Holiday rentals in Keswick

This 800-year-old market town on the banks of the lake of Derwentwater in Cumbria is packed with the charm that makes the Lake District a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Overlooked by the 3,000-foot peak of Skiddaw, Keswick’s breathtaking lakeshore inspired the poetry of William Wordsworth. A boat across Derwentwater is one of the best ways to view the glacier-formed mountains and fells. Walks in Keswick’s ancient forests, like Great Wood to the south of town, and Dodd Wood to the north, are a wildlife enthusiast’s dream, home to endangered red squirrels and ospreys. Keswick’s picturesque streets, with Market Square at its center, are full of local businesses — including the town’s famed cheesemongers and its unique Pencil Museum — while the pretty Hope Park houses a miniature golf course created in the 1920s.

Weather in the Lake District can be extremely unpredictable, not just from season to season but week to week and hour to hour. The annual average rainfall in Keswick is a whopping 58 inches, and the geography of mountains and valleys mean that rain, mist, fog, and even snow can come upon you quickly and unexpectedly. Whatever time of year you stay in one of Keswick’s cottages, make sure to pack warm clothing, thick socks, suitable boots for walking, a windbreaker, and water-resistant outer layers. Also, carry a hat and gloves at all times. Temperatures average between 52 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the height of summer, and drop to between 35 and 45 degrees in the depths of winter.

Friar’s Crag

The lake views from this promontory are some of the most stunning the area has to offer, stretching for miles to the so-called jaws of the narrowing Borrowdale Valley. A monument here commemorates John Ruskin, who immortalized this place in his writing. But the name itself harks back to the days when pilgrims left here for St Herbert’s Island in the middle of the lake, home to a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon priest and hermit.

Castlerigg Stone Circle

This prehistoric monument made up of 38 standing stones, some of them up to 10 feet tall, is a powerful reminder that you’re standing on ancient land. At 5,000 years old, it is one of the oldest stone circles discovered in the UK and sits to the east of the town, surrounded by hills. In recent years, a much later Roman fort was discovered nearby.

Bowder Stone

If the stone circle hasn’t already blown your mind, this rock certainly will. A 15-minute drive (or an hour’s walk) south of the town, the 2,000-ton Bowder Stone is the area’s best photo-op. You can climb 30 feet to the top, or just marvel from its base at the miraculous way it manages to balance on its edge, entirely by itself.