The Derwentwater Hotel sits at Portinscale in eighteen acres of grounds that run down to the lake shore, two miles from Keswick but on the quiet side of the water. Catbells rises directly across from you, the Newlands Valley opens up behind, and there is a footbridge over the Derwent that turns the walk into town from a road journey into a genuinely nice twenty minutes. This guide makes the case for staying just outside Keswick rather than in it.
Quick Facts
Most guests assume two miles means driving. It does not: a footpath runs from Portinscale across the River Derwent by suspension bridge and into Keswick through the fields, and it takes about twenty minutes at an amble. Doing that in the evening and getting a taxi back is a far better arrangement than parking in Keswick twice.
Directly behind Portinscale the Newlands Valley runs south-west into the fells, and it is one of the quietest places in the national park despite being minutes from one of the busiest towns. A single-track road, a scatter of farms, Newlands Church — tiny, whitewashed, and about as plain as an English church gets — and the fells closing in on both sides. Drive up it slowly in the early evening. It is the best thing on this doorstep and hardly anybody bothers.
Catbells is the most-climbed small fell in England, and staying at Portinscale puts you on the correct side of the water for it: the launch calls at Portinscale and Hawes End, so you can be at the foot of it without driving or parking. It is a genuine little mountain — steep in places, hands occasionally required — but short, and the view down Derwentwater from the top is one of the great cheap thrills of the Lakes.
Our scheduled tours depart from Windermere station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library, all a fair drive south over the passes — so from here a private day collected at the hotel is the sensible arrangement, whether you want the northern fells or a run down to the famous southern names.
Given the distance to our scheduled pickups, a private day is the practical option from Portinscale — collected at the hotel, no long drive to start the day, and the route built around your party. Well-behaved dogs travel safely in our vehicle crates.
Not sure which route suits your plans, or want a day built entirely from scratch — a family reunion, a wedding anniversary, scattering ashes somewhere that mattered? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll design a day around it — see our guide to celebrating a special occasion for ideas, or get in touch directly.
The grand sweep: ten lakes, the high passes between them, and an Ullswater Steamers cruise exclusive to this tour. If a celebration stay deserves one great day out, this is it.
See dates & bookCollected at the door, your party only, the day shaped to you — literary landscapes, hidden valleys, or simply the most beautiful roads we know. Well-behaved dogs are welcome aboard in our vehicle crates.
Enquire about a private dayDove Cottage at Grasmere — entry included as standard — and the valleys that made the poems, with Dora's Field carpeted gold in daffodil season. The right literary day for this most Georgian of addresses.
See dates & bookAcross the lake to Hill Top and Near Sawrey, with our illustration-matching walk through the village lanes — back for a long lakeside lunch.
See dates & bookThe afternoon version crosses the lake by boat rather than by road — worth choosing if you'd like the crossing itself to be part of the day.
See dates & bookA slow hall morning, then eight lakes and their valleys at a seven-seat pace — the most civilised way to spend a Lakeland afternoon.
See dates & bookThe same eight lakes as the afternoon tour, run the opposite way round in the morning — ideal if you'd rather keep your afternoon free for the lawns.
See dates & bookA full literary day east to Haworth — the Parsonage, the cobbled village, and the moors that gave Wuthering Heights its weather, newly magnetic with the recent film. Oxenholme pickup available.
See dates & bookInto the Dales for Grassington's "Darrowby", the Wensleydale Creamery, Kilnsey Crag and Bolton Abbey — filming locations brought to life around you with live scene technology.
See dates & bookWithout a car: workable — launches from the jetty, the footpath into Keswick, and buses from town.
Parking: if you drive into Keswick, go before nine; the Borrowdale car parks fill earlier still.
The footbridge: worth finding on your first evening — it changes how the whole stay works.
Ages: our tours suit adults and older children, about seven and up.
At Portinscale, about two miles from Keswick on the north-western shore of Derwentwater, in around eighteen acres of grounds running down to the water.
Yes — there is a footpath and a suspension bridge over the River Derwent, making it a pleasant walk of twenty minutes or so rather than a road slog.
On private tours we collect at the hotel. Scheduled departures leave Windermere station, Bowness Pier 1 and Ambleside library, all a considerable drive south.
The lake itself, the Portinscale launch jetty, Catbells across the water, and the quiet Newlands Valley just behind.
We are an independent local tour operator. This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Derwentwater Hotel.