Skiddaw - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Latrigg is Keswick's own fell and one for the 'must-do' list for your visit to Keswick. The views from the summit over Keswick town, Derwentwater and the surrounding fells are breath-taking and really help you to orientate yourself. An easy up and down route via Spooney Green Lane from Keswick with a circular route round the summit. The slopes of Latrigg are partially wooded, and logging work is currently being undertaken.

Derwent Pencil Museum is the home of the first pencil, and the Cumberland Pencil Company, manufacturers of Derwent pencil perfection since 1832. It is home to one of the biggest colouring pencils in the world, the idea of technical manager Barbara Murray. It is particularly popular with visitors from the county of Yorkshire, due to the importance of pencil production for the local economy during the 1930s.

Bassenthwaite Lake, owned by the National Park Authority, is one of the largest at 4 miles long and 3/4 mile wide, but also one of the shallowest. It is the most northerly of the lakes and has no major settlements on its shores. It is often full of sailing boats from Bassenthwaite Sailing Club. This Lake is a very important place for wildlife. Hundreds of birds including the osprey migrate to the lake and fish such as Atlantic salmon come to Bassenthwaite Lake to spawn.

Keswick Museum and Art Gallery in the Fitz Park was built at the turn of the century for ‘the inhabitants of Keswick and the visitors thereto. The local history collection stretches back to Roman times and includes such items as the famous 700-year-old cat, a penny-farthing cycle, and a man trap. One of the prime exhibits is a set of musical stones, variously termed the stone dulcimer, the rock harmonica or the geological piano.

Castlerigg is perhaps the most atmospheric and dramatically sited of all British stone circles, with panoramic views and the mountains of Helvellyn and High Seat as a backdrop. It is not just its location that makes this one of the most important British stone circles. Thought to have been constructed about 3000 BC, it is potentially one of the earliest in the country. Taken into guardianship in 1883, it was also one of the first monuments in the country to be recommended for preservation by th

Blencathra is one of the most famous of all the Lake District mountains. One of the most northerly fells, it stands proudly over Keswick and was the star of popular documentary Life of a Mountain: Blencathra. There are also lots of options for climbing it, ranging from the challenging to the relatively straightforward. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at 2,848 feet.