Guided Walking with Sightseeing at Derwentwater

Up to 5 miles with some ascent.
Each day’s guided walking and sightseeing will be chosen from the following provisional programme.
Admission fees are not included in the cost of your holiday; please allow £30.  If you have a National Trust card, remember to bring it along.

Latrigg, Dodd Wood, St. Bega’s Church and Mirehouse
From the summit of Latrigg, we have a superb view over Keswick and Derwent Water as far as the distant Borrowdale valley. Then on to the Sawmill Café in Dodd Wood and a walk through the wood and across fields to the 10th-century St Bega’s Church, dedicated to the daughter of a 7th-century Irish chieftain. It is a romantic setting, close to the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake. We visit Mirehouse, an English manor built in 1666 by the 8th Earl of Derby. It has strong links with poets Tennyson, Wordsworth and Southey and is a living family home, set in extensive grounds.

Distance: 4 miles with 425 feet of ascent.

Buttermere, Whinlatter and Thornthwaite
From the village of Buttermere, our walk follows the lakeshore path to Gatesgarth. We will then be driven over the Whinlatter Pass to the Whinlatter Forest Centre. A forest track brings us to Thornthwaite, where we visit the Galleries and see the excellent display of Lakeland crafts and paintings.

Distance: 3½ miles with negligible ascent. 

Castlerigg, Watendlath, Ashness Bridge and Derwent Water
We visit Castlerigg Stone Circle, a prehistoric monument set between some of Lakeland’s highest mountains, before driving up to Watendlath, the hamlet chosen as the setting for Hugh Walpole’s novel Judith Paris. A walk along the valley follows Watendlath Beck and through woods to Surprise View and Ashness Bridge, the most photographed packhorse bridge in Cumbria. We then descend to the shore of Derwent Water to pick up a launch to return us to Derwent Bank.

Distance: 3¼ miles with 50 feet of ascent.

Aira Force and Dalemain
We take a path under Gowbarrow Fell to Aira Force, Lakeland’s most magnificent waterfall. We shall picnic overlooking Ullswater and then it’s on to Dalemain, a mansion built on the site of a Saxon fortified peel tower. It was extended to become a Manor House in Elizabethan times and, in 1744, a pink sandstone Georgian façade was added. There is a wealth of Tudor and medieval rooms,  plus outbuildings and delightful gardens to explore.  There is also a museum and a café in the medieval hall.

Distance: (morning) 3 miles with 100 feet of ascent

Bowder Stone, Rosthwaite, Grange and Derwent Water
A coach journey along the shore of Derwent Water passes through the Jaws of Borrowdale. Crags close in on both sides and the ancient iron age fort of Castle Crag guards the entrance to the dale. We stop to visit the Bowder Stone, a 2000-ton glacial erratic. In 1800 Joseph Pocklington, who built Derwent Bank, had a ladder constructed to reach the top and one is still in use today. From the Flock-In tearoom at Rosthwaite, we follow the Cumbria Way, picnic by the side of the River Derwent and continue into Grange. Following the Derwent Water lakeshore path we catch a launch to take us back to Derwent Bank or into Keswick.

Distance: 4½ miles with 200 feet of ascent.