Keswick
Location
Keswick, being between Derwent Water, Blencathra and Skiddaw, is a popular town for Lakeland climbers and serious fell walkers. Here you will find more bed & breakfast establishments and Guest houses per head of population than anywhere else in the country. This town is the main tourist attraction of northern Lakeland.
Keswick is also well known for the Theatre by the Lake, which was officially opened by the theatre’s President, Dame Judi Dench, and her late husband, Michael Williams, on 14 December 1999.
History
Keswick, which originally was a small market town, became prosperous as a result of the mining industry in the Elizabethan times. Mining engineers, from Germany, were brought in to look for copper, lead, silver and iron. However, these engineers were treated with suspicion by the locals and had to make their homes on Derwent Island. This attitude among the locals must have changed, because today German surnames can still be found amongst the local population. This old town also became famous for the Cumberland Pencil Company, which was founded after black lead was mined in Borrowdale.
Interesting spots
Castlerigg Stone Circle | Whinlatter Forest
Statistics
Keswick has a population of just under 5,000
Accommodation in or near Keswick
Swiss Court | Honister House | Glencoe | Hedgehog Hill | Brackenrigg Holiday Cottages | Cranford House | Newlands Fell
Main Tourist Towns
Windermere Bowness on Windermere Ambleside Coniston Hawkshead Keswick
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