Friar’s Crag

Warning: This route is not currently up to ‘for all’ standard, there are rough sections with potholes and steps of up to 70mm. It only currently meets our ‘for some’ standard. We are working to repair this as soon as we can.

The stunning views looking out over Derwentwater towards Cat Bells and the impressive Jaws of Borrowdale provide a stunning backdrop to this route.

This relatively level 2.5km route (1.25km out and back) takes you into some fabulous locations with stunning lake and mountain views

Follow the road from the theatre down to Derwentwater foreshore. The wooded islands and the Jaws of Borrowdale will soon come into view. When the tarmac ends, continue along a good stone track, keeping right, parallel to the lake shore, or turn left for a short section up into Cockshott Woods and back.

Continuing along the lake shore, you will see a finger post at a junction which points right to Friar’s Crag and left to Strandshag Bay, keep right.

Follow the path down to the dramatic viewpoint out over Derwent Water with care, as there is a steep slope and it is narrow in places.  Warning: this section has been damaged and is currently unsafe for those on wheels. The National Trust are working to repair this shortly.

Return to the finger post indicating the direction of Strandshag Bay and turn right here. Directly ahead there is a gate into a field with a good stone surfaced path, (the path to the right goes down to the foreshore, this is suitable “for some”). The upper (“for all”) path continues across the field before dropping to join the lower path near the lake shore.

A bridge takes you into another small wood, where there are extensive sections of boardwalk through the terrain. On reaching a three-way fork in the path with a three-way fingerpost at the right fork take whichever fork suits best until you reach a wide track which turns left up towards the B road.

The route finishes here, so you will need to turn around and retrace your course back to the start.

A route ‘for many’ used to continue to and along the road from here but this is no longer suitable as a Miles Without Stiles route (but it is still shown on the map, which we are working to update).

Please note that mobility scooters must be class 2 or 3 on the route.