The pointed summit of Causey Pike rising above the green Newlands valley

The Newlands valley

Peaceful and unspoilt, three miles west of Keswick and hidden from Derwentwater by a single range of hills — with a whitewashed church, a famous mine and some of the best ridge walking in the district.

Behind the ridge

To the west of Keswick lies the peaceful and unspoilt Newlands valley. It is easily reached from the town and is separated from Derwentwater by a single range of hills.

By road it is only three miles to Stair, a small hamlet at the start of the valley. A winding road with frequent glimpses of the Newlands Beck leads on to Littletown, another small hamlet. Close by is Newlands Church, a pretty whitewashed building at the foot of the hills.

The small whitewashed Newlands church behind a drystone wall under a large tree

The real Lucie of Newlands

The Newlands valley is well known for its links with Beatrix Potter. The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle uses the valley as its backdrop, and the little girl in the book was based on Lucie Carr — the daughter of the vicar of the tiny whitewashed Newlands church.

The book is dedicated to “the real Lucie of Newlands”, and you can recognise Catbells, Skelgill and Littletown from the drawings in it.

Walking from the valley

  • The full ring of fells around the Newlands valley seen from the valley floor

    do

    The Newlands Round

    A horseshoe along the skyline crest taking in Catbells, Maiden Moor and High Spy, then west over the remoter summits of Dale Head and Robinson.

    The big one

    See the route
  • A stony path dropping through copper bracken with the green vale beyond

    do

    Barrow Door

    Fells and valley in one: a climb part way up Barrow for the views towards the high fells, then down to return through the quiet valley floor.

    Half and half

    See the route
  • The ridge of Causey Pike rising above the farms and fields of the Newlands valley

    do

    The fells above

    Causey Pike, Barrow, Robinson, Hindscarth, Catbells, Maiden Moor and Dale Head all rise straight off the valley, from low-level paths to full ridge walks.

    From the doorstep

    All walking routes
Heather in flower on the fellside above the Newlands valley

Goldscope mine

Newlands is home to the Goldscope mine, the most famous mine in the Lake District. It is on the lower slopes of Hindscarth near Low Snab Farm, and was worked from the 1500s until the end of the 1800s.

It yielded such large quantities of lead and copper that it was called Gottesgab — God’s gift — by the German miners who were brought over to develop it.

Find somewhere to stay

The other valleys