Drink
Keswick Brewing Company
Brewery on Brewery Lane with its own Fox Tap bar and beer shop, Tuesday to Saturday afternoons.
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 2pm to 7pm; closed Sunday and Monday (the brewery's own page, read 16 October 2026)
Plan Your Visit
Everything you need to know before you head out: weather, what to pack, the best seasons, and useful links.
Looking for a day plan?
Half-day highlights, full-day explorer, rainy day plan, and weekend escape: all mapped out step by step.
Weather & What to Bring
Weather
Keswick sits in a bowl of fells at the head of Derwentwater, and the weather changes faster on the tops than in the town. A dry morning in the Market Square can be cloud and rain on Catbells or Skiddaw by lunchtime, and the fells are colder and windier than the forecast for the town suggests.
Packing Checklist
- ✓Waterproof jacket (essential year-round)
- ✓Layers: temperature can change quickly
- ✓Comfortable walking shoes
- ✓Camera: the views are worth it
- ✓Sunscreen: yes, even in United Kingdom
Bring Something Home
Local producers, markets, and makers worth a stop before you leave Keswick.
Market
Keswick Market
Thursday and Saturday street market with some 65 to 70 stalls round the Moot Hall.
Hours: Thursdays and Saturdays, all day (Cumberland Council)
Best Time to Visit
Spring
March - May
The launch's summer timetable starts every day from 20 March 2027. The Film Festival runs 18 to 21 March 2027. Keswick Museum reopens on 1 February after its winter closure, and the Pencil Museum is due to reopen at Rawnsley Hall in March 2027.
Spring is when the timetables come back. Keswick Launch runs a handful of winter dates and then its full daily summer timetable from 20 March 2027, so the lake goes from quiet to busy in a week. The Keswick Film Festival takes four days in the middle of March, 18 to 21 March in 2027. Keswick Museum, closed from Christmas Eve to the end of January, is open daily again. The Derwent Pencil Museum is due to reopen in its new home at Rawnsley Hall in March 2027, as the Keswick Reminder and the Museums Association reported, but no date has been published.
Summer
June - August
Peak season. The launch runs daily on the summer timetable, the Catbells parking at Hawes End fills early, and the town's population can multiply on busy days, as the mayor told the Keswick Reminder in July 2026.
Summer is the crowd season. The parking near Hawes End for Catbells is a few spaces on the side of a narrow lane and is full early, so take the launch across instead: Hawes End is the jetty for the main walk up. Thursday and Saturday are market days in the Market Square. The urgent treatment centre at the cottage hospital closed for 29 days in the second half of 2025 because of staffing, and the town's mayor said in July 2026 that Keswick's population can quadruple on busy days, so carry plasters and know where Penrith's unit is.
Autumn
September - November
The launch's 2026 winter timetable: from 9 November. The Derwent Pencil Museum's last 2026 day at Southey Works: 1 November. The western bridge on the Keswick to Threlkeld trail closed on 22 September 2026 for up to eight weeks of deck renewal.
Autumn changes the town quickly. The Derwent Pencil Museum's last 2026 day at Southey Works, before its move to Rawnsley Hall: 1 November. Keswick Launch's winter timetable, from 9 November: sailings on listed dates only. The bridge over the Greta at the western end of the Keswick to Threlkeld trail has been closed since 22 September 2026 for new decking, with the works expected to take up to eight weeks; the rest of the trail is open from east of the bridge. Theatre by the Lake's Christmas show opens on 13 November.
Winter
December - February
Theatre by the Lake's A Christmas Carol runs 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. The launch is closed in December and January. Keswick Museum is closed 24 December 2026 to 31 January 2027.
Winter is the theatre's season. A Christmas Carol, set by this production in the story of a Scrooge from Keswick, runs in the Main House from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and Pinocchio plays the Studio between Christmas and New Year. The launch does not sail in December or January, and Keswick Museum is closed from Christmas Eve to the end of January. Friar's Crag is ten minutes from the theatre on foot and is at its emptiest now.