Lake District: Cat Bells & Derwent Water

Date: Sunday 13^th April 2014

Route: Cat Bells and Derwent Water

Distance: 4.5 miles

Once upon a time, I used to write a blog about country walks. Then, it rained… and it rained… and most of the paths that we walked on disappeared underneath flood water, became impassable due to huge puddles or turned into extended fields of churned-up mud. So I stopped blogging for a while and walked through the city instead. And honestly, whilst I could have blogged about walking from Notting Hill to St Paul’s or Embankment to Fulham, given that our walks were largely improvised, often pretty functional and not necessarily very picturesque,  I decided to give the blogging a rest until I had some more interesting walks to talk about.

We have had a couple of weeks’ walking in the Lake District in the past – a week in Ambleside in 2002, when we invested in a book of easy circular walks, then another week in Keswick in 2009, when the walks and weather both got a bit more difficult – but both of these pre-date the existence of the blog, so this is the first time that I have blogged about one of the most beautiful areas to walk in in the UK.

Our first day in the Lakes this year seemed like an ideal opportunity to revisit a classic walk close to Keswick. This is the Cat Bells and Derwent Water walk from the Pathfinder Lake District Walks Guide and whilst it includes both a strenuous climb and a steep hillside descent, it is not too long, with the return section on an easy and relatively flat path through woodland and alongside Derwent Water, so it is a great way to immerse yourself in Lake District walking after a break.

There is no way to escape the climbing at the start of the walk – and there is a certain amount of clambering over rock faces too, especially at the top of the first hill – but being surrounded by families with kids and active pensioners scaling the paths at speed is a massive motivator and the prospect of great views back towards Keswick and across Derwent Water keeps you going through the breathless moments. The walk offers a classic combination of rolling hillsides, green fields and sunlight reflecting off the lake, with a fair amount of breeze on the exposed hillsides to blow the cobwebs away.

If you do this walk at the weekend, it is pointless to expect solitude – this is a popular walk and you will spend a lot of time chatting with fellow walkers (and dogs), as well as shooting the occasional envious glance at anyone lucky enough to secure a lakeside picnic bench or seat with a view, but the Pathfinder Guide describes this as a “superb walk” and I cannot help but agree.  The perfect walk to get you re-acquainted with the Lake District National Park.