a popular destination as a viewpoint ever since. It’s not far from the town – about a fifteen to twenty minute stroll past the Theatre by the Lake and the boat landing strips, and makes a pleasant stroll whatever the weather.

Everything looked absolutely stunning with beautiful views across the lake to mountains still dusted with snow, and spring flowers bursting out everywhere. I’m still a bit short of useable legs so I couldn’t manage my usual mooch round the market and shops, which was annoying as Keswick has particularly good shops! But we’ll save that for when the post-Covid exhaustion has finally disappeared. And in the meantime, there was still plenty to enjoy.

The photo above shows Causey Pike (the one with the knobbly bit on top) across Derwent Water, with higher and snowier fells in the distance.