Kendal to Keswick via the Lake District (A591)

About this drive

The A591 between Kendal and Keswick is the principal through-route of the English Lake District — 30 miles that pass alongside Grasmere, Rydal Water, and Thirlmere before arriving in Keswick at the northern edge of the fells. It is not a dramatic mountain road; the A591 follows the valley floor. What makes it exceptional is what surrounds it: the concentration of fell scenery between Ambleside and Keswick is as dense as anywhere in England. Grasmere village, on the route, is where William Wordsworth lived and is buried — Dove Cottage is a National Trust site and the churchyard is a short walk from the main car park. The stretch from Grasmere over Dunmail Raise and down to Thirlmere is the strongest section of the drive: open fell on both sides, the plantation forest of Thirlmere below. Keswick is an excellent end point — a proper fell-walking town with good independent shops, lakeside walking from Derwentwater's shore, and Catbells visible from the town centre. The best strategy is to take the road slowly, stop at every turnout, and accept that it will take three times as long as the map suggests.

Stops along the way

• 🏛️ Dove Cottage, Grasmere · Historical

  Wordsworth's former home, now a small museum in the village he wrote about.