Accessible Walk to Broomhill Point Viewpoint

Overview

About Accessible Walk to Broomhill Point Viewpoint

This is a 2.75-mile out-and-back from Keswick Lakeside Car Park to Broomhill Point viewpoint. The distance is the full return trip. A shorter signed option is about 2.5 miles, but this record follows the full route to the viewpoint and back.

Why go

Wide lake-and-fell views without a mountain day
Mostly smooth, stile-free sections with broad boardwalks

Heads up

The final 16% section is rougher than the label suggests
The lower bay path can be muddy, rooty, and waterlogged

It is a good choice for a lake-and-fell outing without a summit day, and the route is stile-free with wide boardwalks and many benches near the start. It is not uniformly smooth or fully wheelchair-easy: gates, a cattle grid, cambers, roots, and the rough 16% section matter. Dogs are allowed, but the route crosses sheep pasture, so keep them under close control, particularly around lambing season.

Parkwolf’s verdictWho it suits

Map & elevation

The route

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Full map

Elevation76–84 m

TrailheadAccessible Walk to Broomhill Point Viewpoint54.59675, -3.13856

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Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Start at Keswick Lakeside Car Park on Lake Road, Keswick, CA12 5DJ. Follow the signed route past Theatre by the Lake and down the paved access slope to the promenade. The public car park has designated accessible spaces and toilets; parking is pay and display.

Best time to go

The walking is moderate rather than mountainous, with about 40 m of total ascent and a typical completion time of 1 hour 20 minutes to 2 hours 10 minutes. Most of the route is on a smooth compact surface, tarmac, or boardwalk, but there are short cobbled and rooty sections. The roughest part is the descent and climb near the viewpoint, where the gradient reaches about 16% and the surface can be uneven.

Safety

Expect a narrow pedestrian gate beside the cattle grid, with a narrowest gap of about 89 cm, plus cobbles, exposed roots, adverse camber, and a rough 16% descent and climb near the viewpoint. The lower lakeside option around Strandshag Bay can be muddy or submerged when lake levels are high. The route crosses a field grazed by sheep, so keep dogs under close control. Do not mistake the rough continuation beyond Broomhill Point for this accessible out-and-back.

8 active Lake District alerts

ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details

See all 8 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Lake District Tour Guide

Your drive to Accessible Walk to Broomhill Point Viewpoint, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this trailhead

Derwentwater and Friar’s Crag

0:00 / 1:04

“Up ahead is Keswick's lakeshore on Derwentwater, where a short walk gives you a view down the lake into Borrowdale.”

Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.

Hiking Accessible Walk to Broomhill Point Viewpoint

What the walk is likeThe route starts with a paved descent to Derwent Water, follows the lakeshore promenade, then…

The route starts with a paved descent to Derwent Water, follows the lakeshore promenade, then leaves the tarmac for paths through pasture and woodland. The saved line follows the lower, lakeside option around Strandshag Bay, where small boulders, roots, loose gravel, and mud make the surface less forgiving than the smoother upper option. Two broad recycled-plastic boardwalk sections cross Ings Wood before a vehicle track, cattle grid, and fence-line path lead to the viewpoint.

Broomhill Point is the payoff: the view runs down Derwent Water toward Castle Crag and the high fells at the head of Borrowdale, with Catbells and Causey Pike prominent across the water. Look for the wet woodland around the boardwalk and the changing lake-and-fell reflections. This is a popular low-level walk, especially with dog walkers, but it feels more open and rural once it leaves the promenade.

Make the most of itThe viewpoint is usually best when the fells are lit from the side or behind you, and the…

The viewpoint is usually best when the fells are lit from the side or behind you, and the boardwalk and shoreline are most rewarding when the water is calm. Allow extra time for the view rather than treating the published minimum as a target. At the viewpoint, retrace the route to the car park instead of continuing around Calf Close Bay, which is a substantially rougher and steeper experience.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Lake District

All Lake District wildlife maps

81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map

76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map

51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map

233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map

176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.