Derwentwater by launch: the jetties, the fares and Catbells

The Keswick Launch is the way into most of what lies round Derwentwater, and most people use it as a ferry rather than a cruise. The boats leave from the boat landings at the bottom of Lake Road, go round the lake in both directions and call at seven jetties. The ticket office is by the lake.

How the boats work

There are two loops: clockwise, from Keswick to Ashness Gate, Lodore, High Brandelhow, Low Brandelhow, Hawes End and Nichol End, and anticlockwise, the same jetties the other way round. A round trip takes about 50 minutes, and the company says the round-trip ticket works as a day ticket: hop off and on as much as you like until you get back to where you started.

Fares, read on the company's page on 16 October 2026: £16 for an adult round trip, £9 for children aged 5 to 15, and £41.50 for a family of two adults and three children. Under-fives go free, up to three per adult. Single fares start at £3.75 for one stage. There is a weekly pass at £39.50.

Which jetty for what

Hawes End is the one walkers want. The company calls it the stop for the main walk to Catbells, and it is the reason to take the boat: the free parking for Catbells is a few spaces on a narrow lane near Hawes End, and in busy periods it is full early. The direct anticlockwise launch from Keswick to Hawes End costs £6.95 for an adult, as does the 9.45am Walkers' Special.

Lodore is for the falls and the start of Borrowdale, and the company also suggests a gentle lakeshore walk from Hawes End that finishes at Lodore. Ashness Gate is the stop for Ashness Bridge, Surprise View and Watendlath. High Brandelhow and Low Brandelhow are for the National Trust woods on the west shore. Nichol End is for the marina and Portinscale.

Catbells from the boat

From Hawes End the path heads back down the lane towards the cattle grid, and a stepped path on the right leads up the fell. Thelakedistrict.org grades it a medium-difficulty walk, because the first section is steep and there is some scrambling over rocks near the top. Over the summit the path goes on to a crossroads, where a bridleway zig-zags down the fellside to the road along its foot. From there it is back to the jetty for the boat home. Check the time of the last boat before you set off, especially outside summer.

Friar's Crag, without the boat

If the boats are not running, the shore itself is worth the walk. From the boat landings a stone track runs south along the water to Friar's Crag, the rocky point that looks down the lake to Catbells and the Jaws of Borrowdale. The National Park Authority lists the route from the theatre as 2.5 kilometres there and back, though it currently grades it 'for some' rather than 'for all' because of potholes, steps of up to 70mm and a damaged section the National Trust is repairing. The last bit down to the crag is narrow with a steep drop. Beyond it the path goes on to the shingle at Strandshag Bay.

Winter

From 9 November 2026 to 19 March 2027 the launch runs a winter timetable on listed dates only. In November 2026 that is the 9th to the 15th, the 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th; there are no sailings in December or January; February has the 13th to the 21st and the 27th and 28th; March has the 6th, 7th and 13th to 19th. The daily summer timetable starts again on 20 March 2027. In winter the company says online booking is not available, so tickets are bought at the office by the lake, and it says weather can stop sailings, so check its service notice on the morning.

Getting to the landings

From the Moot Hall walk down Lake Road, past the Dog & Gun and the Wainwright and on past the theatre; the ticket office is about 700 metres from the square. Drivers can use the Lakeside car park by the theatre, or the Rugby Club's Park and Sail on Crow Park Road for the 15% launch discount.