About Lakeland Rowing Club
Lakeland Rowing Club is a small, friendly club based at Isthmus Bay in Keswick. We row on Derwentwater in the heart of the Lake District World Heritage Site, surrounded by the beautiful north western fells.
Our members range in age from early teens to early 80s, and we combine leisure rowing with competing at all levels. We are affiliated to British Rowing and have several qualified coaches among our members. Although we mostly scull in quads, doubles and singles, we also have boats which can be rigged as fours and pairs.
New members are always welcome, whether they are returning to the sport or looking to row for the first time.
If you already row with another club, are planning to be in the area and would like to get out on the water with us, or if you are interested in organising a training camp, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
Rowing on Derwentwater on a bright spring morning Picture: Steve Lawson
Meet the Lakeland committee
Simply click on the committee member’s picture to email them. For enquiries about junior rowing, please contact Julia McCumiskey.
President: John Knox
Chair & juniors’ co-ordinator: Julia McCumiskey
Secretary: David Pratt
Treasurer: Paul Eldridge
Captain (seniors): James Waterfield
Captain (boys): Sam Hill
Captain (girls): Izzie Watson
Membership secretary & learn-to-row administrator: Sheila Wood
Facilities co-ordinator: Andy Richardson
Safety advisor & learn-to-row co-ordinator: Don Mitchell
Welfare officer: Nicola Jackson
Development officer: vacant
Media officer: Alex Morgan
Social secretary: Catherine Wetherfield
Explore co-ordinator: Lizzie Wyatt
Visiting clubs co-ordinator: Steve Lawson
The Lakeland story
Until 2007, when Lakeland Rowing Club was set up by a small group of rowers in retirement, there were no rowing clubs between Brampton and Lancaster, a distance of hundreds of square miles including some of the most beautiful stretches of water in the Lake District.
The club remained small and relatively unknown for many years. Members rowed on Windermere in the south Lakes and Bassenthwaite Lake in the north, storing boats at home and moving them between sites.
Eventually, thanks to the hard work and determination of the original members, numbers began to increase. A northern base was established at Derwent Water Marina in Portinscale, with a second site at Fell Foot Park on Windermere.
By 2016, there were enough members to split into two independent clubs, with Lakeland Rowing Club continuing to operate on Derwentwater and the south Lakes members becoming Windermere Rowing Club.
In 2018, having outgrown the space available at Derwent Water Marina, Lakeland secured a piece of land across the water on Keswick Isthmus, courtesy of the National Trust, and members built a new base.
Today, we have thriving junior and senior sections. We run learn-to-row courses for school pupils and adults, and support both leisure rowers and crews who travel all over the country to compete.
Pictures: Rob Grange (main), Clive Penkett (above)