Keswick, the Lake District

I am now back from my week's work at the Keswick Convention in the Lake District. I was there as an assistant on a stand with my employer, the Highland Theological College. Keswick is small town in the very scenic north Lakes in northeast England. The town used to have a railway station but the line closed many years ago and it is now a bus link from Penrith Station. Don't let that put you off visiting though, the bus link is easy to use and rover tickets are available for unlimited travel by bus and rail in the area. My own journey from Inverness, via Edinburgh was with one ticket all the way to Keswick. On arrival at Penrith railway station I simply walked outside to the waiting bus (clearly marked as the rail link bus) and showed my through train ticket to Keswick to the driver, it couldn't have been eaiser, unless there was still a train of course. The picture above is off the old Keswick station which I saw on a walk one evening. It is now (well) preserved as part of a hotel and the old trackbed is a cycle and walking path. I explored for a few miles east of Keswick and it looked like a very scenic walk.

Now for the trip report on my journey to Keswick. There is a choice of two rail companies between Inverness and Edinburgh - Scotrail and National Express, both of which I am very happy with. Between Edinburgh and Penrith (for Keswick) there is the option of Crosscountry, Virgin or Transpennine Express. I chose Transpennine Express and their service from Edinburgh to Manchester Airport. On a busy summer Saturday this was a mistake. The train was full of people heading off to their week of sun and beer with plenty of kids and luggage with them. Not the most enjoyable journey experience I've come accross! The train as a result was pretty crowded, not everyone got a seat and it was lacking in luggage space. However I was not altogether put off using Transpennine Express. The class 185 trains have powerful engines which get them along at a good pace. The interior is bright, clean and spacious enough. The seats are comfortable enough but look pretty ugly. They are down to the 'bare bones' to save space. My only negative comments would be that there was not enough luggage space and the train was simply too small for the numbers they tried to cater for. Next time I'll book a first class upgrate or travel on a less busy day!

Keswick itself is an attractive town. The first thing I noticed was that the businesses are local. Try visiting almost any UK town and every shop and business you will find is a national chain. The local store is all but extinct. However in Keswick they survive and thrive. The town is situated right beside the Derwentwater Lake (pictured left) which is ideal for watersports. It is also amongst some impressive hills which are popular for handgliding, walking, running and cycling. There is also a leisure pool and gym which I went to a few times. Unfortunatly if you are seriously into your gym it was not at all well equiped and a bit of a disapointment. As for the swimming, the strange 'leisure' shaped pool meant that anyone who actually could swim would probably find it inadequate! Doing lengths or even widths seemed out of the question so the few swimmers in there seemed to make do with swimming round the pole at the end - the only deepish part of the pool!

Older people though who might not want it quite so active will also find plenty to do. Overall I'd rate it highly as a holiday destination. I didn't come accross any unpleasent areas on the Friday and Saturday nights and it was for the most part clean and well kept. I ended up staying in a self catering cottage while mile co worker was in a local Bed & Breakfast which although clean and tidy didn't seem to like spending any money on the breakfasts. Unfortunatly there is no way to rate hotels so you just have to make the mistakes and make sure not to return again!

The next stage of my visit was on to the Isle of Man, which will come in my next post.

Heritage Sites at Risk

The BBC had an interesting article today about heritage sites at risk which looked at six internationally important sites currently at risk. The Bowes Railway was one and you can see the video here. The Bowes was opened in 1826 and is not only one of the world's first modern railways but is also the only surviving rope operated line left in existence. If you are interested in visiting you can find out more on their website. By visiting you'll see something quite unique and help preserve a bit of history. The railway is located near Sunderland and there are good bus links from that station.

Summer Trip

Next Saturday I should be setting off on my longish summer journey. I'll be going to the Lake District in northern England for about a week with my work and then will hopefully take a few days on the Isle of Man as holiday. As well as some observations on these places I'll be reporting back on here about my journeys which will include the rail operators Scotrail, National Express East Coast, Transpennine Express, Virgin, Northern Rail and the Isle of Man Railways. I'll also be taking a ship in the form of the Isle of Man Steam Packet, so plenty of travel feedback for anyone considering using any of these services! My actual journey is for a conference in Keswick. Having never been before I have no idea what it will be like, where I'll be staying or what the work will be like. Nothing like going into the unknown....

Yesterday I found this interesting link to a survey conducted by the Transport Company Stagecoach. In case you are unfamilar with them they are a huge bus company in the UK who also operate some rail franchies and the Megabus (UK and USA) coach operation. Their research found a 10% change in travel habits in the last three years for health and environmental reasons, which is great news. Of those who had previously used the car, 36% had switched to the bus, 30% now walked and 5% change to travel by train. It is interesting that most chose the bus, this could be that buses provide a much higher range of journeys than rail - they really do go everywhere. Or it could be that rail is already very competitive on most commuter routes. Regardless of this, it does point to the public starting to change habbits.

Rail, bus and walking are good for the earth for more reasons that climite change. They save fuel, cause less congestion and noise and emit fewer nasty fumes which are bad for human health too. The other thing of course that we often forget is that they are good for our own health also. Walking is probably one of the best forms of activity there is. An hour in the gym at night is not going to make up for sitting on your bum in the car and office all day. And even if you take the train or bus instead of walking it is unlikely that you'll life outside, or work outside the station. The walk to and from the station or bus stop will do you a lot of good. Its amazing how many people tell me that I am so 'lucky' to be thin. The fact that I'm not glued to a car seat and go to the gym every day seems to have missed them....!