Castle Crag Short Walk | 4 Miles
At just 290m (951ft) Castle Crag is the lowest of all 214 Wainwright fells, but it’s also one of the most distinctive – it’s a steep, craggy little hill standing right in the “jaws of Borrowdale”. This Castle Crag short walk starts from the Borrowdale Institute car park in Rosthwaite and heads straight up into that history, slate quarries, an Iron Age fort and a war memorial, all in 4 miles.
Wainwright included Castle Crag in his guide books due to it being “so magnificently independent, so ruggedly individual, so aggressively unashamed of its lack of inches”, and it’s easy to agree with him!
Walk Overview
- Distance: 4 miles out and back
- Start/finish: Borrowdale Institute car park – £6 all day parking
- Difficulty: Moderate – it’s short in distance, but steep in places
- Terrain: Woodland paths giving way to a steep, loose slate scramble near the top
- Good for: A shorter half-day walk that still delivers a proper sense of achievement and big views
Route Highlights
The jaws of Borrowdale – Castle Crag sits right at the narrowest point of the valley, one of two hills, along with King’s How opposite, that form what early visitors named the “jaws of Borrowdale” for how dramatically the valley closes in here.
Slate quarry remains – The upper slopes and summit area bear the scars of extensive 18th and 19th century slate quarrying, with spoil heaps and loose slate underfoot forming a strange, almost surreal landscape as you near the top. It’s this quarrying that gives the final approach its distinctive loose, steep character.
Millican Dalton’s Cave – On the lower slopes, keep an eye out for the old quarry cave once used as a summer home by Millican Dalton, a self-styled “Professor of Adventure” who lived here for decades in the early 20th century.
Iron Age hillfort remains – Long before the quarrying, the summit was home to an Iron Age hillfort, and traces of the old stone ramparts are apparently still visible on the eastern side, despite much of the site being lost to later quarrying.
The war memorial and views – The summit itself carries a war memorial, as the fell was gifted to the National Trust after the First World War in memory of the men of Borrowdale who died. From here, the views stretch out over Derwent Water to Skiddaw, a huge reward for such a short climb.
Castle Crag Short Walk
Our walk starts from the car park at the Borrowdale Institute. Leaving the car park, we turned right to walk past the farm buildings and The Flock-in, a lovely little walkers tea rooms. We walked along the farm track, through a gate, and followed the track to the River Derwent.
The path runs alongside the river and crosses via a beautiful old stone bridge. After the bridge, we turned right and walked through another wooden gate.
The footpath moves away from the river and passes through a wooden gate. It then starts to climb up the hillside through the woodland. This path winds its way up the hillside, passing a gap in a stone wall, and then comes to more of an open plateau which has views over to High Spy.
There’s a ladder stile, and then we turned right to start the climb up the steep slate spoil heaps to the summit of Castle Crag, passing the old quarry shelters on the way. Here there’s an information board and a cairn with a war memorial.
We retraced our steps down the slate spoil heaps and at the ladder stile we turned right, through the wooden gate, following the path down the hillside alongside Broadslack Gill to where it meets the River Derwent.
The path then runs through the woods, with a short detour to the cave where Millican Dalton spent his summers. The cave is just off the main path, to the right.
Leaving the woods, the path rejoins the track we followed originally, and we recrossed the bridge and walked back to the start of the walk, stopping off for lunch at The Flock-in.
This was a lovely short walk, perfect for a morning’s wander. We walked this during our stay at Castlerigg Hall campsite.
Walk Map (Opens in OS Maps): Castle Crag Short Walkl
Parking: Borrowdale Institute, Rosthwaite, Keswick CA12 5XB W3W:///cubs.suits.stood. Pay and display – cards and cash in the honesty box. There is also a National Trust car park next door, and there was a sign for a farmers field which was open as all day parking.
Dogs: Allowed, on leads near livestock though.
Facilities: There are public toilets in the National Trust car park. There is a tea rooms, The Flock-in, nearby which serves delicious local produce.
Walk Time: 2-3 hours
Difficulty: ▲▲
Distance: 4.29 miles (6.9km)
Trig Points Bagged: None
Wainwrights Bagged: Castle Crag
