Keswick Guide 2018

Visit our Villages
There are many villages and hamlets that surround the market town
of Keswick. They are home to many local residents but you can also find
accommodation, cafes, galleries and attractions. They are often the
starting point for some wonderful walks, be it along the banks of the river,
through a forest or up into the fells.
visitkeswick.com/villagesaroundkeswick
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These small settlements have been in existence for a
very long time and often, their name gives a clue about
their history.
Grange means a farm, usually belonging to a monastery.
In this case, the monks of Furness Abbey built a
monastic grange here in medieval times. The well-known
double-arched bridge was not built until 1675.
Grange lies within the Borrowdale Valley, along with
Rosthwaite, Stonethwaite, Seatoller and Seathwaite.
Borrowdale is taken from the Norse for “valley with a
fort”. The Norse arrived in Cumbria around 925 AD.
Thwaite is another Norse word meaning clearing and
you will see that many of the villages bear that name.
Braithwaite means “broad clearing”, the Bassen in
Bassenthwaite is likely to be an anglo-french surname
or nickname and Seathwaite means “clearing in the
sedges (grasses/rushes)”. The village of Threlkeld
also takes its name from old Norse, thrall, ‘slave’ and
kelda ‘spring’ as does Watendlath - vatn-endi-hlaða
or "water-end-barn".
However these beautiful villages and hamlets came
to be, they are most certainly worth a visit.
08 visitkeswick.com