Week 11 takes us across to the Lake District where we finish in the town of Keswick. The three routes that are available are very similar in length but they are quite different in the routes they take to Keswick. The first two routes to start are both 8 miles in length and they both get off at the same place but they go in completely different directions. 

As the coach comes along the A66 road after leaving Penrith it passes the old farm that turned itself into a pub at Scales the pub is called, rather obviously, Scales Farm. and opposite is where the two 8-mile routes start. One of the routes is going south to walk along a section of the River Glenderamackin. That may seem an odd name for a river especially when it means the "the river valley of the pig", but someone must have thought it was a good idea. After nearly three miles the river flows into the River Greta, which this 8-mile route also walks along for a short distance before turning south and heading for Castlerigg Stone Circle. The stone circle has a ring of 38 standing stones and was put together about 4,500 years ago. The 8-mile route will be there for about 15 minutes but it does have a coach waiting in Keswick so it heads south again towards Castlerigg Farm and then west towards Keswick passing some very nice houses on the way into town.

The other 8-mile route after getting off at Scales Farm heads south-west along a small track that is below the main level of Blencathra but to the routes right as it goes along the track are all the fells that make up the southern flanks of this mountain. Off to the left and slightly lower down is the river valley of the pig that the other 8-mile route is walking along. At an outdoor centre called the Blencathra Centre, the route drops into a valley and then climbs the eastern side of Latrigg which is the small hill that overlooks Keswick. From the top of Latrigg the route comes down via the Cumbria Way which leads directly into Keswick.

Meanwhile, the 8.5-mile route has stayed on the coach as it approached the turning for Keswick and then starts its route by going up Latrigg the same way as the 8-mile route is coming down. From the top of Latrigg the route decends to the River Greta and goes south also heading towards Castlerigg Stone Circle. From the Circle the route is the same as the 8-mile route but rather then coming directly into Keswick it turns west through Castlehead Wood and towards the landing stages on Derwent Water and comes into the town via Crow Park.

So with three routes to choose from and all of them of similar length which one are you going to do? If you fancy any of these then why not join us on these walks? You can get in touch with us from our Contact Page, you can also download the walk descriptions here and the GPS route here.

The image for this post was taken in May 2024 as one of the routes walked up from Ashness Bridge to Surprise View to look out over Derwent Water.