Family and dog friendly walk: Walla Crag summit

Published on by Mélodie

A beautiful short walk up to Walla Crag summit in the Lake District National Park in England. This family and dog friendly walk is perfect to admire the view over Derwent water, Bassenthwaite lake and the summits of Cat Bells, Maiden Moor and High Spy. The ascent can be a bit strenuous for some walkers but the view from the top is well worth the effort. This walk goes down by Great Wood forest.

Walk Information

  • Distance: 4.5km
  • Duration: 2h (slow pace)
  • Ascent: +282m
  • Level: Moderate
  • Car Park: Great Wood National Trust car park, Borrowdale Rd, Keswick CA12 5UP, Fees apply to non-members of the National Trust
  • Child friendly: Some steep steps at the beginning of the walk and rocky path that can be hard for toddler. Then grassy path and large forestry track. Not pushchair friendly.
  • Dog Friendly: Yes – some areas with sheep around Walla Crag summit. Two stiles with dog gate to cross.
  • Amenities: No toilet, picnic tables at the car park.
Download the Free PDF and GPX File
path to Walla Crag, Lake District, Cumbria
Looking down the path we took to go up the summit

Our adventure

During last autumn, we decided to bring Marcus to Walla Crag summit as his first summit attempt. Matt and I with Skye have done this walk several times (before having Marcus); however I had never written a blog post about it. Not sure why. We like the view from this little summit and the plains between Walla Crag and Blueberry Fell at the top is gorgeous.

View from Walla Crag summit, Cumbria
View from Walla Crag summit

We have walked several paths around Walla Crag from going up to Blueberry Fell and Ashness bridge, or exploring Great Wood forest to even finding our way to Castlerigg stone circle and walking back via Keswick village. This time we wanted a short walk and we wanted to start by tackling the steepest part first. As such, we decided to go up following Cat Gill stream before going left to reach Lady’s rake and then Walla Crag summit. We went down following Brockle beck and then through Great Wood Forest.

Read about our walk to Walla Crag, Blueberry Fell and Ashness bridge here.

Plains between Walla Crag and Blueberry Fells, Lake District, Cumbria
Going down on the grassy path

It was a lovely morning, not too windy and with a clear sky. Marcus managed to walk a little bit on the way up and Matt helped him during the final part to reach the summit. He definitely loved the rocky path, which is a scrambling for his little legs. But what he loved most was running on the grassy path down the summit to the crossing with Brockle beck. We were very happy with his walking and are looking forward to spring/summer longer days out in the fells.

Final Thoughts

Download & Go!

Download the free PDF and GPX of the walk here

Join the Conversation

Do you know this walk? Have you completed this walk, or do you know any similar or close-by walks you recommend?

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39 thoughts on “Family and dog friendly walk: Walla Crag summit”

  3. The sweeping views from Walla Crag summit are so beautiful and well worth the effort, especially as you can see those pretty little tree-covered islands. Well done to your little one for reaching the summit. I find that hiking with a toddler comes with its own set of challenges and joys, but seeing your little one begin to hike and explore on their own is one of the most beautiful experiences an outdoor parent can have. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva axx

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    1. Thank you Aiva. It is definitely a different experience to walk with toddlers and sometimes a bit stressful but we always manage at the end and mostly importantly it is nice to spend time together.

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    1. Thank you Linda. We just need to be patient and encourage them but sometime with the cold weather it is not easy as we start to be cold not moving fast. Hopefully we will be able to do longer ones during this summer.

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