The four parks
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- Fitz Park
- Hope Park
- Crow Park
- Whinlatter Forest Park
In townFitz Park
Just a few minutes stroll from Keswick Market Square, Fitz Park has a riverside setting with glorious open views towards Skiddaw and Latrigg and is an ideal spot for picnics. The Lower Park has a large open recreational area, cricket pavilion and fantastic children's playground as well as a multi use games area, gym equipment and BMX track. The upper park is a smaller formal area with bowling green, grass tennis courts and a putting green and an arboretum. For enquiries about opening hours of the games at Fitz Park tel 017687 73445.
On the way to the lakeHope Park
Located between the town centre and Derwentwater, Hope Park 's beautiful garden make it a favourite place to visit en route to and from the lake. There is plenty of seating where you can just relax and watch the world go by. It also offers traditional games and a cafe.
By the lakeCrow Park
Crow Park is a wide expanse of grass owned by the National Trust located between Derwentwater, Theatre by the Lake and Hope Park. It has far reaching views over the lake to one side and to Skiddaw in the other direction. It's a great place to run around or fly a kite though be aware that there may be sheep grazing there at times. It is home to events such as the Keswick Mountain Festival.
Up the passWhinlatter Forest Park
Don't miss a visit to Whinlatter Forest, England's only true mountain forest. It is located just up the hill from the village of Braithwaite just outside Keswick. There is a wonderful adventure playground laid out as a trail through the forest where children can explore the natural environment. It includes an archimedes screw, secret doors in trees and a series of pulleys to move millions of little pebbles. Whinlatter is home to a number of graded walks, running trails and cycle tracks. You can take your own bike or hire one there from Cyclewise. For those over ten there's treetop adventure with Go Ape, a high level journey along bridges, and zip slides 40 feet high in the air or Forest Segway.
Walks from the parks
Keswick sits in the northern part of the Lake District, and its four parks offer green spaces from the town centre to the shores of Derwentwater and the forest above Braithwaite. Fitz Park and Hope Park both have wide level paths and are the start of two of the pram and pushchair friendly walks. The lakeshore path from Hope Park runs to Friars Crag in a few minutes.
More for families
Family walks, free things to do with the children, and the recommendations Keswick’s own schoolchildren wrote.