Photographic locations around Keswick

INTRODUCTION

Here I am going to share with you what I consider to be some of the very best Photography locations around Keswick. All of these locations can be visited on one of my 1-2-1 or small group bespoke workshops. Why not checkout the Workshops page for more details.

Image: Catbells lit up by shafts of light Prints Available

CROW PARK - (OS grid reference NY 264-229)

HOW TO GET THERE
Park in the pay & display car park in Keswick just before the Theatre by the Lake.  Walk out onto the road and turn left down the hill. After a few yards, you will see an iron gate on the right leading into Crow Park.

WHAT TO SHOOT
Follow the path down to the edge of the lake where you can get some great shots looking southwards down the lake past Derwent Isle and the boat landings to the Jaws of Borrowdale and Castle Crag in the far distance. There is also an old broken down the fence which often holds flotsam and jetsam which you can use as a good lead-in line when shooting across to Causey Pike and the Newlands Fells. If you turn around 180º you can get some nice shots of the Skiddaw massif looking back across the park.

Image: Keswick Boat Landings on a summer morning Prints Available

KESWICK BOAT LANDINGS - (OS grid reference NY 268-235)

HOW TO GET THERE
Return through the gate to the road, turn right and head off down the hill to the boat landings.

WHAT TO SHOOT
This location is best visited either early in the morning or on a still summer’s evening when the rowing boats and passenger launches are tethered up alongside the jetties. You can get some nice reflections providing that there is no wind either from the shore or by walking along one of the jetties itself.  The classic shot is a close up down the full length of one of the jetties shooting west across the lake to Grisedale Pike or Causey Pike in the distance. Visitors flock here during the rest of the day and, unless you are looking for stock photography, there will be far too many people about. You can either shoot from the shore west across to Grisedale Pike and Catbells with Derwent Isle in the near distance or north towards Crow Park with the massive bulk of Skiddaw in the background.

You could, of course, decide to board one of the ferries that go off from here either clockwise or anti-clockwise around the lake when the world is then really your oyster. 

Image: Catbells and Maiden Moor from Friars Crag 

FRIARS CRAG - (OS grid reference NY 264 228)

HOW TO GET THERE
Carry on walking past the boat landings and follow the wide path with Derwentwater on your right. After about half a mile, you will come to Friars Crag, a promontory jutting out into the lake.

WHAT TO SHOOT
This famous viewpoint is again best visited either early in the morning or on a still summer’s evening.  You get an excellent view looking down the lake towards the Jaws of Borrowdale and Castle Crag or across the lake to Catbells, Maiden Moor and Causey Pike from a bench situated right on the edge of the crag itself.  When you come away from the viewpoint, carry on along the path a little further and drop right down a small path and through a gate into the bay.  There is a fence here, often covered in flotsam after high water has receded, that you can use as a great lead into the picture. The sun hits the bay about half an hour after sunrise so shooting late morning and early afternoon can be difficult due to the position of the sun. This is common throughout the year.

Image: Derwenwater from Castlehead in WInter Prints Available

CASTLEHEAD - (OS grid reference NY 264-228)

HOW TO GET THERE
Return along the path in the direction of the boat landings but, just before you get there, take the track on the right through Cockshot Wood. Walk through the wood and exit on to a fenced lane which leads across the field to the Borrowdale road. Cross the road and climb the stone steps to enter Castlehead Wood. Take the path which trends left to ascend the shoulder. In a little way, a steeper path climbs up to the right, to the rocky summit of Castlehead and a fine viewpoint.

WHAT TO SHOOT
For the modest effort involved in reaching the top of Castlehead, the rewards are quite spectacular. The view incorporates Derwentwater, the Borrowdale Valley, the Newlands Valley and Walla Crag. Views across to Catbells (everyone’s favourite easy fell walk from Keswick) are stunning. The rocks or trig point on the summit make a nice foreground to the shot. This is a great place to set up your tripod and take shots that you can use to stitch together later into a panorama.

Descend by the same path back to the main road, turn right then left at the roundabout which will take you back to the car park.

© Martin Lawrence Photography 2018