Braithwaite

The village

Braithwaite sits two and a half miles from Keswick, reached by car off the A66. There is a village shop and there are pubs; for a wider choice of shops, restaurants, a theatre and a cinema, Keswick is a few minutes away.

The village is served by the X4 and X5 between Workington, Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith. Bus times and routes are on the getting here page.

An old stone packhorse bridge over a beck with a wooden signpost beside it

Walking from the door

Walkers are spoilt here. It would be quite possible to leave the car in the village and walk from your door for a fortnight without retracing your steps.

Grisedale Pike, Barrow and Outerside all start from the village, as does the Coledale Round — the horseshoe taking in Grisedale Pike, Eel Crag and Crag Hill. The Newlands valley is over the shoulder of the fell behind.

See the walking routes from Braithwaite.

Up the Whinlatter Pass

do
Whinlatter Forest
England’s only true mountain forest, two miles up the pass. Graded walking and mountain biking trails, a visitor centre, and children’s play areas through the woods. Famous as the nesting place of the ospreys that fish the lake below.
Two miles up the pass
Visit
do
Cyclewise Whinlatter
Bike hire and a shop at the trail centre, so you can ride the forest without bringing your own.
Bike hire
Hire a bike
do
Go Ape Whinlatter
A treetop course for over-tens — bridges, Tarzan swings and zip slides up to forty feet in the trees.
Age 10 and over
Book
do
Force Crag Mine
The last mineral mine worked in the Lake District, above the village at the head of Coledale. Restored and cared for by volunteers, with regular National Trust guided tours of the above-ground processing mill.
Guided tours
Tour dates