The white farmhouses of Stonethwaite in green pasture below a long bracken fell

Seatoller, Seathwaite and Stonethwaite

Three settlements at the head of Borrowdale, under the Honister Pass — and the valley where the world’s first pencils are said to have begun.

A steep slope of loose grey slate spoil below the summit of Castle Crag

Where the pencils began

The raw material for Keswick’s great industry was, the story goes, found by a shepherd at Seathwaite in 1550. The substance — black lead, or graphite — was first used for marking sheep, which is how Borrowdale comes to claim the first pencils in the world.

Farming and mining were the traditional industries here. The first records of quarrying at Honister date from 1643, and the mine prospered enough to employ over a hundred men. Through the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the mines were at their most productive.

At the head of the valley

Seatoller is seven miles from Keswick on the B5289, with commanding views of the Borrowdale fells. It sits at the foot of the Honister Pass, which winds through a succession of bends for a mile and a half to the top and the buildings of the slate mine, then over to Buttermere.

The village is surrounded by fells, rich pasture and ancient deciduous woodland — Johnny Wood among others is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Close by is the tiny hamlet of Stonethwaite, home to Borrowdale Primary School and the small and beautiful church of St Andrew.

The 78 runs between Keswick and Seatoller all year, and from April to October the seasonal Honister Rambler runs a circuit in both directions over the pass to Buttermere. Bus times and routes are on the getting here page.

From here

  • Scafell Pike

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    Scafell Pike

    Seatoller is a popular start for the highest mountain in England: a mile along the lane to Seathwaite Farm, through the farmyard, up to Stockley Bridge and Grains Gill, then Esk Hause and the summit between Great End and Ill Crag. A serious mountain walk — do not attempt it without the right equipment.

    A full day

    Safety on the fells
  • A climber on a via ferrata cable bridge with both arms raised in celebration

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    Honister Slate Mine

    At the head of the pass, still producing Westmorland Green Slate — a 450-million-year-old material worked here for centuries. Mine tours, and two via ferrata routes following the original miners’ way to the top.

    Tours and via ferrata

    Visit the mine
  • The wooded knoll of Castle Crag standing in the jaws of Borrowdale

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    Castle Crag

    From the National Trust car park at Seatoller, a short sharp climb onto the wooded knoll that plugs the Jaws of Borrowdale. The surrounding high fells — Great End, Glaramara, Great Gable — start from the same place.

    Half a day

    Walking route
  • The Langstrath valley running back into the fells with autumn colour on the lower slopes

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    Black Moss Pot

    Two miles on foot from Stonethwaite up the Langstrath valley: a deep pool in a small ravine with high rocky sides, popular with wild swimmers. The beck below it is a lovely place to picnic and paddle.

    Wild swimming

    Up the Langstrath
An old stone packhorse bridge over a beck with a leaning tree arching over it

And for a level day

Follow the path along the river Derwent past Rosthwaite and Grange, through the Borrowdale valley and down to the shores of Derwentwater. There is a second National Trust car park at the top of the Honister Pass, at 350 metres — a good leg up summits like Dale Head.

Find somewhere to stay

Other villages nearby