Dodd Wood and Bassenthwaite Walk

Rob, Brock and I had a beautiful walk in The Lake District this morning.

The walk was number 4 from the book "Pathfinder Guide No 13: Lake District Walks" ISBN 0-7117-0463-5. It is around three miles long, and takes in woodland, fields, farm tracks and a small amount of road walking. The woodland part is a bit steep in places, but otherwise it is a fairly flat walk. You can also visit the stately home: Mirehouse when it is open during the summer season.

Dodd Woods

Sheep, seen walking down to Bassenthwaite Lake

First view of St Bega's Church

Rob's photo of the stained glass windows

Mirehouse with Dodd Fell in the background

We drove back into Keswick afterwards and had a tasty jacket potato and salad for lunch at Abraham's Cafe.

A Walk Near Rosthwaite in The Lake District

Rob, Brock and I had a lovely walk yesterday, starting out from the small village of Rosthwaite in The Lake District. (Keswick is the nearest town). The walk is about 4 miles long, with some steep paths to negotiate. There is a tea room in the village, plus two small car parks and loos. The car park next to the village hall is the cheaper of the two, at £3 per day.

The first part of the walk is alongside a small river, Stonethwaite Beck, and through woodlands. You pass Millican Dalton's cave (the said gentleman actually lived in the cave for many years). We stopped by the river for coffee from a flask and a picnic lunch - a beautiful spot to relax in.

Then it is up into the fells along a well-maintained cobble pathway.

Castle Crag (you can climb up this rocky outcrop if you're feeling lively!).

Looking back towards Derwentwater, just seen in the far distance.

Coming back down to the valley.

A beautiful walk, and not too busy at this time of year. It is suitable for dogs, although you will need to keep them on a lead at some points, as you pass through fields of Herdwick sheep.

[Please click on any photo to see a larger version.]

A Walk in St John's in The Vale, near Keswick

Rob, Brock and I went on a walk in The Lake District last Thursday. We visited a new-to-us area near Keswick called St John's in the Vale, and used the rough map on this website as a guide. There are quite a lot of areas over the fellsides where dogs must be on a lead, as there are sheep about. The going underfoot is muddy where you pass over small streams, so waterproof footwear is recommended. Well worth enduring the mud for the beautiful views, though.

 St John's Church

 Tewet Tarn

Lichen on a dry stone wall

After that refreshing walk, we went into Keswick for lunch at Abraham's Cafe (now revamped to be larger, but has sadly reverted to being dog free, which means we won't be able to go there during the warmer months). A very pleasant day out!

A Short Visit to Keswick

We had a couple of hours in Keswick today: walking down to the lake and through the town; stopping off for lunch in Abraham's Cafe in George Fisher (jacket potatoes with salad and cheese with excellent Americano coffees, and now dog-friendly like the rest of the shop, so Brock was pleased); a quick browse in the Oxfam, where I bought some embroidery threads; and food shopping in Booths.

Here are some of the photos that I took on my mobile (I forgot my camera :o/). The light was very atmospheric, with low cloud, but bright sun.

Lots of wildfowl, as usual, attracted by the people feeding them.

Latrigg Walk, Keswick

Rob, Brock and I had an enjoyable walk around Latrigg, near Keswick today.

The weather was perfect - warm, still, dry and sunny with some dramatic clouds about.

We passed some models and a photographer taking photographs on a photo shoot, no doubt for some outdoor gear company.

We drive up to the car park near the summit and take a circular walk of about 1.5 miles. There is an easy path to follow, with a few hilly parts to climb, and the views are amazing.

Afterwards, we had lunch in the Chalet Tearoom at Portinscale (dog friendly). There was a market on in Keswick town centre, and we always like to have a browse in the Oxfam and pet food store. I bought some beads, embroidery threads and vintage pinking shears in the former. Booths supermarket was our final port of call, for some top-up groceries. I still haven't got used to the new layout!

Picnic at Rosthwaite, Keswick

We returned to Rosthwaite near Keswick for a second walk from this beautiful village.

First, coffees and flapjack from the tearoom, which has a dog-friendly garden with an amazing view.

The walk follows a small river and takes you through woodland.

Brock enjoying the walk.

The view from our picnic spot.

The next three photos were taken on our earlier walk in May of this year.

Millican Dalton was an eccentric individual who lived in a split-level cave and led groups of people in outdoor activities for almost 50 years. This photograph shows the view from the lower level of the cave, which had a stone bench in it, which may perhaps have been his bed.

This lovely wall had pieces of slate set amongst the stones, which gave an interesting pattern.

A beautiful walk, and quite popular with walkers. There is parking in the village. The small car park by the village hall is £3 per day in an honesty box. The National Trust car park prices start at £4.

Portinscale / Newlands Beck Walk

Rob, Brock and I had a walk from Portinscale (near Keswick in The Lake District) along Newlands Beck today.

It is an easy, flat walk with fabulous mountain and farmland views. The gorse bushes were in flower next to the beck, and it was not too busy at this time of year. Please click on any photo to see a larger version.

Approaching Ullock

Brock and I at Ullock Farm

Lichen-covered wall

 Blackthorn blossom

Sunlight on the hills

 Next to Newlands Beck

Gorse and mountain views

We had morning coffee and cake before the walk, and lunch after the walk at The Chalet Tearoom in Portinscale. We had jacket potatoes and salads: Rob's with cheese and pickle; mine with Moroccan spiced aubergine. The food arrived very quickly and was tasty. The salads included a chilli-spiced wilted greens with spinach and purple sprouting, which was particularly delicious. Dogs are allowed inside and out, so this is a favourite eating place for us.

Keswick Walk and Lunch at Treeby's Restaurant

We had a day out on Friday to celebrate Rob's birthday (a day early!). We did a four mile (two hour) walk near Keswick. It is walk number 3 in Countryside Dog Walks: Lake District - North (ISBN 9780957372238).

 The first part of the walk takes you along the shore of Derwentwater, with some great views of the mountains.

The second stage of the walk includes quite an uphill trek through woodland. You get some lovely views of the lake from the top of the hill.

We had lunch afterwards at a new place for us: Treeby's Gallery Cafe. 

Rob had a cheese and tomato omelette with fries; I had the mozzarella salad shown above (Rob has swapped some of the olives for a piece of his omelette!). The food was pretty good (the only minor irritations were that I had to pick over the rocket and remove a couple of brown/mouldy pieces, and that I was unable to have the bread with the salad because they don't stock gluten free). We also had a cup of coffee each, which was a fairly small cup, and standard in taste. The service was reasonably fast and friendly, even though it was very busy. We had to sit at a small high table on high stools. Although we didn't indulge, the cakes looked fabulous. I would recommend it as long as you don't need gluten free food. The bill came to £19.

Ennerdale Water, The Lake District

Rob, Brock and I went to Ennerdale Water in the Lake District today. There is a path right around it, and we walked for about an hour, starting in an anti-clockwise direction from the carpark.

We had lunch in Cockermouth afterwards, in The Lanes Cafe. An enjoyable jacket potato with cheese, beans and side salad with peppermint tea to drink, for me; scrambled eggs, toast and chips with coffee for Rob, and two takeaway cakes, came to a very reasonable £15. On the downside, the staff were not particularly friendly and they forgot one item that we had ordered. On the whole, since it is dog-friendly, I would go back if we had Brock with us.