Quick Keswick Visit

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It is central for touring the area of the Solway Firth, which has a lovely coast line and (whilst we were there) deserted beaches. The Lake District is also easily accessible.

The accommodation is converted barns and cow sheds. There are four at the moment with more in the process of being converted.

We stayed in Eight Byre, which is a studio cottage for two. It consisted of one room with kitchen and a separate bathroom, but was quite large enough for two adults plus Sophie the dog.

We had a double bed, two sofas, TV, and lovely old beams to the ceiling. The kitchen area had a full oven and mircowave. The bathroom had wc, bath with shower, and wash basin.

The cottage was central heated, which you could control yourself (although we think it was switched off at night by the owners) and constant hot water. The property is across the road from the beach, which was ideal for walking the dog.

It is pet friendly and a charge of £10 per week is made for each dog. There is ample parking in the courtyard and the cottages front onto a lawned area which has seating and is illuminated at night. For more information contact them through their website.

The place was nothing exceptional, and the table was sticky, but the food was good.

When we used to visit, there were a lot of souvenir shops, which have now been replaced by hiking-supply shops. There are also upmarket shops selling glass, china, household goods (furniture, etc.), and leather goods. There is plenty to see if you are not into hiking.

As it was a sunny day on our last visit, we decided to walk alongside the lake, which is an easy walk.

The path takes you past the new theatre, tea rooms (which have been there forever), the park where there is a small golf area, the ramp to the lake where the boat tours start, the small wooden jetties for rowing boats and a small wooden hut selling maps and souvenirs. There are also various accesses to the lakeside on the way.

The paved path winds through trees, giving views of the lake, and eventually a lookout point is reached which is known as Friars Crag. There is a seat where you can rest awhile and look at the beautiful view over the lake, island, and mountains and watch the boat sail by on its trip round the lake.

The path winds down an incline, through an animal security gate (sheep graze here during summer), and along the lakeside to another gate and path which wends through fields and woods back to the road outside Keswick. At this point, we turned back and retraced our steps, as it is far prettier than walking along the road.

My kids spent hours as toddlers playing at the water's edge, but no swimming is allowed.

The red, gold, and russet colours of the trees at this time of year competed with the beautiful views of lake and mountains.

The main street in Keswick has been pedestrianised, which is good, as it gets very busy in summer - with people spilling onto the road, it was hazardous driving. In the centre of this area is the Lake District tourist office, where you can obtain maps, souvenirs, and information on the surrounding area.

There is another park at the other end of Keswick which I remember last time we visited was full of rhododendrons.

I remember Keswick as being very busy and noisy but beautiful - at this time of year, it is still beautiful, but not as busy, and there was plenty of parking space.

We stayed in a studio cottage in Allonby just across the road from the beach which, because it was winter, was deserted. We had long walks each way without seeing a soul. Sometimes the tide was in, so we walked in the sand dunes and what is known as the greens - this was great because there were lots of rabbit smells and burrows.

In the afternoons, we went out in the car and visited Keswick, Silloth, Whitehaven, and Bowness on Solway.

Allonby is quite a large village with a river running through which has bridges at intervals to allow access to the beach. There is a post office/newsagents, general shop, two pubs and two cafes. It is situated 5 miles from Maryport, 12 miles from Silloth, and is a good base for exploring the Lake District. Carlisle is about 30 minutes' drive.

The beach is very long and pebbly, but there is a good strip of sand with rock pools at low tide. There are incredible sunsets over the sea and we were lucky to see one, as it was very cloudy at this time during our visit.

I enjoyed Keswick a lot because we had a good walk round Lake Derwentwater, then I was able to sleep in the car for an hour while mum and dad went round the shops.

Silloth was also enjoyable as there is a lovely promenade, lots of grass, and a small wood.

Whitehaven is a lovely town with good views from the top of the hill at the side of the harbour, but it was very windy and the sea spray was blowing right over the seawall.

Bowness on Solway is a small village and is the end of the Hadrian's Wall trail, and you can get your Hadrian's Trail passport stamped at the pub to show you have walked the appropriate piece. The wall is hard to find, but it is signposted and up a path between two cottages.

There are other small villages along the coast and inland and this part of the Cumbrian coast is definitely worth a visit.