We do not go down St. John’s Vale, but leave it on our right and traverse the parallel Vale of Naddle. This debouches upon the Greta Valley lower down, but our road climbs the steep hill to the moor, and soon overlooks the fertile plain of Keswick. Bassenthwaite Lake is in the far distance, with the majestic mass of Skiddaw guarding it on the north. Whatever disappointments the Derwentwater scenery may have in store for us (and I do not think it will have any) the first glimpse we obtain of it to the west, with the lovely outlines of Causey and Grisedale Pikes beyond, will be voted but little short of perfection. This approach to Keswick is one of the “tit-bits” of Lakeland and I know many people who have gone home cherishing this as the most memorable view they have seen. The market town of Keswick, situated on the south bank of the [Illustration: Keswick and Derwentwater Viewed from Latrigg, looking south to Borrowdale and Scawfell.] [Illustration: Derwentwater from Friars’ Crag “A rift in the Clouds.”] river Greta, has often been called the metropolis of the Lake District. It is certainly the largest town in Lakeland, but as there are much larger elsewhere and because visitors do not come here for the sake of the towns, we can dismiss it in a few words. It should be said that as a centre for the tourist it has no rival in the North of Lakeland. It possesses ideal accommodation for visitors, from the magnificent and first-class Keswick Hotel, beautifully situated on the banks of the Greta, to the homely temperance hotel and comfortable private apartments. Char-a-bancs leave Keswick daily by the dozen during the summer for all parts, and, although it is then a busy place, the rowdy tripper element is lacking. Its staple industry is that of lead-pencil making, but the days are gone when the famous Borrowdale plumbago was found and worked locally, and the pencil industry now employs but few hands. Keswick is better known as the _venue_ of the parent convention. From it have sprung all the other religious conventions at home and abroad and during the end of July people congregate here from all parts of the world. The little town is filled to its utmost capacity and at this time it is a place to be avoided by all but conventioners.