Keswick
Keswick is an attractive market town in Cumbria, and a popular touring centre for the Lake District.
It stands on the shore of Derwentwater, in the shadow of Skiddaw.
Keswick was formerly a mining centre for lead and copper. Graphite was also mined here, and this led to the establishment of the pencil industry.
Cumberland Pencil Museum has a fasinating range of exhibits, including the world's longest pencil, which is 7 feet long.
The impressive Moot Hall stands at the top of the rising Main Street, and now contains the Tourist Information Centre. It was rebuilt in 1813, but a similar hall had stood here for centuries.
The parish church is at Crosthwaite, on the site of a church built by St. Kentigern in 553. Among those buried here are the poet Robert Southey and Canon H. D. Rawnsley, one of the founders of the National Trust.