Parking
Keswick Lakeside Car Park on Lake Road is the signed starting access. It has pay-and-display parking, 14 disabled spaces, an accessible toilet, and a café at the start and finish.
Overview
About Derwent Water and Cockshot Wood Accessible Loop
This is a circular walk from Keswick Lakeside Car Park, with the full marked route measuring 1.25 miles in total, officially rounded to 2 km. That figure includes a short optional out-and-back spur to Friar's Crag. Difficulty is easy, rated 2 out of 10, with total altitude gain under 20 m. Typical completion time is 30 to 45 minutes.
Why go
- Lake views to Cat Bells and Causey Pike
- Stile-free route with mostly smooth paths
Heads up
- Woodland sections have roots, boulders, and muddy patches
- The optional crag spur is narrow and exposed
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation74–109 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake District Tour Guide
Your drive to Derwent Water and Cockshot Wood Accessible Loop, 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 Crag0:00 / 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.
More stories near here in the app
- Keswick: Market Town and Castle Head
- Keswick Railway Trail: River and Tunnel
- Great Wood: Walla Crag or Woodland Loop
- Cat Bells: Ridge and Lakeshore Loop
- 298 audio storiesacross Lake District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Eurasian Otter, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 265 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Derwent Water and Cockshot Wood Accessible Loop
The sequenceFrom the car park you join the Derwent Water foreshore and follow it around Strandshag Bay,…
From the car park you join the Derwent Water foreshore and follow it around Strandshag Bay, then cross a field grazed by Herdwick sheep, pass through Cockshot Wood, return to the lake, and retrace the foreshore access back to the start. The payoff is a compact circuit that strings together open water, an open field with a big fell backdrop, and quiet woodland without a single stile.
SceneryThe foreshore gives views across Derwent Water to Cat Bells and Causey Pike, with rocky…
The foreshore gives views across Derwent Water to Cat Bells and Causey Pike, with rocky shoreline in the foreground. Skiddaw rises beyond the sheep field, and Cockshot Wood adds shade and birdsong. Early morning light works well for photographs along the water.
Footing and gradientsThe tarmac start and finish has a 7% slope.
The tarmac start and finish has a 7% slope. Main paths are mostly smooth compacted surface, with one 10 m cobbled stretch and two short wooden boardwalks fitted with grip wire. In the woodland expect small boulders, exposed roots, short muddy patches, adverse camber, and a narrow section descending at 14%.
Friar's Crag spurThe optional spur drops at roughly 15%, narrows to about 87 cm at its tightest point, and…
The optional spur drops at roughly 15%, narrows to about 87 cm at its tightest point, and offers limited turning space. There are steep drops near the point, so keep well back from the edge and take care with children and dogs.
DogsDogs are allowed and the route is popular with dog walkers.
Dogs are allowed and the route is popular with dog walkers. Keep dogs under close control in the sheep field, with particular care around lambing.
Parking and accessStart at Keswick Lakeside Car Park, Lake Road, Keswick CA12 5DJ.
Start at Keswick Lakeside Car Park, Lake Road, Keswick CA12 5DJ. Parking is recurring pay and display, with 14 disabled spaces. An accessible toilet and a cafe are at the start and finish. No permit requirement is indicated in the route information.
Shorter optionSkipping the Friar's Crag spur reduces the walk to a 1 mile loop, or 1.
Skipping the Friar's Crag spur reduces the walk to a 1 mile loop, or 1.6 km, which keeps the lakeshore, field, and woodland while avoiding the steepest and narrowest ground.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake District
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 mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
