Walla Crag to High Seat

The weather this weekend could not have been any better. Perfect for the beer festival, had it not been postponed. Knowing our luck it will be a mud bath next year!

After spending Saturday catching up with some friends we hadn’t seen since before lockdown 1.0. We planned for a Sunday hike.

After a late start (we were a bit sluggish from the previous day’s festivities) we headed for the hills. Our aim was to summit Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell and High Seat. Three Wainwrights within the Central Fells of the Lake District.

We left the hustle and bustle of Keswick behind, skirting around the central thoroughfare that had been teeming with holiday goers all weekend. With Boris’ international travel embargo, everyone is spending their vacations within the beauty spots of the UK. Since the lakes is the by far the most scenic, it’s a magnet for visitors from every corner of the UK.

It wasn’t long before we started the footpath up to Walla Crag. It begins at a small cafe at the bottom of Springs Road; a small residential lane overlooking Castlehead Wood. The footpath takes you through a small woodland called Springs Wood; gently rising towards Castlerigg. You eventually turn right onto a country lane that shortly forks off towards the more strenuous stretch to Walla Cragg.

The path leads down to a small ford and after crossing, begins the ascent. This certainly got the blood pumping; especially with the heat. Every time we caught the cool breeze we took a breather and admired the view.

It wasn’t long before we were at Walla Crag where fellow walkers had assembled to gaze over Derwent Water and Keswick.

We took a well needed water break before moving on to our next Wainwright. We left the small crowd of walkers behind soaking up the views. We climbed over a small wooden stile to join the main footpath to Bleaberry Fell.

The path wound through the heathland on a shallow incline, passing the ruins of a dry stone sheepfold before we reached the foot of Bleaberry.

The incline steepened at this point, but this time we had a welcoming breeze to keep us cool all the way to the top. Luckily this was our last steep ascent of the day. We had the peak to ourselves and only joined briefly by a man and his dog.

The dog was a Suluki type Lurcher, that stood on top of a small boulder looking out towards Blencathra. I was convinced she was breathtaken by the views and was admiring the landscape!

We ate our packed lunches around a small dry stone shelter that marked the summit of Bleaberry. After fueling up we set off towards our last Wainwright for the day; High Seat.

This section was mostly flat until a small scrambling section to the summit. The footpath crossed more heathland with patches that were very boggy; we strategically used small stepping stones to navigate the worst sections.

As we approached High Seat we came across some rock formations that caused us to pause for photographs.

After a tiny bit of scrambling we made it to High Seat, our highest point on the hike. We took another short water break admiring the landscape before we followed the footpath down to Derwent Water.

The descent crossed more boggy heathland until we made it to the stone footpath that you can see in the picture above. After spending the whole day in the sunshine, we were starting to fantasize about an ice cold glass of lemonade.

At this end of the lake, there are two watering holes we could take advantage of; the Lodore Falls Hotel or the Mary Mount Hotel. The promise of a lemonade spurred us on.

The gentle decline came to an abrupt end as the footpath stopped at the precipice of a small crag. To navigate this bit, it involved some rock climbing!

I led the way, to find the path down and guide my companions on the placement of their footing. It was a bit daunting at one point but we reached the bottom all intact.

Having safely navigated the north face, we had the knee burning stage of the descent. This is the least pleasant part of any hill walking, but part and parcel of this pursuit.

We left the fells behind and crossed a stile on to farmland where a horse was enjoying the sunshine. We continued following a barbed wire fence and a dry stone wall until we reached the road that led down to the lake.

We arrived at the road where a numerous footpaths converged, over a quaint stone built bridge. Several walking parties were milling around cooling their feet in the stream and basking in the sun.

We followed the single lane road to the lake shore and headed south towards the hotels. The last time I was in the lakes, I walked the 10 mile circuit around Derwent Water; in the rain! The polar opposite of today.

I couldn’t resist sending a picture to my mate of the view, who was currently at work; he was part of the party that undertook that sodden trek two years ago with me.

We called in to the Mary Mount Hotel for that well needed glass of lemonade. A perfect beverage to end the walk. After enjoying the shade and a slight breeze in the beer garden, we walked the short distance to the bus stop to catch it back to Keswick.