An adventure journal featuring a lovely hike from Keswick taking in Derwentwater, Ashness Bridge, Walla Crag and Castlehead Wood.
This 6.5-mile hike is one of those beautiful Lake District hikes that provides very high-satisfaction but without being too much of a drain on the energy reserves. The circular route ticked all the boxes – decent paths, some elevation gain leading to big views, and a feeling like you are deep in the fells without being too far from civilisation.
Starting and finishing in Keswick, this hike takes in the east shore Derwentwater, the very pretty Ashness Bridge, the beautifully rugged Falcon Crag, the popular and must-visit Walla Crag, and a quick additional view from Castlehead Wood. It uses well-made paths with an ascent that I could feel but didn’t hurt, and provided me with scenery to remember (of up to 30 fells, no less), and that all important sense of wildness I want when I visit the Lake District.
Ashness Bridge and Walla Crag Circular Hike
I had already spent five wonderful days in Cumbria with good friend Fiona, doing lots of walking and resting. Given that this beautiful part of the country where I love to hike is so very far from home (four hours driving on a good day), I wanted to squeeze in one more small adventure before going home.
Fiona had recommended Ashness Bridge as a pretty place to see without hiking for hours or heading too high into the fells. I downloaded a circular route on OS Maps curated by Country Walking Magazine, which took in Ashness Bridge and returned to Keswick via Walla Crag. I found the route to be a little inaccurate when I was on my hike, so I have replotted it based on where I actually put my feet, in case you are interested in following a similar route yourself sometime.
After a brief unplanned stop off at Bassenthwaite Lake – I stopped in the large layby on the A66 and walked down to the lake shore take in the view – which looked so pretty in the Monday morning light, I headed into Keswick. I parked in the Lakeside car park near the Theatre by the Lake, which is quite possibly the most expensive car park in the Lake District at £8.70 for six hours (a four hour option would have been useful!), but is very convenient!
Derwentwater East Shore
It would have been very easy for me to start my Monday with a coffee in any one of the many lovely cafes in Keswick. Very easy indeed. But I did have a home to go to, and didn’t want to have to rush my hike, so I got straight on with the business of walking. If you are doing this hike – or any walk that starts at Derwentwater – then you can’t go wrong with a stop at The Moon and Sixpence right on the lakeshore. Often busy, but a good option for coffee and ice cream.
Anyway, walking past the coffee shop, I started my loop by following the path that hugs the lakeshore to Friar’s Crag. Only a very short walk from Keswick itself, this is somewhere I have wandered to many times, the views across the lake are stunning from here.
The footpath hugged the shoreline as far as Strandshag Bay, before heading through a beautiful woodland known as The Ings. The path is boardwalk along this stretch, as it’s especially marshy. This is the part of the Derwentwater circular route that was closed when I hiked it a few years ago, resulting in quite a detour and some dodgy road walking. Not this time though, the section through The Ings and on to Calfclose Bay was absolutely gorgeous.
Ashness Bridge
I was expecting to find a footpath on the opposite side of Borrowdale Road as soon as I got up to road level from the shore of Derwentwater, but I couldn’t see it. Rather than back tracking in case I missed it (I’m not very good at retracing my steps), I continued along Borrowdale Road (on the footpath) for a short distance, and then picked up the country lane that heads up to Ashness Bridge.
The single-track lane was probably the steepest part of the whole hike, but it wasn’t a problem. Not for walking, anyway – the mountain biker making his way up the lane was enjoying it much less. It was a very quiet stretch of road walking, at least, in the time it took me to get up the lane, just one car came down.
Ashness Bridge is apparently the most photographed packhorse bridge in the Lake District. And I can see why. Fiona was right, this was a fantastic spot to come and visit on my last morning in Cumbria. It really is a very beautiful example of a traditional packhorse bridge. Underneath it, Barrow Beck flows quickly over a rocky stream bed down towards Derwentwater, and from the bridge itself there are views of the lake, Whinlatter, Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite.
Unfortunately, my peace was shattered (and my chance of a relaxing dip in the beck spoiled) by a team of workers with tarmac-breaking drills who arrived about one minute after I did… Oh well, they have to do road works sometimes!
Brown Knotts and Falcon Crag
Given the pneumatic drilling, I didn’t stop for long at Ashness Bridge – it was beautiful, but not serene enough to sit and enjoy my flask of tea. It was time to head onto the fell, starting by picking up the bridleway that goes across Brown Knotts. This was still very much uphill, but it was reasonably gradual.
After a week of lovely clear skies and warm sunshine, the weather was a bit damp and hazy on this particular Monday morning. But the views across Derwentwater and over towards Skiddaw were simply spectacular, getting better and better as I made my way up and over Brown Knotts and to Falcon Crag. The latter is so named because falcons can be seen here at the right time of year.
