Hidden Gems to find in Keswick

Keswick is one of the most popular market towns in the Lake District, making quiet, undiscovered spots a rarity… that doesn’t mean they don’t exist though!  To escape the crowds, try exploring some of these hidden gems in and around Keswick…

  • Upper Fitz Park

Fitz Park is a popular park in Keswick, but many visitors don’t know the park has two sections. The main, popular part of the park has a play park, cricket club, football club and is beside Keswick Museum, but if you walk past this and venture under the bridge, you reach Upper Fitz Park. This is a quiet section of the park complete with a beautiful gardens and an arboretum with a stunning variety of unique trees and shrubs. The park is only a short, simple stroll from Keswick town centre is an ideal spot for a quiet, private picnic away from the crowds.

  • Surprise View

A stunning viewpoint near Ashness Bridge, Surprise View is suitably named as the scene appears from suddenly from the woodland, making this an ultimate hidden gem. From the path, you can see the whole of Derwentwater, Borrowdale to the South and Bassenthwaite Lake and Skiddaw to the North.

  • Lodore Falls

Hidden behind the Lodore Falls hotel around 10 minutes away from Keswick, Lodore Falls is a stunning waterfall tumbling over 100 feet from Watendlath. A visit following heavy rain will ensure you see the falls as their best.

  • Calfclose Bay Centenary Stone

A modern sculpture set in Calfclose Bay, Derwenwater, the Centenary Stones stand as a commemorative piece to the National Trust. Sourced from the Borrowdale Valley, the stones are carved out of a boulder of volcanic rock. The unique design represents ten segments across ten rings representing a century. Depending on what time of day you visit, the stones could be slightly submerged in the water, making them a literal hidden gem at times!

  • Langstrath Valley

A remote valley 20 minutes away from Keswick near Borrowdale, Langstrath Valley is a stunning, quiet place offering hikes away from the crowds. The valley is home to Black Moss Pot, a popular wild swimming place, which is beautiful and ideal for a picnic. For a quieter area, spots alongside Langstrath Beck are equally as beautiful and more remote with picturesque little streams of waterfalls running down the beck.

  • Watendlath Tarn

A lesser-visited tarn in the small hamlet of Watendlath, Watendlath Tarn sits between the Borrowdale and Thirlmere valleys surrounded by fells. There is a beautiful, quaint packhorse bridge and a National Trust tea-room beside the tarn; an ideal, relaxed day away from the crowds.

  • Alhambra cinema

Despite being the sixth oldest cinema in the country, not many people have heard of Alhambra cinema in Keswick. The picture house is a traditional cinema in a stunning, archaic building which showcases the latest films as well as independent, art-house movies and live-streams of opera and ballet. The cinema is situated on the corner of the quieter streets in Keswick, nestled away on St. John’s Street.