Keswick

This past Saturday we left Castlerigg Stone Circles and ventured into Keswick. Keswick is a quaint little town nestled amongst the largest fells in England. This area also has lots of beautiful lakes and is, not surprisingly, known as the Lake District. According to Wikipedia, Keswick was granted a market charter in 1276 and Saturdays in Keswick are still market days with vendors stretched for several blocks. Scott and I wondered up and down checking out fresh flowers for planting in the garden, handmade crafts (I had my eye on some ducks, but Scott vetoed that purchase.), art, and food. We bought some fresh made olives stuffed with something hot and spicy for Scott, and also some local cheeses. We wondered through many shops as well. Adventuresome folks visit the outfitters in Keswick to purchase gear for climbing the nearby fells. One interesting thing about Keswick: there used to be mining nearby and the first graphite pencils were made here. In fact, pencils were still made in Keswick until 2008. There is a pencil museum here which claims to have the longest pencil in the world!

We had a pleasant morning wandering the streets of Keswick, and headed over to Derwentwater, one of the large lakes in the area. Several people had mentioned the boat ride to us and, since it was a beautiful day, we decided to give it a try. We enjoyed the trip around the lake. The lake is surrounded by fells and some of the landscape is really amazing. There are also a few homes nestled along the lake. Actually, I think mansions, or manors, might be a better description as most of them are huge! 

From the boat looking towards one of the fells. Although the sun was out, the day continued to be misty.

After an hour's ride around the lake Scott and I went for a walk along the shore, enjoyed some soup in an outdoor cafe, and headed back to Castlerigg Stone Circles for some better photos. On the way home from Castlerigg, Scott took me for a ride through the town of St. Bee's. St. Bee's is home to a priory first built in the 1100's. Sometime soon I plan to take the train to St. Bee's and do some exploring, but for today a ride through the narrow streets and hills of St. Bee's was enough for me. We headed home to relax and enjoy the beautiful evening with a walk around the harbour.