Walkers on Ashness Bridge above the tumbling beck with Skiddaw across the lake

Ashness Bridge and Surprise View

One of the most photographed bridges in the Lake District, and a hundred yards further up the hill, one of the best views over Derwentwater.

The bridge

South from Keswick the B5289 winds along close to the shore of Derwentwater, with magnificent views across the lake to Catbells and Maiden Moor. A minor road branches left towards Watendlath, and crosses Ashness Bridge on the way.

It is one of the most photographed bridges in the Lake District, and its image spends a good deal of its time on biscuit tins and tea towels. A fine small packhorse bridge striding over a fast-running beck, it makes a perfect foreground for the view north over Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite, with the mass of Skiddaw rising steeply above Keswick.

Derwentwater and the vale seen from the viewpoint above Ashness with a walker looking on

Surprise View

A short stroll a little further up the hill brings you to Surprise View — a magnificent panorama over Keswick and the whole of Derwentwater, from the top of the crags rather than the shore.

It is worth doing both in one go: the bridge is the picture, and the view is the reason to keep walking past it.

Four ways to get here

  • By launch

    Take the Keswick launch to Ashness Gate and walk up the narrow lane — about twenty minutes from the jetty to the bridge, and a short climb further to Surprise View.

    Derwentwater launches

  • By bus

    Take the Honister Rambler (summer only) or the Seatoller bus (all year) and get off at the Derwentwater Youth Hostel stop, a short distance from the end of the lane.

    Bus times and routes

  • Ashness Bridge car park

    National Trust, CA12 5UN — right at the bridge, for the photograph everyone comes for.

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  • Surprise View car park

    National Trust, CA12 5UU — higher up the same lane, for the view across Derwentwater.

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A beck running over rocks below Ashness Bridge with Derwentwater beyond

Carry on up the lane

The road past the bridge climbs on to Watendlath — a hamlet and a tarn at the end of a dead-end lane, and one of the quieter corners of the district. It is narrow, single-track and busy in summer, so it is worth going early or leaving the car behind altogether.

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