Derwentwater Independent Hostel

The Lake District


Built as a 19th-century mansion, this grand Grade II–listed house is one of Britain's most architecturally ostentatious hostels. Previously YHA-owned, now private, it's a thing of beauty: many rooms have original features such as plasterwork and fireplaces. The 7-hectare grounds encompass an artificial waterfall.

The 88 beds are split across 11 bedrooms; smaller dorms can be booked by groups and families.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Lake District attractions

1. Lodore Falls

0.83 MILES

At the southern end of Derwentwater, this famous waterfall featured in a poem by Robert Southey, but it's only worth visiting after a good spell of rain…

2. Bowder Stone

2.26 MILES

A mile south from Grange, a turn-off leads up to the geological curiosity known as the Bowder Stone, a 1700-tonne lump of rock left behind by a retreating…

3. Keswick Museum

2.29 MILES

Keswick's quirky town museum explores the area's history, from ancient archaeology through to the arrival of industry in the Lakes. It's a diverse…

4. Derwent Pencil Museum

2.41 MILES

Reopened after being badly damaged in the 2015 floods, Keswick's oddest museum is devoted to the charms of the humble pencil – with exhibits including a…

5. Watendlath Tarn

2.45 MILES

This National Trust–owned tarn is reached via a turn-off on the B5285 south of Keswick. On the way the road passes over one of the Lake District's most…

6. Castlerigg Stone Circle

2.7 MILES

Set on a hilltop a mile east of town, this jaw-dropping stone circle consists of 48 stones that are between 3000 and 4000 years old, surrounded by a…

7. Whinlatter Forest Park

4.24 MILES

Encompassing 4.6 sq miles of pine, larch and spruce, Whinlatter is England's only true mountain forest, rising sharply to 790m about 5 miles from Keswick…

8. Honister Slate Mine

4.87 MILES

This old slate mine has been reinvented as a centre for all kinds of activities: you could venture underground into the bowels of the old 'Edge' and …