Great Wood, Walla Crag Via Cat Gill & Falcon Crag

To appreciate the true beauty of the lakes, it’s best to try and get above them. With children, this isn’t always easy, but this fairly low level walk offers outstanding views of Derwent Water, as well as across to Bassenthwaite Lake in the north and the jaws of Borrowdale in the south. Starting at Great Wood, a haven for bluebells and other wild flowers in the spring, this walk takes you up a short, but fairly steep climb up Cat Gill as it flows down towards Derwent Water.

The climb begins to level out as you reach the summit of Walla Crag, and it is then a long, but mostly gentle, stroll along the top of Falcon Crag towards Ashness Bridge and back round to the start point. The ascent up Cat Gill is steep, involves some minor scrambling, and there are sharp drops to the side of the path. For this reason, we do not recommend this walk for those children who might struggle to listen to instructions, or are affectionately known as “bolters”. All children should be closely supervised and great care should be taken.

The Start of the Walk – Great Wood Car Park

The walk begins at Great Wood Car Park. If you are using a Satnav, the postcode CA12 5UP will get you close to the car park. Head out of Keswick on the B5289 towards Borrowdale. You will go over two mini roundabouts as you leave the town, and the car park is approximately one-mile after the second roundabout on the right hand side.

It is clearly signposted. National Trust members can park here for free with a valid membership card. There a number of routes heading out of the car park, but if you stand at the entrance and look to your right you will see a picnic bench next to a signpost and a path leading into the woods. Take this path.

Walking through the Wood

The path leads you through a pretty woodland. In the spring time, this is a great place for spotting carpets of bluebells, particularly as it’s less popular than other, better known bluebell woods in the area. You will come to a vehicle barrier, with plenty of space for walkers to pass it. Go around it and take the path that goes straight on rather than the path to the left. Continue along the path through the woodland.

Starting the Ascent Up Cat Gill

You will probably hear the babble of Cat Gill as you approach it. You will come to a turning in the path with a signpost. Take the left hand turning up the stone steps, signposted for Cat Gill, noting the warning that this is a steep climb. From here on, children will need to be closely supervised, and you may wish to consider leashing any dogs. The path rises steeply. It is mostly stepped, but there are places where you may need to do some scrambling. You will also pass some places where there is a steep drop down to the stream on the right.

Continuing the Ascent

Continue following the path as it winds up Cat Gill. This will be tough for younger children but do bear in mind that once you have reached the top, most of the remaining walk is largely downhill. You will come to a gate around half way up that you will need to go through. Beyond the gate, the path leads away slightly from the gill and is therefore less dangerous for children. The path now largely follows a wall to your left and continues to rise. You will come to another small gate next to the wall with a set of steps leading through it. Go through this gate and continue up.

Winding Through the Gorse

The path continues to rise steeply with some scrambling required. At last you are high enough to see over the tops of the trees and out towards Derwent Water. You will come to another gate to go through, and the path then starts to zig zag up through gorse. Keep aiming up, following some steep stepped sections and over small sections of rocky outcrops. If you are not sure on the path, keep the wall to your left at all times and follow it up the hill.

The Hole in the Wall

The path finally starts to level out and the ascent becomes much more gentle. You will come to a hole in the wall with a gate directly in front of you. Rather than heading for the gate (which does offer an alternative route), go through the hole in the wall. This takes you into a small woodland that sits along the top of Walla Crag.

The woodland is spacious and a great spot for a shady picnic when the sun is particularly strong. Do be aware though that you are now on top of the crag and if you venture too far to the right, you could find yourself at the very edge. A narrow path winds up through the woodland, following the wall, which is now on your right.

Walla Crag Summit

You will come to another gap in the wall, this time with a stile for you to cross over. You will need to come back to this stile after reaching the summit. Do not go over the stile just yet, instead follow the path straight up. The mound of the highest point of Walla Crag will be evident straight ahead of you. The summit is a fairly spacious plateau and is a good spot to stop and enjoy the view.

You will be able to see Derwent Water with its islands, across to Cat Bells, up towards Lake Bassenthwaite, and down towards Borrowdale. After you have finished at the summit, head back down to the stile in the wall and go over it.

Descending Walla Crag

Once over the wall, do not take the path immediately to your right that follows the wall straight down. Instead, take the path directly in front of you that leads towards the fells ahead. You will see in the far distance that there is a fork in the path with the left hand fork leading up the fell, and the right hand fork leading down to the right and beyond the fell. This is the direction that you now need to head in. Along the way, there are a couple of streams with stepping stones for crossing. Apart from these crossings, the track is fairly firm and gently descends down the fell.

Falcon Crag

You will now be walking along the top of Falcon Crag with delightful views of Derwent Water. You will pass a small path on your right that leads down to a stile and beyond that an outcrop of the crag that has a great viewing point, which is worth a minor diversion to if you have the time and energy. Otherwise, continue along the main path as it leads down. The Jaws of Borrowdale will be visible ahead of you.

Two Gates

The path ends at a corner of the enclosure. You will see two gates. The gate on the left at the end of the path, will lead you to Ashness Bridge – a popular photography spot. You can then take the lower path from the bridge to re-join this route, or walk back along the road if you prefer. Alternatively, if you wish to cut the corner (as young legs will no doubt be very tired at this point), take the gate on the right.

On the other side, there is a path that follows the wall on the left down to the main path. Again, turning left here will lead you to Ashness Bridge (and this is the path that you would return on if you choose to visit the bridge), but to follow this route, turn right, signposted for Great Wood.

The Path Below the Crags

You are now walking below the crags, and there is approximately one-mile left to go on the walk. The path here is generally quite narrow, and undulates regularly. There are no particularly steep sections, but some parts may require your children to be supervised due to fairly high drops to the side at times. Look out for the caves on the right hand side with some people claiming the rocks resemble an elephant. The crags are popular with abseilers, so you may spot some in the rocks above you.

Returning to Great Wood Car Park

Continue along the path and you will soon start to hear the babble of Cat Gill once more. You will arrive at a narrow footbridge that crosses over the gill. There is a small waterfall here. Cross over the bridge and you will see to your right the path up Cat Gill that you took towards the start of this walk. Continue straight ahead to return to the car park. As this is a long walk, do consider heading into Keswick next for a hearty pub supper.