Lake District Photo Gallery - Keswick

The name Keswick translates into "cheese farm", which may have been attributed to the nearby cheese dairy that was granted a market charter in 1276. Copper and lead mining brought prosperity to the town in the 16th century, followed by graphite. My plan was to spend the morning and lunch in Keswick waiting for the clouds to start dissipating before driving the Honister Pass. When in the Lake District, always plan some actitivites for a rainy day. My grey skies alternative also included the Pencil Museum. The town centre has a pedestrianized section with shops, galleries, and restaurants. The lake Derwentwater is only a 15-minute walk from the town centre. Similar to Bowness, you can rent your own boat or take a cruise. I chose to walk the paths towards Friars Crag, where the view opens up. Across the lake is the popular Cat Bells hike up the mountains. Across the lake is the Cat Bells, a 3.5 mile scenic hike but today's weather is just not right for the trek. Along the way from the town centre, Crow Park is beautifully decorated with flowers of all colours. A short drive out of town is the Castlerigg stone circle. Unlike Stonehenge, there is no admission charge and you can walk right up to the remaining 38 stones. Located on a hilltop, this stone circle was believed to date from about 4500 years ago and likely related to the mid-winter sunrise. The stones were probably from the area, deposited by melting glaciers and scattered in the area's fields. There are actually quite a lot of stone circles in this part of England.