Cragrat's Qype profile

Famous Outdoor Shop in Keswick. Find it to be one for the tourists. Although the staff are friendly and helpful - you pay for it. It is definitely worth shopping about for the clothing and camping stuff. I was organising an overseas trip and needed some specialist bits and pieces, whilst I found them in there they were much more expensive than other places in town, never mind the internet.They have a nice selection of books on the third floor. They have a very good ski service - waxing and edging or full service. Very much a tourist institution - Harrods (of the outdoor world) in Keswick.

This is a small family run outdoor clothing shop just along from Woolies. They tend to stock the better names in outdoor kit - Paramo,Rab,Berghouse etc.
The staff are very knowledgeable about the kit. I recently went to buy a pair new pair of walking boots. I do lots of walking but only around the Lake District and not very much winter walking. The guy advised me very well, and did not try to sell up unnecessarily (unlike lots of shops in Keswick - who needs B3 boots for a walk around the lake?).
My only criticism was I ripped the Rab down jacket i’d purchased from them and went in to see if they could advise me where to get it fixed at - they were very unhelpful and just wrote down the number of RAB HQ. I try to buy locally, but feel I would have had better customer service, in this instance, off Costwolds or Blacks.
They are also not good at getting deals off, I was buying 2×4Season Rab Sleeping bags (rrp £299 each) and a Rab down jacket (rrp £200) and they would not do a deal with me. Needless to say i purchased elsewhere and got a great discount.

This is a fantastic campsite right on the shores of Derwentwater. We were able to pitch our tent that close to the shore you could here the water gently lapping. The site is a mixture of caravans and tents. Despite turning up on spec, we were given a warm greeting and were quickly checked in. We had arrived on bikes, which they didn’t mind at all. The toilet blocks are immaculate. The site is a short walk into Keswick which has plenty of restaurants and a couple of supermarkets - Spar is by far cheaper thn Booths. This site is a little gem. Very quiet. Not for the party crowd.

The most fantastic Campsite in the World. Whether driving here over Hardknott Pass, via Muncaster Castle or from Western Lakes - it is beautiful. As you drive onto the campsite there are sacks of logs for you to buy - because here you can actually have a proper campfire(in the allocated fire circles. The site is a couple of large fields, a pond with a small kiddies playing area, a well maintained shower block and nothing much else. Set in the most idyllic out of the way place (although theres a couple of small pubs a short walk away). I live about 15 miles from here, and we often pack our tents after work and pop down here to spend the night chatting and relaxing round a campfire. Brilliant

On the road from Ambleside to Coniston, this place was originally Kirtstone galleries with a small cafe attached. Recent renovations have extended the place to provide a more standalone coffee shop next to the Gallery. There are some lovely pencil sketches of the owners dog. The food selection is very nice with soups, sarnies etc alongside more robust main courses. The sweet selection is fabulous and you get a decent sized portion. Flapjack starts around £2ish going to £3.50ish for bigger cakes.The afternoon tea with scones, jam and cream looked particularly appetising. The seating is relaxed and in an almost conservatory type way.
A really lovely place to come for a coffee and cake. Downside is it tends to attract loud tourists.

For my friends birthday (Both F - late 30s) we decided to do something that didn’t involve alcohol (well daytime anyway). So we booked for Go Ape, after a beautiful drive through gorgeous lakeland we arrived at Grizedale Forest. As part of a group of about 12, we were given a quick demo and training on how to attach/detach the karribiners from the ropes etc. Our first 'training’ section was a quick climb up a ladder then a zip wire down to a soft landing. We went first in our group, the Zip wire was great - the instructor said just carry on, so we did. Tree after tree of adrnaline rushes. We were fins on the ropes between trees - as long as you don’t look down. The first tarzan swing was a leap of faith and the promise of a nice galss of red afterwards for my friend. We were buzzing. Luckily we had gone early in the day and there was only a small amount of queueing for each section. We found it wasnt to scary to really frighten yourself but just enough to get the blood rushing. I loved the last tarzan net, I could have done it all day long. Definitely A Great Couple of Hours - would advise to go first session of the day. Brilliant.

This is a goregous little den of treasures. The gallery is situated on the main street of Egremont, also serving as Egremonts tourist information centre. It is a lovely place to browse, the exhibitions tend to change quite regularly. They had a lovely selection of hematite jewellry last time I was in and I bought my mum a lovely collection of nature watercolours one christmas. It is well worth a look if you ware wanting a gift thats just a little different. There is a made in cumbria section within the shop

Traditional Butchers on the main pedestrian area - King St.
Huge array of cooked and uncooked meats, black pudding. Meat based products - pies, quiches, pasties, scotch eggs. The quality of the product appears to be very high, they are a local company and have had to really work hard promoting local produce. They had a very difficult time during the foot and mouth days and its nice to see they are on form with a very busy popular store.The hygiene here appears to be very high. They also prepare fresh sandwiches to order at the back of the shop. A great place to stock up on provisions for the Coast to Coast Cycle.

Dublin and Co is tucked away around a corner off the market - next to Tony Marks Hairdressers. It is a pokey little reception with a few products on display. The service is very friendly and what the salon lacks in size makes up for in comfort. I was fit in at very short notice for a eyebrow and upper lip wax, despite there being only two beauticians on duty and a couple of people waiting in the reception. The beautician was very chatty and I barely felt the pain of the waxing. The salon offers the usual array of waxing, facials, fake tanning, massages etc but the facilities are too small to comfortably offer a mini day spa. I would definitely go back

Solo Beauty is opposite Argos, it shares its entrance with a hairdressers. On entering the salon the interior is modern, clean and quite calming. There are lots of product on display plus treatment details. The treatment list is very impressive for a small town salon. I received a dermalogica facial and had my upper lip waxed. The facial was very pleasant and relaxing, however I found the product sell afterwards abit much. Also the treatment room was dimly lit, which was great for the facial but not for the upper lip wax. On returning home, i found there was still alot of hair on my upper lip - I went back to the salon where they rectified the problem but it was a hassle having to go back and they were not particulary apologetice about it. I mentioned the light being too dim and the beautician just sort of grunted at me. Lovely salon, spoiled by poor waxing