Word got about, that it was the Keswick Market's 750th Anniversary Day on Saturday 8th of August.

As part of the celebrations, The Royal Charter for the Market was to be read out at midday by the local Mayor.

Chance for me to visit the big city and enjoy the 'sights and sounds' and by combining it with a walk from Portinscale, it meant the both Dougal and I got that extra bit of exercise today.

I parked in Portinscale, courtesy of a friend, and headed off for the walking track to Keswick.

The Derwent Water Hotel seems to be undergoing some major renovations which will be interesting to see once it is finished.

The old Long Bridge", the main road bridge across the valley was severely damaged by floods in December 1954, and was temporarily repaired to allow cars to cross to Portinscale and beyond.

Following the construction of the A66 village bypass and new road alignment in the 1960s the old bridge was finally demolished and replaced by the current pedestrian bridge.

The "end of the road" is now a convenient place for this gentleman and his small Coffee Kart to ply his trade.

This year the old footpath across the meadows to Keswick has been upgraded, even widened, with a new all-weather surface.

On reaching the outskirts of Keswick, the sign read . . .

"This area of land was owned by Edward Stephenson (1691 - 1768) a Governor of Bengal. He lived in Calcutta, of which Howrah was a suburb.

He returned to Keswick a wealthy man and lived out his days in the Governor's House on Lake Road, renaming this area the Howrahs".

Town is busy as it's Market Day . . . but that's why I'm here !

There's a full compliment of stalls and a real buzz around Market Square today.

Princess Elsa, the Disney film character was entertaining the youngsters and encouraging them to join in and dance.

Spiderman was offering photo opportunities to the children.

The local Council had managed to squeeze in a small gazebo in between the stalls, complete with a castle backdrop relevant to the day.

The Town Crier rang his bell and called for silence for The Mayor . . .

. . . who proceeded to read out the Charter which was awarded by King Edward I to "our beloved and faithful Lord Thomas of Derwent Water and his heirs" 750 years ago.

At that time (1276) Keswick was a small, rural settlement centred around agriculture and local trade, and Thomas was living at his grand house on Lord's Island.

This "beloved and faithful Lord" would later side with the Jacobites and lose his head at the tower of London !

But the Market survived and is still going strong.

The Jester entertained the crowds by making huge soap bubble . . . well it entertained me trying to capture the moment !

After a wonder around the Market Square, Dougal and I enjoyed a light lunch, baught some cheese and two great sun hats for the grandchildren,

then headed home via the Greta Bridge.

The river levels under the bridge were low, but we've had sufficient damp weather to allow the grass to remain green and the sheep to have sufficient to eat.

This was the Portinscale path as I head back to the car.