Keswick

Keswick is the town most walkers would pick if they could only have one. It sits between Derwentwater and Skiddaw with Blencathra on one side and the Newlands fells on the other, so almost every classic northern Lakes walk starts within a short bus ride or a stroll. The centre is compact and built in grey slate, with the Moot Hall standing in the middle of the Market Square and the market filling the street on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Its history is graphite and pencils, which the town made for two centuries, and it still has the feel of a working place rather than a resort. Keswick Museum on Station Street is worth an hour on a wet day, and the Theatre by the Lake runs a proper year round programme beside the water.

For walking, head down Lake Road to Friar's Crag and the shore, take the Keswick Launch across to Hawse End for Catbells, or walk out of town to Castlerigg Stone Circle for the view of the fells ringed round it. The old railway path east to Threlkeld is flat and good for families and bikes.

Keswick is busy from Easter to October and on every bank holiday, and its car parks fill by mid morning in summer. Come by bus if you can, or arrive early. Rain is frequent, but Keswick is better than most places at wet weather: there are outdoor shops, cafes and the theatre, and the lakeshore is beautiful in low cloud.