A nice 9-10 miler out in to the country from the outskirts of Keswick
Distance - 15.1 kilometres 581 metres ascent
Terrain -uphill at first but never strenuous
Refreshments - you'll have to take them with you, but there are no shortage of cafes in Keswick when you get back

Click on this image to order the map for this walk direct from the Ordnance Survey

Drive into Keswick, making the effort to find the Car Park at the back of the leisure centre (GR 270238) ie, go over the river, go right in front of the leisure centre, past the hotel, under the bridge and left by the mini roundabout. Why ? because parking at the leisure centre is (was ?) free as opposed to £5 in the town !

1 - from the car park head back to the mini roundabout and take the tarmacced track of to the east, past the large veterinary surgery and through some houses then over the new by-pass
2 - Over the bridge take the track on the left, through the wood. Where the track forks, keep to the uphill fork. Where you come out of the wood with a steep slope below you, we stood for a 1/4 hour watching a kestrel hovering just 20 feet below us. Keep going uphill till you get to a car park. Go to the right hand end of the car park and take the path to the left
3 - carry on uphill, taking the right fork. If you get to the carved stone monument, you've gone a hundred yards too far !. After the fork, the path goes downhill slightly to cross Whit Beck, which is a good sheltered spot for lunch. Then just follow the track round at a constant level and up the valley of the Glendarraterra
4 - Where the path meets a wall, head right across the valley, cross the bridge over the Glendarraterra and walk down the valley, enjoying the views over Keswick and the bracing wind in the face which seems to be a feature of this part of the route
5 - At the end of the valley by a cattle grid and small parking area, turn right through an activity centre, marked on the map as Blencathra Hospital, which with its groups of small buildings and isolated location, shows every sign of having been an isolation hospital. Follow the waymarked path down to Derwentfolds
6 - Cross the river again by means of a footbridge. Follow the river downstream until a (poorly !) tarmacced road, head left then right until you reach a path running along the old railway, by an old platelayers hut which contains information about the old railway. From here, the just follow the railway track all the way back into Keswick, noting the details of the valleys bobbin making industry which are indicated by the signposts on the way and the occasional pollarded beech tree
7 - optional extra -stroll into Keswick for tea and cakes !