Getting To Derwent Bank by Public Transport
The nearest railway station is Penrith. This page has different options for getting from Penrith to Derwent Bank:
- X4 or X5 bus to Keswick then walk to Derwent Bank.
- X5 bus to Portinscale then walk to Derwent Bank.
- Taxi
- HF shared taxi transfer.
| This page is about getting to Derwent Bank by Public Transport. For other information about staying at Derwent Bank see the page here. |
There are also busses to Keswick from Carlisle (554) and from Kendal/Oxenholme/Carnforth/Lancaster (555) which can be useful if you are traveling from another HF House but I assume most people will go via Penrith.
If you get off a train from the south you need to cross to the other platform for the exit on that side. There is both an underpass and a bridge.
The bridge has lifts so that may be better with the luggage.
X4 or X5 bus to Keswick then walk to Derwent Bank.
I usually go on the X4 or X5 bus (Stagecoach) which you can catch from just outside Penrith train station. There is some walking required at the Derwent Bank end as described below. The buses are reasonably frequent so its not tied to any particular time. These buses call at Penrith station and go to Keswick and beyond.
I have never had any problems with the busses, they have always turned up on time. In Jan 2026 one of my fellow guests said that the bus they were intending to get was cancelled, local people told them Stagecoach are having problems recruiting drivers, but since there is a bus every half hour between Penrith and Keswick it is not a big problem.
I usually get off the bus at Keswick and walk from there. If you get the X5 you can stay on the bus beyond Keswick to Portinscale (see below).
If you have a long wait at Penrith you can look round the castle ruins just outside the station.
The busses pull into the station forecourt.
At Keswick get out at the bus station (which is Boothes car park):
If you get to Keswick too early you could go in Boothes Cafe at the bus station.
The walk from Keswick to Derwent Bank is about 2.5km and takes about 30min, perhaps longer with luggage.
From Boothes turn left along this road:
Then left again down Main Street:
| toward the pencil museum and over the river Greta. |  |
Immediately after the bridge (before Premier Inn) turn left along this path:
and along this footpath here:
| As you can see from this picture it can get muddy and potholed: |  |
At the end of this footpath turn left onto the road with all the camper vans parked.
If your wheelie case cant handle this you can go straight ahead at the river Greta bridge and along High Hill and then the road with all the camper vans parked.
Although when I was there in Jan 2026 the path was being repaired so it may be better now (please let me know).
Road with the camper vans parked:
| Either way you get to the wobbly suspension footbridge and go over this. |  |
Then past Derwentwater Hotel and left at the road junction.
Then left past Derwentwater marina to Derwent Bank. (this bus stop in the picture is only for route 77 which operates in the summer).
For the last 100 metres or so the footpath disappears so be careful you don't get run over by your fellow guests arriving in their cars:
here is the entrance:
X5 bus to Portinscale then walk to Derwent Bank.
I usually get off the bus at Keswick and walk from there but if you get the X5 (not X4) you can stay on the bus beyond Keswick to Portinscale. This gives a shorter and easier walk to the house. The X4 route goes the other side of Bassenthwaite Lake so don't stay on that route beyond Keswick.
You need to get off the bus just after you join the A66 at this bleak looking part of the road. So I would ring the bell when the bus turns left onto the A66.
When you get off the bus start walking back towards Keswick and in a few metres the path veers to the right here:
A short distance along this road you will see these white gates, this is a private road that HF describe as millionaires row. Go along this road:
At the other end of this road there is another set of white gates opposite the HF entrance:
Taxi
It may be cheaper to book your own taxi rather than use the HF shared taxi transfer.
HF used to recommend Davis Taxis but now they recommend WTD Taxis. The local council regulate the prices so they may all cost about the same.
The problem is getting a booking between school runs, you may not be able to get a taxi when you want it.
HF shared taxi transfer.
There is an HF shared taxi transfer but there is only one, late in the day, so most of the tea & scones will be gone by the time you arrive. The transfer is very expensive and if your train is late it will not wait for you, in that case you will end up paying for the transfer and an expensive taxi. To avoid that people might get an earlier train and hang around for hours in a bleak station. HF appear to price these transfers around commercial taxi rates so, if there are 2 or more of you it may be cheaper to book your own taxi (if you can get one between school runs).
HF like to try to appear environmentally friendly but the reality does not match their words, they do little to encourage sustainable travel and these transfers appear to be charged around commercial taxi rates.
I find it much better to go on the X4 or X5 bus, there is some extra walking required at the Derwent Bank end but the buses are reasonably frequent so its not tied to any particular time.
HF have a shared taxi transfer. It may be cheaper for 2 or more people to book the taxi directly rather than use the HF transfer.
When I went in 2024 HF used Davis Taxis for the transfer however they found it uneconomic to bid for the contract so HF now recommend WTD Taxis (wtdtaxispenrith@gmail.com). In 2024 each direction of the HF transfer was £25 in 2025 each direction is £32.
Going home toward London is more complicated for me because I like to catch the 10:03 from Penrith because it goes direct without the need to change at Preston. Also because the west coast main line more or less force you to buy advance tickets it would be very expensive if I were late for my train.
If I were to catch a bus to meet this train I would have to miss or rush my HF breakfast which is not on. Also I don't want to risk the bus being late or cancelled.
The shared transfer departs Derwent Bank at 09:15 to arrive at Penrith Railway Station at 10:00. This seems very close so I emailed HF to find out what the risk is. I got an unhelpful reply from HF saying "the transfer is not timed to meet a specific departure time". So I telephoned Davis Taxis who were much more helpful than HF and reassured me that there should be enough time barring major incidents.
Unfortunately HF head office don't give the information needed for taxi and public transport either on the website or if you communicate by email.
Davis taxis can't recruit new drivers and as people leave they no longer have enough people to do this work so they are no longer bidding for these contracts. It looks like this also applies to other taxi companies as well. The taxi fare per mile is set by the local council and this has not gone up for several years.
The problem there is that, in many cases, its impossible to get a taxi at short notice. One person who was leaving on the Monday asked Wayne to book a taxi the day before but he could not book one. In the old days I used to put my name down on the list the day before leaving and could be sure that it would all be booked. I think people need to be warned that is no longer the case. Its a pity that HF head office don't explain better on the website and when I sent them an email to enquire. All head office say is they can't guarantee that it will meet a given train. I don't expect a guarantee but I would like enough information to let me decide if the transfer is suitable for me.
| This page is about getting to Derwent Bank by Public Transport. For other information about Derwent Bank see the page here. |
Other Documents on this site
Click on the following for more information
| Former HF Houses | |
|---|---|
| Conwy (1914- 2011) |  |
| Newlands (1914- 1987) |  |
| Swanage (1947- 1995) |  |
| Isle of Arran (1925- ) |  |
| Scarborough (1954- 1998) |  |
| Lulworth |  |
| Beddgelert |  |
| New Inns |  |
| Penrith |  |
| Milford-on-Sea |  |
About This SiteHere is some information I have gathered together about getting to and walking from HF houses when leaving the car at home. On these pages I have also put some history about former HF houses I have visited. The information here is based on my visits to HF houses over the years. It may be out of date so don't rely on anything here without checking. If you find any errors why not let others know by putting a post on the HF Holiday Fans ( unofficial) Facebook forum. I will try to quote such posts here so they don't get lost. This is information I have discovered over the years which would have been useful to know before. Unfortunately the travel information on the HF website, for getting to houses by public transport, is poor. I think it would be better if the information on this page were on the HF website. |
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