Getting around, and where to park

Keswick is small enough to cross on foot in ten minutes, and the bus network reaches almost everywhere a visitor wants to go — Borrowdale, Buttermere, Threlkeld, Grasmere, the Penrith and Windermere rail stations. For a good many days out here, the car can stay parked.

If you have not arrived yet, getting to Keswick covers the roads, the railheads and the coach services.

Single fares are £3. Timetables change with the season, so check before you rely on a last bus.

• X4 / X5 — Penrith bus and railway stations to Keswick, then on to Cockermouth and Workington. The X5 serves Threlkeld, Portinscale, Braithwaite and Thornthwaite; the X4 goes to Bassenthwaite village, Castle Inn and the Lakes Distillery. The bus does not go into Portinscale village — it stops on the A66.
• 555 — Lancaster to Keswick via Kendal, Windermere railway station, Ambleside and Grasmere.
• 553 / 554 — Keswick to Carlisle via Mirehouse, Castle Inn Hotel, Bothel, Mealsgate, Bolton Low Houses, Wigton and Thursby.
• 78 — Keswick, Lodore, Grange Bridge, Rosthwaite, Seatoller. Open-top buses, every 30 minutes in season.
• 77 / 77A / 77C — the Honister Rambler: Keswick, Buttermere and Cockermouth, a circular route in both directions. Extra weekend and bank holiday journeys run between Cockermouth and Buttermere in May, June, July and August.
• 509 — Keswick, Pooley Bridge and Penrith, travelling through Threlkeld.
• UB1 and UB2 — the Ullswater Hopper, weekends and bank holidays from late March to the start of November, and daily through July, August and September.

Full timetables and a live tracker are on the Stagecoach website.

There are four Cumberland Council car parks in the town and a number of locally operated ones run by the rugby club, the football club, Fitz Park Trust and Keswick Ministries. All the council car parks are pay and display.

Park within the marked bays. A large vehicle or motor home covering more than one space must pay for every space it covers, and failing to do that — or displaying no ticket, or an expired one — brings a penalty charge.

• Central, long stay — CA12 5DP. 334 spaces, 5 disabled, motorcycles free in designated bays.
• Lakeside, long stay — CA12 5DJ. 253 spaces, 6 disabled, 4 coach bays.
• Otley Road, long stay — CA12 4LE. 87 spaces.
• Bell Close, short stay — CA12 5JY. 121 spaces, 8 disabled, motorcycles free in designated bays. Two hours maximum.

The council car parks take cashless payment through the MiPermit app, for anything from an hour to a week — and you can top up the fee from wherever you have got to. The site numbers are:

• Otley Road — 712220
• Bell Close — 712221
• Central — 712222
• Lakeside car park — 712223
• Lakeside coach park — 712224

• Keswick Rugby Club — Crow Park Road, CA12 5EG. Two car parks, 250 spaces. £6 a day on the tarmac beside the clubhouse, £5 on the gravel pitchside. ANPR, pay on exit, cash, card or phone, charged per visit. No campervans or mobile homes. Free after 5.30pm when using the clubhouse, and the income goes to the club.
• Crosthwaite Road — Fitz Park Trust, CA12 5PP. 80 spaces, and a walk into town through Fitz Park. £4 all day for cars, £8 for camper vans, paid through RingGo. No overnight parking between 23:59 and 06:00.
• Keswick Football Club — £3 all day.
• Keswick Leisure Centre — at the start of the Keswick to Threlkeld trail. £1 for an hour, £2 for two, £4 for up to eight.
• Rawnsley Centre, Pencil Museum and Skiddaw Street — see Keswick Ministries for times and charges.

In Borrowdale and Buttermere there are a number of National Trust car parks.

Disc zones give free, time-limited parking on the street. Discs come from local shops and from on-street points on Station Street and Station Road. Display the disc showing your time of arrival on the dashboard, where it can be read from outside the vehicle.

Without a disc, write your arrival time on a piece of paper and display that instead. You may not alter a disc to gain extra time, and once you have left a parking area you must not return to the same street within the time on the sign.

Charging points are in the Booths car park, the Central car park and Skiddaw Street car park. Skiddaw Street is £2 for three hours.

Booths give shoppers an hour free with no ticket or purchase needed, and a second hour can be bought on site by card or through the Evology app. Customers of the store cafe get another hour free — either ask for a barcode to scan at the payment terminal on the way out, or enter the registration at the till on the tablet provided. The car park is free from 7pm to midnight to support local businesses.

The Co-op gives customers one hour free, with no option to pay for longer.

Both use number plate recognition cameras.

Coach parking is covered on the group travel page. Public toilets in the car parks are run by Danfo — info@danfo.co.uk or 01253 207408.

The Lake District National Park publish a live status page for car parks and toilets across the park.