Keswick and The Cumbria Way
After a long journey and the prospect of a short stay we decided to stay put on our recent visit to Keswick and enjoy the locality. We decided to let the bus take the strain on our second day in order to sample the famous 77 bus which takes everyone on a circular journey through some spectacular Cumbrian scenery. We were staying on the C&CC Derwentwater site, just a short stroll from the bus station. The journey took us up via Whinlatter Forest, Buttermere and the Honister Pass to name a few stops where walkers and sightseers got on and off along the way. This bus also goes past the club site in Borrowdale near the village of Grange which is where we got off and joined the Cumbria way for a pleasant easy walk to the Derwentwater launch at Lodore Falls, stopping for lunch on the way.
The site we stayed on is close to the entrances to Crow Park and Hope Park, in fact the park gates are just across the way. Hope Park is a lovely little park, beautifully kept with formal and natural plantings, equipped for all tastes including a cafe, miniature golf, a bird feeding station and picnic areas. I love it, so did lots of little walks through and these also lead on to the Keswick launches. We took another launch during our stay over to the Hawes End jetty which leads walkers to Catbells. However we joined the Cumbria Way once more to ramble to the Lingholm Estate. This has a newly restored octagonal walled garden and excellent terraced cafe (dogs welcome in or out.) See here about the connections with Beatrix Potter.... HERE
Back on site we noticed the "ready camp" area, it looked good and people were enjoying their stay there.
On our final night we'd booked a meal at the The Theatre On The Lake with lovely views from our table across Derwentwater, we saw a Terrence Rattigan play in a packed theatre. A nice ending to our stay and wonderful weather all week too.
Comments
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Sounds wonderful Brue,
It's made me want to visit the lakes now! 0 -
Used to be my favourite place for walking for many years. We have 'done' the Lakes several times in the last 12 years. Those Ready Camp safari tents look good. A bit expensive for two in August but very nice for a 4 night break at start of September for £200. Good location too. If we were not already away all September I might have been tempted for a short break and to visit friends nearby.
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Hi Brue
Always good to hear about a good bus service. That site in Keswick seems very convenient to the town. We have not taken either the caravan or the motorhome to the Lake District for many years, I think the boys were quite small the last time we went and camped. The company we used to work for has a hotel in Ambleside, which is an employee amenity so we tend to use that but perhaps we will have to reconsider?
David
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There are several good bus routes to choose from in Keswick including the open top tour bus which goes through Grasmere, Ambleside and on to Windermere. The buses are just outside Booths supermarket, another great attraction when we head north. There is also a market on Thursday and Saturday.
We stayed on a service pitch at the Derwentwater site (the only pitch available when I booked) it's a small site, recently refurbished, all pitches are hardstandings and it's only a five minute walk to all the local amenities. We enjoyed having the services laid on even though the very nice facilities block was only three pitches away.The only downside in the high temperatures was the large gravel pitch heating up too!
Thanks all for your comments.
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