Derwent Water West Shore-2026-01-18
Distance: 3 miles (4.8km)
Time: 1 1/2 hours
Terrain: Easy
Description:
Derwent Water is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful lakes in the Lake District. It is now largely under the care of the National Trust but during the mining boom of the 18th century the lake was a highway for barges transporting charcoal and ore. The mines on the western shore have long since closed and the jetties that were used to load and unload are now busy with people enjoying the regular boat services that encircle the lake. The boat service gives walkers an opportunity to walk and picnic on the lakeside paths and to avoid unnecessary road walking. For this route walkers need to consult boat timetables to take the boat to Hawse End landing, and be picked up at Lodore (anti-clockwise service). Timetables are available on-line www.keswick-launch.co.uk or from information centres.
Directions:
a Disembark at Hawse End and follow the lakeshore footpath to your left.
b Path leaves shore temporarily through stile and along field edge.
c At end of field go through the gate then turn sharp left and follow this path back to the lakeshore. Follow this around the headland.
d Keep to the lakeshore path.
e At the landing stage, bear right and join a track.
f Shortly afterwards ignore track to right, and return to the shore. Follow this path around the spoil heaps and through a gate.
g Go between a cottage and a boathouse and through a gate.
h At a fork, keep right (left is a private drive).
i At the next fork, by a cottage, go left and along a fence back to the lakeshore.
j Go over the stile in the wall, and then bear left and follow lakeshore path around headland.
k Join another path, but bear left, keeping to the lakeshore.
l Follow the path over walkways and the footbridge over the river.
m 325yds (300m) after the bridge, the path comes to the main road, turn left.
n After passing the Lodore Hotel, take the path on the left leading to the landing stage.
Places of Interest:
1 The view over the lake includes St Herbertâs, the nearest island. This is said to be where the saint had his hermitage. Legend has it that he was such a close friend of St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne that they vowed they would die on the same day, which they did in AD687. The west shore of the lake is in the softer area of the Skiddaw Slates, but opposite there is a notable contrast with the hard and craggy rock of the Borrowdale Volcanics which weathers less easily and more irregularly. From here the opposite shore includes a view of Walla Crag, a popular fell with fine views of Keswick from the 1243ft (379m) summit. A little further on you pass a large sculpture of a pair of cupped hands carved in oak to commemorate the centenary of the purchase of Brandelhow Park, the first piece of land in the Lake District to be acquired by the National Trust.
2 On the eastern slope of Cat Bells are the disused workings and waste heaps from former lead mines. Mining began here in ancient times when the ore was worked by hand. Work continued like that for centuries, until in 1848 the Keswick Mining Company put in a 30ft (9.2m) water wheel at the Brandley mine. Since then upgrades to production continued, and more powerful engines were installed but the workings eventually became uneconomic and production ceased in the 1890s.
3 This is a good view over the entire length of the lake with Skiddaw prominent at the lake head. As you turn to look at the path ahead the crag you can see is Shepherd's Crag which is very popular with climbers due to easy access and the varied grades of available ascents.
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