Derwent Pencil Museum

A small, slightly bonkers museum next to the old Cumberland Pencil Company factory. The exhibits cover the discovery of Borrowdale graphite, the cottage industry of the 17th century, the secret wartime pencils, and the world's longest pencil — 7.91 metres of laminated pencil that fills its own glass case.

Allow an hour. The shop, inevitably, is full of pencils, including the soft-graphite Derwent ranges that artists actually use. Useful on a rainy afternoon, and an easy stop for families.

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A story
Pencils have been made in Keswick since graphite was discovered at the head of Borrowdale in the 16th century. During the Second World War, the Cumberland Pencil Company concealed a tightly rolled map of Germany and a tiny compass inside a special line of pencils, smuggled out to RAF aircrew in occupied Europe.