Walla Crag

Walla Crag ends in a steep cliff about 400 feet high, dropping through trees towards Derwentwater, and the best views are from its edge. Take care near the drop. The summit cairn sits a little way back, and a wall runs behind the edge, which helps in mist.

Most walkers start from the National Trust pay and display car park at Great Wood, on the Borrowdale road a couple of miles south of Keswick. The 78 Borrowdale bus from Keswick runs along that road. From the car park you can climb through the woods and up Cat Gill, a steep gorge with small waterfalls and a stone-pitched path, or take the gentler way round by Rakefoot and Brockle Beck. A loop up one and down the other is under 5 km. You can also walk straight out of Keswick via Brockle Beck and leave the car behind altogether.

The Cat Gill path is steep and rough, and the stone steps are hard on knees in descent. The ground on top is boggy with sphagnum moss in places. There's no scrambling on the walking routes.

From the cliff top you see all of Derwentwater, with Keswick below and Skiddaw behind. Across the water are Grisedale Pike and the Newlands fells, and to the south you look down Borrowdale. If you want more, carry on up the broad moorland slope to Bleaberry Fell.

Lady's Rake

The only break in the crag is a steep gully called Lady's Rake. The story goes that the Countess of Derwentwater fled up it after her husband, the Earl, was captured in the Jacobite rising of 1715. He was executed the following year. It's not a walking route now, as the gully is loose and dangerous.