STARING out across Derwentwater it is easy to lose yourself in the vast inky expanse of water and picture perfect landscape surrounding it. Dead ahead was thick mist-choked Skiddaw, as we chugged along with the rhythmic hum of the boat’s engine, soaking up the vista of the tree-clad crags and purple-tipped fells.

On the western shore is Cat Bells, beloved by visitors keen to climb the 451m to the summit and dotted around the lake were canoeists, wild swimmers and other people enjoying trips in small boats. Keswick Launch operates at several points around the shoreline, but we got on near the beautiful Hope Park, just outside the ever-bustling tourist trap that is Keswick town centre.

A family holiday had taken us to the Lake District and we were staying at Castlerigg Farm Camping and Caravan Park, up the A591, a five-minute drive from Keswick. The view from our tourer was one of stunning natural beauty; we could see Bassenthwaite lake in the distance, next to Skiddaw, then Blencathra and the start of the Helvellyn range, while behind lay Walla Crag.

The family-owned site has a small shop selling treats and essentials, as well as bits of camping kit, and is run by a friendly team who are happy to help out with advice about what there is to do in the area. There is a licensed café bar, The Hayloft, offering cooked Cumbrian breakfasts, lunches and evening meals. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the site and the owners are about to start major £750,000 renovation plan, which they hope, amongst other things, will provide it with a new water supply.

When we stayed the water came from the nearby fells and had a greenish colour and a distinct peaty taste, ideal with a wee dram of single malt from the distillery a few miles away.

Day one was a bit soggy so we sought shelter from the rain by heading for the Derwent Pencil Musuem in Keswick. You enter through a replica graphite mine, which would have served as the source of the pencil industry over three centuries ago and learn about what started as a cottage industry and became a large scale production.

The following day we drove to alongside the shores of Bassenthwaite to the Lake District Wildlife Park, home to more than 100 species of birds, reptiles and mammals across 24 acres of Armathwaite Hall’s wider estate.

Our best day involved a half hour drive to Honister, home of one of the country’s steepest mountain passes, to explore England’s last working slate mine. Those with a stomach for heights can climb inside a mine or tackle the dizzying Via Ferrata on the iron rungs embedded into the rock face outside, some 2,000 feet above the valley floor. My youngsters are still a bit small for that so we enjoyed a guided tour of the mine which still produces the Westmorland Green Slate that has been extracted here for centuries.

The drive from here, along the Honister Pass, must be one of the best in the world as millennia of glacial activity have forged the most breath-taking views. The winding road through it looks like a charcoal afterthought by an artist adding the finishing touch to a masterpiece. Stunning.

TRAVELFACTS

  • Castlerigg Farm Camping and Caravan Site, Keswick, CA12 4TE. T: 01768- 772-479.
  • Pitches with electric hookups, for two people, are £20 a night, low season, and £24.50 high season, with charges for extra people.
  • Honister Slate Mine, Borrowdale, CA12 5XN. W: honister.com. Mine tour adult £17.50, child £9.50, family £49. All-day pass, includes tour and the Via Ferrata classic, £55 adult/£47child.
  • Lake District Wildlife Park, Bassenthwaite, CA12 4RD. W: lakedistrictwildlifepark.co.uk. Adult £9.95, child £7.95, under 3, free.
  • Derwent Pencil Museum, Southey Works, CA12 5NG. Adult £4.95, child £4.50, family £14.50.
  • Keswick Launch, CA12 5DJ. Tickets for 50-minute cruise or ‘hop-on hop-off’, adults£10.75, children £5.65.