Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

. The

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

occupies part of

Borrowdale Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland. It is sometimes referred to as ''Cumberland Borrowdale'' ...

and lies immediately south of the town of Keswick. It is both fed and drained by the River Derwent. It measures approximately long by wide and is some deep. There are several islands within the lake, one of which is inhabited. Derwentwater is a place of considerable scenic value. It is surrounded by hills (known locally as fells), and many of the slopes facing Derwentwater are extensively wooded. A regular passenger launch operates on the lake, taking passengers between various landing stages. There are seven lakeside marinas, the most popular stops being Keswick,

Portinscale Portinscale is a village in Cumbria, England, close to the western shore of Derwentwater in the Lake District National Park from Keswick. Portinscale is in the civil parish of Above Derwent, the district of Allerdale, the county of Cumbria, ...

and the Lodore Falls, from which boats may be hired. Recreational walking is a major tourist activity in the area and there is an extensive network of footpaths in the hills and woods surrounding the lake. The Keswick to Borrowdale road runs along the eastern shore of the lake and carries a regular bus service. There is a lesser, or unclassified, road along the western shore connecting the villages of Grange and Portinscale. Derwentwater gave its name to the

Earldom of Derwentwater Earl of Derwentwater (pronounced "Durwentwater") was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1688 for Sir Francis Radclyffe, 3rd Baronet. He was made Baron Tyndale, of Tyndale in the County of Northumberland, and Viscount Radclyff ...

. From 2008 to 2014, the lake was believed to be the last remaining native habitat of the vendace (''Coregonus vandesius'') fish from the four originally known sites:

Bassenthwaite Lake Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the largest water bodies in the English Lake District. It is long and narrow, approximately long and wide, but is also extremely shallow, with a maximum depth of about . It is the only body of water in the Lake ...

and Derwentwater in the Lake District, and the Castle Loch & Mill Loch in

Lochmaben Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...

. However, a breeding population was discovered at Bassenthwaite Lake by conservationists in September 2014.

Etymology

'Derwent' is " '(River) with oak trees', traditionally explained from Brit." (i.e.: Brythonic Celtic) or Cymric Old Welsh, hence Cymria " 'derwā' 'oak' plus suffixes, hence of the same origin as other English rivers named Derwent, Darwen, Darent and Dart...The river gave its name to Derwent Water (which was also known as the 'Lake of Derwent', 'Keswick Lake', or 'Keswick Water' in the 18th-19th centuries)...". Plus "OE 'wæter', with the meaning probably influenced by its ON relative 'vatn'."

Derwentwater's islands

There are numerous islands in Derwentwater, the largest being Derwent Island, Lord's Island, St Herbert's Island, Rampsholme Island, Park Neb, Otter Island, and Otterbield Island. There is a house on Derwent Island. St. Herbert's Island is named after a 7th-century hermit priest;

Herbert of Derwentwater Saint Herbert of Derwentwater (died 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon priest and hermit who lived on the small St Herbert's Island in Derwentwater, Cumbria, England. His friendship with St Cuthbert is explored in a poem by William Wordsworth. Bi ...

In Art and Literature

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...

's poetical illustration ''Derwent Water'' is attached to a plate of ''Derwent Water, from the Castle Head, Cumberland'' (artist

Thomas Allom Thomas Allom (13 March 1804 – 21 October 1872) was an English architect, artist, and topographical illustrator. He was a founding member of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He designed many buildings in London, i ...

) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837.

In popular culture

A slightly cropped and color hue-edited real photo with an open view of the Derwentwater was used by

Team Silent Team Silent was a development team within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET), responsible for the first four games in the ''Silent Hill'' franchise by Konami released from 1999 to 2004. Later titles were developed by non-Japanese companie ...

as a backdrop image at the very beginning of the

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...

's " Silent Hill 2" video game, to serve as a higher ground touristic observational viewpoint of the fictional "Toluca Lake" (not to be confused with

Toluca Lake, Los Angeles Toluca Lake is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owner ...

) in the local area encompassing the fictional eponymous town of "

Silent Hill is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, '' Silent Hill'', ''Silent Hill 2'', ''Silent Hill 3'' and '' ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. Derwentwater was used in the 2018 video game

Forza Horizon 4 ''Forza Horizon 4'' is a 2018 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on 2 October 2018 for Windows and Xbox One after being announced at Xbox's E3 2018 conference. An enhanced version ...

. The album artwork for the 2010 album

Black Sands ''Black Sands'' is the fourth studio album by English DJ Bonobo. It was released on 29 March 2010. Artwork The cover features a photograph taken of Derwentwater, in northern England. The tower in the background is located in Castlerigg ...

by Bonobo features a photograph taken of Derwentwater. The tower in the background is located in Castlerigg (54°35′29.95″N 3°7′3.43″WCoordinates: 54°35′29.95″N 3°7′3.43″W). On his album ''Republic of Geordieland'', singer-songwriter

Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroe ...

has a song titled "Derwentwater Farewell." Derwentwater was used as the principal location for the planet Takodana in the sci fi movie sequel '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens''.

Panoramas

Gallery

File:Derwent Water from Cat Bells, Lake District.jpg, From Cat Bells File:Derwentwater (DSCF8800).jpg, Keswick ferry terminal File:Derwent Water with mist.jpg File:Canoes at Derwent Water.jpg, Some canoes and a dock at the edge of Derwent Water

References

External links

Lakes Derwenwater GuideRobin Pecknold - "Derwentwater stones"
{{authority control Cumberland Lakes of the Lake District LDerwentwater Allerdale