Derwentwater, Lake District Walk Ideas - as featured in our Little Book of Walks & Snacks!
If you’ve seen our recent launch video, you might be inspired visit to such stunning views, so here’s a blog for a little more info about the area.
Derwentwater, North Lakes, Lake District, Cumbria
The area around Derwentwater, which includes Keswick & Borrowdale has far too much to cover in one blog post! Today we’ll focus on the walk featured in the video and a couple of other relatively easy to do walks around there.
You will find the Circles & Crags walk description in our Little Book of Walks & Snacks. This is a route from Keswick, taking in the ancient Castlerigg Stone Circle, and a relatively short climb up Walla Crag, finishing with a stroll back along the lakeside path.
View from Walla Crag
One of the reasons this walk is a favourite of mine, is the relative easiness of the climb for some of the most stunning views in the Lake District. The reward vs effort ratio is heavily in your favour here! Although famous for the biggest mountains in England (which we also love) slogging up that far isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (and not necessarily a good way to get people into walking).
Although there is a climb up Walla Crag, which hangs over the side of the lake, the path is good (and mostly wide, which is helpful for distancing). The top is a perfect lunch spot with incredible vistas over Derwentwater and neighbouring Bassenthwaite.
The Stone Circle reminds you of the traditions going back centuries, (when people lived in this landscape without Gore-Tex!), and while you soak up the history you can indulge in a well deserved ice-cream from the van that’s often parked here.
On the route down you will also pass Ashness Bridge, one of the most photographed/painted views in the Lakes!
Ashness Bridge
Full disclosure – our usual route (and the one in the book) uses the old railway line path from Keswick to start with. This is currently undergoing major improvement works (it’s a fantastic route so we can’t wait to see it finished). It’s still due to open in 2020 but this isn’t the most straightforward of years! An alternative from Keswick is up Springs Road and through Springs Wood (there are signs to Walla Crag and Castlerigg on the route). As always, you must have a good map with you and check the route beforehand.
Another easy walk in this area is to Watendlath. It’s a nearly flat route along the beatiful river valley to the village (the café seems to be closed there at the moment). When you reach Watendlath there is a lovely tarn which you might see people finishing in, and this is a great spot for a bit of sunbathing. If you feel a bit adventurous, try walking to Rosthwaite in Borrowdale, again a good path and lovely vies over Borrowdale here.
Walking towards Watendlath
The café in Rosthwaite was open when we recently visited, and does lovely food & drink. The Views from the outdoor seating here must be in the top ten in the country surely?! There are various starting points for this walk – Grange is handy, the Borrowdale Hotel, or from Ashness Bridge to name but three.
View from the café garden in Rosthwaite!
Last but not least, the walk around Derwentwater itself is probably the simplest route of all! It’s a full 10 miles around, although obviously pretty flat. If you don’t fancy the whole thing in one go, take the Keswick launch out part way and walk the remainder.
Lakeside view
Happy exploring!
