keswick one

Day Six - Keswick Market Day

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Lake District, the big picture

look for Keswick

On Saturday, we made breakfast with our six fresh Ayrshire eggs, small or large, brown or speckled, and they were good.

Then three of us walked into Keswick on Market Day, which occurs every Thursday & Saturday. My wife stayed home, not sure if she was getting a sore throat. The walk from the rental house to town took 15 minutes, with well-marked crosswalks and minimal traffic exposure.

KESWICK

The stalls at the Market occupied R & L, while I went on a wild-goose chase looking for a 240V heating pad, nowhere to be found, but I saw a lot of the town, and talked to many shop-keepers. I also picked up some sore throat meds for my wife. One of the shop-keepers used his phone to confirm that the item I was looking for was in stock at an electrical supply store in Penrith, 53 miles to the east. It was a generous use of his time and I was grateful, but was not about to drive there, especially when he added that there are a few complications in the drive if you don't know the area !

The tourist info (TI) center at Moot Hall in the center of town had great hiking maps, and I listened in while browsing as hikers were getting trail guidance from the staff. Then I met up with R&L nearby for coffee on the market square & later we walked back to the house.

Later in the afternoon we read in the local paper about an upcoming play "Little Voice" in town six days out and I took another walk to town to the Theatre to get tickets.

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

	walking to town along River Greta		Blue Heron				ped bridge
		Pub near Courthouse		Market Day		< Crosthwaite Rd. back to the rental house >

The public footpath along the southern property line of the rental house turned out to be a pleasant but longer path to town.

My destination was the Theater by the Lake, to get tickets to the play "Little Voice" a few nights hence. The Theater sits at the northeast corner of Derwent Water, the local lake. For me it was good to discover more parts of Keswick.

'	public footpath		common Hop ground cover				someone else out walking, too
				the rental home is at the right		A66, Keswick Bypass
					a hiker who seems to know the way		local high school
		Keswick scenery			River Greta & mountains		VW Caddy, see note 1
	shortcut to the lake		Derwentwater		distant view of Castle Crag		Keswick Boat Launch
				Theater by the Lake		walk back into town
	Keswick scenery		Skiddaw in the distance		stone walls, cont'd		see note 2

note 1 - the VW Caddy shown here was the rental unit I had selected from SIXT at the Glasgow airport, 10 months in advance, advertised as fitting 4 adults plus full-sized luggage.

Once we arrived at GLA, they had the vehicle ready, but, when the rental agent saw our day packs in addition to full sized luggage, he said "wait a minute, that VW Van is underpowered & not a good fit for four adults and luggage, and you're going to feel very crammed in".

We took his word for it and were easily enticed "for only a little more" into getting a way nicer vehicle, which was a good decision in that even in the larger vehicle, we barely fit.

Thus, in Keswick, 6 days into a 16-day driving trip, when I saw this VW Caddy in person, I was aghast at how small it was.

note 2 - this was the scenery as viewed right across the street from our lodging. The view looks northeast to mighty Skiddaw, with a summit of 3,100 ft.

The main trail to Skiddaw was about a 2 mile walk uphill from our lodgings, and is rated by locals as a good workout, but really boring as regards terrain, being on a gravel maintenance road with hardly any plants growing.

Here's a look at Skiddaw from Catbells, looking a little NE.

Skiddaw in winter, a web shot

go to next page - Castlerigg Stone Circle & Borrowdale walk

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