Lake District 7th May 2011

Keswick Saturday 7th May 2011

Having arrived in Keswick on Saturday 7th May we had a look around Keswick dodging the rain.
We were booked into Burneside B&B, a good 20 minute walk from the centre of the town.
We had booked the larger room with sofa and 32" TV, and found it to be very comfortable.
The only downside was the adjacent busy road which the room overlooked, and was quite noisy even late at night with the traffic noise.
The room was around £70 a night including a very good cooked breakfast.
Recommended for the accomodation but not the traffic noise.

Click here for Internet Link to Burneside Bed and Breakfast Keswick

Castlerigg and Tewet Tarn - Sunday 8th May

Pathfinder Guide Eastern Lakeland Walk# 8 (6 Miles)

Sunday began as a showery morning, so we took a drive with a route provided by the owner of Burneside. The route took us to Windemere, crossing via the car ferry to Hawkshead, Coniston, and Ambleside. It rained for most of the journey. We took lunch at Lakeland, had a look around the store, and then back to Keswick. The weather turned by the early afternoon, and so a walk ensued setting off from our B&B to walk about a mile to the Castlerigg stone circle, and the pathfinder guide route followed from there.

It was around 14:00 when we had changed and set off in the direction of Castlerigg, following the signposted road uphill from the B&B. After just less than a mile we arrived at the stone circle field, easily spotted on approach by the line of cars parked up along the narrow adjacent roadway.

The stone circle is believed to be around 5,000yrs old, pre-dating the great circles at Stonehenge. It is commonly regarded as the most superb stone circle of many found in Britain and possibly one of the earliest in Europe. There are good unobstructed views of the fells all around, a good spot on a summers day. (of which this day was not, but the weather had improved that there was some blue sky, and more importantly - no rain!)

Having spent a short time taking photos and admiring the view we left the stone circle and followed the road for a short while before taking a gateway right and across more open fields.

The day was now quite pleasant and fairly warm, and the sorrows of the earlier rain were forgotten as we passed through open countryside, small lanes and fantastic views of the fells all around. Despite this being a low level short walk, the views of the higher fells were giving us an appetite of what could lie ahead later in the week (but fingers crossed on the weather!)

After several miles of what can only be described as very pleasurable walking, the terrain changed a little and we began to cross wilder terrain and approached Tewet Tarn.

Tewet Tarn is set along the Northern edge of Low Rigg and is a small reedy pool in a hollow, its waters often reflecting the higher fells of Skiddaw and Lonscale to the north. A very peaceful setting - no one else around.

Ahead of this the path climbed towards Low Rigg and passes just to the right of the summit.

Pressing on across now level terrain we came to a youth centre and lane which was very busy with children and parents just finishing their outdoor activity pursuits for the day. We continued on through the crowded lane escaping into open greenery once again at the lane end.

From here it was not too far back to the stone circle, appraching from the opposite direction, and then a short walk back to the B&B. We arrived back around 16:30, having walked 6 miles across easy terrain taking 2hrs, 30 mins. A good short walk to get us into the swing of things.

Our Walk Score:7/10