The path was quite wet in places thanks to the rain the previous night, as well as a couple of fast-flowing streams which turn into pretty waterfalls at points along the route. Nothing that couldn’t be easily crossed, though – no wet feet for me today. It was a beautifully wild and rugged part of the trail across the top of the fell, and this maybe-a-mile-long stretch was my favourite 20-minutes of the whole hike.
Cat Gill Falls are a particularly pretty example of one of those waterfalls. Water from at least two gushing springs on Low Moss makes its way through channels in the fell and cascades over boulders where the fell meets the woodland. There is a footpath which follows Cat Gill up (or down) the hill, which is a good option if you want to get up here without going all the way to Ashness Bridge.
The Famous Walla Crag
Walla Crag is one of the smallest Wainwrights on the list of 214 in the Lake District. At 379m above sea level, it’s much smaller than the peaks that tower the rest of the way around Derwentwater, but it’s still well worth a climb.
As I said of Latrigg when I hiked that as part of my Skiddaw House adventure, these smaller Lake District peaks offer huge value when compared to the amount of effort required to get to the top. That’s in terms of the huge views, as well as a genuine feeling of ruggedness, despite not being deep into the wilderness.
I followed the obvious path to take the stile over the stone wall at Lady’s Rake onto the rocky top of Walla Crag. I mean, I’d come all this way, I wanted to make the most of that incredible view – and finally drink my flask of tea! Even in the low cloud the views were superb.
One thing I particularly enjoyed was being able to see the lumps and bumps of the peaks I’d been on just a few days earlier. Fiona and I hiked a version of the Coledale Round, taking in Grisedale Pike and Crag Hill.
The proximity to Keswick and the relatively easy route to reach the summit means you’ll meet more people on this rocky outcrop than you might on Kidsty Pike or Lining Crag (both of which I tackled on my UK Coast to Coast adventure). But if you can cope sharing the view with a few others, then you’ll not be disappointed. I imagine this is particularly wonderful at sunset, as it looks west.
Castlehead Wood
To get off the fell, I first headed back over the stone wall (courtesy of another stile), and then followed a combination of the bridleway and footpath towards Rakefoot. The route more-or-less follows the stone wall downhill, it’s hard to go wrong – but using a combination of the two path options meant I could pretty much stay out of the bog caused by Brockle Beck. Mostly, anyway.
It did get a bit steep here and there. The contour lines had warned me of this, but as the way up had been nice and gradual, I hadn’t really appreciated what the descent would be like. The route followed Brockle Beck past Castlerigg, through some really pretty woodland, and to Annie’s Pantry (which was, unfortunately, closed on this Monday morning).
My next stop was Castlehead Wood, a low wooded hill standing at a mere 162m. A tiny lump by Lake District standards, it would have been very easy to simply wander along Springs Road, a pretty rural residential lane on the outskirts of Keswick, but it would have been very rude to miss out one last viewpoint.
The climb uphill through thick woodland was short but (very) sharp, with a little tiny scramble to get right to the top. It was absolutely worth the extra mile – a very fitting way to finish this loop from Keswick.
You can see the full length of Derwentwater and how it is encircled by mountains from here – there are a whopping 30 fells visible from this little lump that might easily be overlooked. I mean, if you ever find yourself in Keswick with an hour to spare and don’t fancy Friar’s Crag on the lake shore, then get yourself up Castlewood.
Back to Keswick
I returned to the hustle and bustle of Keswick, now much busier than when I started my hike, by heading back to the shore of Derwentwater. The 6.5-ish miles had taken me around 2.5 hours without having to walk fast, giving me enough time to have a relaxed lunch before that long drive home.
I had a fantastic lunch at Lake Road Brunch. I went in because there was a lady sat outside eating what looked like very tasty pancakes when I arrived back in Keswick. I’m glad I went in – I had the fried chicken pancakes special, washed down with a pot of tea, naturally. It was so good, and I will absolutely be back the next time I’m in Keswick.
Hiking Ashness Bridge and Walla Crag
This hike taking in Ashness Bridge and Walla Crag was a most excellent way to end this short trip to Cumbria. A good bit of exercise, fresh air, and leg stretching.
I opened this adventure journal by saying this 6.5-mile route is one of those beautiful Lake District hikes that provides very high-satisfaction but without being too much of a drain on the energy. And I mean that. It offers a little bit of everything – simple navigation (but you will need a map as this isn’t waymarked on the ground), some elevation gain, wide-reaching views, and (importantly), a feeling like you are deep in the fells without being too far from civilisation.
If you have time for a half-day meandering hike the next time you are in or near Keswick, then this route (plotted here in OS Maps) taking in Ashness Bridge and Walla Crag should be on your to-hike list.
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