I manage a small holiday let agency, Keswick Holiday Homes, for private owners of cottages in Keswick, Cumbria. I enjoy meeting new guests and sharing information about the area and how they can make the best out of their visit to the Lake District. I live locally and I am available to assist guests if needed.

Chaucer’s Retreat is a lower ground floor apartment in the expertly converted former Chaucer House Hotel, a local heritage building which is located directly opposite St John’s Church in the heart of Keswick. Sleeping two, it is a large apartment with its own private entrance and car parking space.

Keswick is a thriving market town and caters for visitors all year round – it never has the “closed up” feel of a seaside resort after the summer months – there is always plenty going on whatever the weather or season. The town has won many Britain in Bloom awards over the past few years; it obviously has a head start with such a superb location. It offers a wide range of places to eat out and has an attractive shopping centre. Of course the outdoor clothing industry is a speciality here! Our market days are Thursday and Saturday with special markets arranged at other times throughout the year. They offer the opportunity to buy, among other things, local farm produce, craft work, and photographs. Keswick is a great base from which to explore the Lakes. Learn the literary past of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey and of course Beatrix Potter; visit stately homes and gardens or go further afield – Hadrian’s Wall is easily explored from here and is a popular destination for visitors. It has lovely parks, museums, tennis courts, bowling greens, pitch and put, an excellent theatre, cinema, climbing wall, and mountain bike hire or water sports for the more energetic.