Surprise View is on the Watendlath road, which climbs steeply out of Borrowdale at Ashness Bridge, about four and a half kilometres south of Keswick.
The name is accurate. The road runs uphill through trees with nothing much to see, and then the woodland ends at a rock outcrop and the whole of Derwentwater appears three hundred feet below, with Keswick at the far end, Skiddaw and Blencathra behind it, and Bassenthwaite beyond that.
It is one of the best roadside views in England, and it takes about four seconds to arrive.
Straight down the length of the lake, from above. The islands — Derwent Isle, Lord’s Island, St Herbert’s Island, Rampsholme — are laid out in the water; the wooded shore runs away on both sides; the Skiddaw massif closes the far end.
It works in almost any conditions. In cloud the fells come and go; in autumn the woods below turn; on a still morning the lake mirrors the whole thing.
Mind the drop. The rock outcrop at the viewpoint is a sheer edge with no fence and nothing between the grass and the bottom. There are plenty of safe places to stand, and it is entirely a matter of not walking backwards while looking through a camera.
The Watendlath road is single-track, steep and narrow, with passing places, stone walls and a good deal of traffic in season.
It is not suitable for anything larger than a big car. Campervans, motorhomes, minibuses and caravans should not attempt it, and those that do cause the jams that make the road notorious. Local advice is unambiguous on this.
It also has Ashness Bridge at the bottom — the small packhorse bridge that is one of the most photographed structures in the Lake District, with its own tiny parking area that fills immediately.
The Surprise View car park is on the left just past the viewpoint. Coming up from Borrowdale it is easy to miss, and turning round is difficult — a number of visitors report going straight past and catching it on the way back down.
Continuing up the road brings you after three kilometres to Watendlath, a National Trust hamlet at a tarn in a hanging valley — a handful of farm buildings, a packhorse bridge, a tea room and nothing else. It is the sort of place that looks invented.
Watendlath features in Hugh Walpole’s Herries Chronicle, which was hugely popular in the 1930s and is the reason the hamlet was on the tourist map long before the road was surfaced.
There is a car park at the end, which fills early.
The better option in high season. A path runs from the Keswick lakeshore up through Great Wood to Surprise View and on to Watendlath, and the Borrowdale bus (the 78) runs from Keswick along the valley bottom, allowing a walk up and a bus back.
Walking removes the parking problem entirely and the woodland approach is good in its own right.
Free, open at all times.
Parking: National Trust car park at the viewpoint, charged, free to members. Small, and it fills by mid-morning in summer.
Facilities: none at the viewpoint. Watendlath has a tea room and toilets.
Time: ten minutes to look; half a day if you walk it or continue to Watendlath.
Access: the viewpoint is a short walk from the car park on uneven ground.
On the Watendlath road above Borrowdale, about four and a half kilometres south of Keswick, up a steep turn at Ashness Bridge.
No. The road is single-track, steep and narrow, and is not suitable for anything larger than a big car.
A small National Trust car park at the viewpoint, charged and free to members. It fills by mid-morning in summer.
The viewpoint has a sheer unfenced drop. There is plenty of safe ground; just be aware of the edge.
Ashness Bridge below and Watendlath hamlet and tarn three kilometres above, both worth the trip.