Water sports on Derwent Water

Launch your own small craft (windsurfers, kayaks, canoes, rowing boats) at the bottom of our driveway, or hire from one of the local watersports specialists listed below. Canoes, kayaks, rowing boats, SUP, windsurfers and sailing boats are all available to hire and instruction is available if required. Platty+ is our nearest provider, about a 20 minute walk away. From the hostel, walk on the lake-shore path in its clockwise direction. Just before you get to the Lodore Falls Hotel, there is a track leading down to the Lodore jetty and the Platty+ base.

• Platty+: www.plattyplus.co.uk Tel: 017687 77282
• Nichol End Marine: www.nicholendmarine.co.uk Tel: 017687 73082
• Derwent Water Marina: www.derwentwatermarina.co.uk Tel: 017687 72912

Lakeland Rowing Club, based on Derwent Water, is very active and forward thinking. They often organise training camps and events with visiting clubs, some of which have stayed/launched at the hostel.

In the summer there is a family-friendly regatta on Derwent Water, organised by the National Trust. Information about the programme will be available in the run-up to the occasion.

Keswick Launch

The beautiful wooden Keswick Launch stops just across the road from the hostel (Ashness Gate jetty) on its clockwise and anti-clockwise circuits of Derwent Water. The anti-clockwise launch will get you to Keswick in ten minutes. The launches start and finish their circuits at the Keswick jetties, opposite the Theatre by the Lake. The full circuit of the lake takes fifty minutes. You can buy single tickets to various points around the lake or you can enjoy a day pass that allows you to hop on and off throughout the day. The launch company also hires out motor and rowing boats from the Keswick jetties. We have plenty of leaflets that detail the route, timetables and prices of the Keswick Launch. www.keswick-launch.co.uk Tel: 017687 72263. You can buy discounted day tickets at the hostel reception, but single short-hop tickets should be bought on the boat.

Open-water swimming

The adventure company Swim the Lakes runs open-water swimming courses and events. There are often open-water swimming events in the Keswick Mountain Festival programme.

Derwent Water is popular for swimming, but it is usually much colder than the sea - please test the water with your toes rather than your head! The tarns and rivers are even colder than Derwent Water - however, if you are an experienced cold-water swimmer and want to try them at your own risk, we can give you some location recommendations.Click here for more information.

Fishing

Licences for fishing in the lake are available from Keswick Post Office or the Information Centre at Moot Hall in Keswick: Tel: 017687 72645. Watendlath Tarn, 3 miles from the hostel, is popular for trout fishing.