Derwent Water is one Keswick’s main assets. Only a short stroll from the town centre via Hope Park with its beautiful formal gardens, the lake is three miles long and very much a ‘landscape of moods’ varying from the dramatic waves splashing against Friar’s Crag – when driven by southerly gales – to absolutely mirror calm in the early mornings. Fed by the River Derwent catchment area in the high fells, Derwent Water has a long historical and literary background.