The views from the top of Walla Crag, at 379 metres (1243 feet), are simply stunning.  And at this height, it’s another Wainwright Fell ticked off the list.  Our 5 year old had no problems at all summiting this one, although it is steep in places.  But it’s easy to navigate and not too far at 1.75 miles in total.

We parked in the Great Wood National Trust car park at grid reference 273215 on OS map OL4.  The car park is free to members, but note it’s one of the new ticket machines where you must scan your card to obtain a free ticket.

Follow the signs initially towards Ashness Bridge and head out of the car park onto the foot path (not the track).  Continue straight on and up, through the woods.  There is junction after about 400 metres, continue straight here.  The signs are a tad confusing as they suggest a 2 1/4 mile walk that will take 2 hours 20 minutes.  We didn’t do this walk (not actually sure where this one takes you!).  But follow the sign for the longer of the two routes up Walla Crag.

When you reach Cat Gill, do not go over it, but stay on the north side of it, tracking it all the way up, up and more up.  As you get nearer the top, you will emerge out of the woods and the path veers left.

Continue going up on the open fells, until you see a stile on your left.  Cross the stile and the top of Walla Crag is about 200 metre.  You won’t have seen much of the view walking up this way, and it’s breathtaking when you finally crest the rocks and are presented with such a stunning sight.

Once we’d had our picnic, we headed back down the way we came.  There are ways to turn this into a circular walk, but they were a bit too far in distance for our little ones’ legs.

When we got back to the car park, we followed the signs to have a play on the shore of Derwentwater.  It’s only a couple of minutes walk and again you get some lovely views and the kids always like to play with the stones and splash in the water!

Afterwards we got in the car and headed to Keswick where we ate a superb meal in The Royal Oak.  Really deliciuos food, realxed pub environment, modern decor and friendly staff.  It’s definitely one of the better pubs we’ve visited.

You’ll find the route map for this walk in the photos below.

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