skip to main navigation | skip to section navigation | skip to site map and accessibility features

map showing location of tourNorthern Lake District self guided walking holidays

Keswick, our base for self-guided tours in the Northern Lake District, is surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery and stands between two beautiful lakes - Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite. The valleys around Keswick are long, narrow and green, and the best known of these is Borrowdale - the late Alfred Wainwright’s favourite Lakeland valley. Feeding into Borrowdale from the south is the lonely valley of Langstrothdale, whilst hidden Watendlath lies to the east.

This unique landscape, which has been nominated as one of National Geographic's top ten 'must-see' destinations in the world, has a superb network of footpaths and tracks which stretches through the valleys and along the lake shores, as well as traversing the flanks and summits of the high fells, making it accessible to all.

Ashness Bridge

Ashness Bridge - www.cumbriaphoto.co.uk

The walking itinerary will depend upon the grade and duration of the tour, but all tours will ascend Catbells, a wonderful view point above Derwentwater; visit Watendlath Tarn and the Ashness Bridge, one of Lakeland’s most photographed spots; admire the dramatic setting of the 5,000 year old Castlerigg stone circle, with its awe-inspiring views; and walk along the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, home to a family of ospreys.

The Northern Lake District offers mountain walking at its best.

Bed & Breakfast option

Your holiday in the Northern Lake District will be based at a comfortable family-run guest house in the town of Keswick. Your room will have ensuite facilities (private bathroom) and you will have a choice of continental or full English breakfast. Keswick has a wide range of inns and restaurants serving meals in the evening.

Dinner, Bed & Breakfast option

Your holiday in the Northern Lake District will be based at Highfield Hotel [ETC/AA***], a handsome slate-built country house in the Victorian style, which is superbly located on the edge of Keswick, overlooking Derwentwater. The panoramic views from the hotel are wonderful. Highfield Hotel offers extremely comfortable accommodation, and the restaurant, which prides itself on using fresh local produce, has earned two coveted AA Rosettes for the excellence of its cuisine. All bedrooms have ensuite facilities.