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Walking Castle Crag and Johnny Wood

Castle Crag was once described by the Cumbrian poet Norman Nicholson as 'the conical, inverted ice cream cone of a hill'. Its very appearance astonished him. Despite its modest height, it is listed among the 214 fells mentioned in Mr. Wainwright's handwritten guides, which means it is classified as a 'Wainwright'. What the crag lacks in size, it makes up for in grandeur. It is claimed that Borrowdale is from the Old Norse meaning 'valley of the fortress' and that it relates to Castle Crag. It was in a double chambered cave on the eastern side of Castle Crag that an eccentric called Millikan Dalton lived for a while, early in the twentieth century, and assured himself of a place in the local guidebooks. Dalton, who had 'gone back to nature', styled himself 'Professor of Adventure'. Over the entrance to his cave he carved the enigmatic legend: 'Don't Waste Words. Jump to Conclusions'.

Seatoller, the start of this walk, is where the Borrowdale road enters the little Seathwaite Valley and a branch up tilts at the village to become the celebrated Hoister Pass. The car park has a toilet block and, elsewhere, is an information centre, occupying old farm buildings. An upstairs bookshop is well stocked. Farm and craft days are organized at prescribed times. Begin the walk through the village and for a short distance up the road to the heights of Hoister. At the first (left hand) bend, locate a footpath sign on the right of the road. Pass through a gate to attain open ground and go upwards, with bracken on either side of the path, to where you will encounter a firm path.

Bear left and shortly continue ahead, leaving the main path to head for a stile in the wall ahead. On joining a well surfaced path that began at the Hoister road, you turn right towards Castle Crag. The Crag, viewed from this path, is seen to be well named. It looks like a fortress with its up jutting rock, much of it having the sharp lines left by generations of quarrymen, who removed uncountable tons of slate and left a heap of debris for modern visitors to ascend. Some 2,000 years ago, there was a hill fort on this prominent rock. In the vicinity of Castle Crag are some stately pines, but most of the trees on the crag are larch, one or two of immense size and age. The larch, a native deciduous conifer, has bright green needles in spring and greybrown bark. You are unlikely to stray from the path.

Not only is it well defined, but where there are gills, with rushing water, wooden bridges have been constructed, the most recent being, indeed, two bridges, close together, to accommodate twin torrents. At the approach to Castle Crag, notice a green path leading off to the right. It ascends beside a cliff, then dips. There is a wall on your right at the approach to a substantial wooden stile, beyond which you will have your first close view of the huge spoil heap.

The path zigzags in a user friendly way, and from it you will have views of the quarry, with its sheer walls and jumble of huge pieces of slate. Few plants have gained a foothold, though sprigs of heather will be seen around the rim. It is the larch trees that will impress. The largest cling to the rock with gnarled roots that have penetrated cracks and crannies. If you hear a mewing sound, it will be from one of the neighborhood buzzards. Common wrens, small and brown, with turned up tails, almost explode through the fervor of their singing.

Before you attain the summit (and the remains of what used to be a fine cairn), you will see a broad space between larches and have a superb view of lower Borrowdale, its immense Oakwood's flanking the River Daren't ('oak river') and looking, in misty conditions, like part of the Amazonian rain forest. Beyond is a row of whitepainted buildings that is part of Grange in Borrowdale, and beyond that the gleam of Derwentwater.
An inscribed piece of slate commemorates Lieutenant John Hammer, who was killed in action in 1918. Castle Crag was given to the National Trust by his father Sir William Hammer, and the inscription o slate also commemorates ten other men from Borrowdale who fell in the Great War. Most of them were serving with the Border Regiment.

On the descent, retrace your steps to a simple stile close by the one crossed on the ascent, and then bear left for a descent into Borrowdale. The path is broad, eroded and potentially slippery, so take care. It leads down among the oak trees to a pleasant riverside path. Notice how clear the river water is. You may see brown trout, their especially light tones matching those of the slaty riverbed. Cross the river by a stone bridge of single span. The destination is Crosthwaite, where the facilities for visitors include an attractive tearoom run by members of the long-established Ralph family, hill farmers who have diversified at a time of farming depression. They have Herdwick products on sale, including sausage rolls. They provide real pints of tea not the half pints that are served in what is commonly known as a pint pot.

A byroad through the village runs near Clara's Cottage. Nearby is the start of a field path to the Borrowdale youth hostel at Longthwaite. A gate between the fields gives an opportunity to pause for a few minutes to study the huge boulders on which some lengths of wall have been constructed. The path reaches Foxwood Cottage, beyond which turn right to cross the river by another stone bridge and, traversing the front of the large youth hostel, gain the riverside where for a short distance the going is sporty, on rock outcrops. There is a final swing gate and a relatively straight running, on a good path, to the car park in Seatoller.

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