Walla Crag and Bleaberry Fell from Keswick
Key facts
Difficulty profile
Five independent axes, not one score — all field-checked on the ground here, with nothing left as a desk estimate.
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 2 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.
Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
Why this matters: 78% of Mountain Rescue call-outs come after midday — the day runs out on the way home, not on the way up. See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
1 Walla Crag2 Bleaberry Fell
Easy 77%Moderate 15%Hard 6%Severe 2%
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 12.53 km with around 655 m of ascent, taking in 2 summits. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route? A quick read from the gates and stiles mapped along the way.
- Dog: A stile of unmapped type — a dog may need lifting over.
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~36% drop around the 6.9 km mark — hard on the knees.
On the line: 12 gates · 3 kissing gates · 2 stiles (type unmapped)
These are mapped barriers, from OpenStreetMap — coverage in the Lakes is good but not guaranteed complete. Spotted a stile or gate we’ve missed? Tell us (opens in new tab) and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-14. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Walla Crag | 4.1 km | 355 m | 1:25–1:53 |
| 2Bleaberry Fell | 6.6 km | 622 m | 2:21–3:07 |
| Finish | 12.5 km | 655 m | 3:36–4:47 |
Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary. These use Naismith’s textbook constants (5 km/h, 600 m of ascent an hour). Measured against a pace fitted to 41 recorded Lakeland walks they run about 8% slow, and we have left them that way deliberately: a slow estimate strands nobody.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Walla Crag (4.1 km, 355 m)
Starting from Keswick town centre, the route typically heads south toward Springs Road, leading you into the beautiful, ancient woodland of Springs Wood. The path climbs steadily alongside the tumbling waters of Brockle Beck. Exiting the woods, the path opens up onto the fellside. You will approach a prominent drystone wall; keep this wall on your left as it guides you on a gentle incline directly up to the rocky viewpoint of Walla Crag
WaypointsKeswick (Moot Hall/Centre), Springs Wood, Brockle Beck, the drystone wall, Walla Crag summit
Decision pointThe drystone wall running up the fellside is a perfect, unmistakable "handrail" that leads you straight to the summit
Easy to get wrongThe climb through the woods is continuous but gentle. Tree roots and wet stones near the beck can be slippery. The sudden sheer drop off the western edge of Walla Crag is unguarded, so take care near the edge
If you need to get offSimply turn around and follow the wall or the woodland path straight back down into Keswick
- 2
Walla Crag → Bleaberry Fell (2.4 km, 267 m)
Leave Walla Crag heading South along the broad ridge. You must cross the wide, heather-clad depression of Castlerigg Fell before the gradient kicks up again for the final ascent. The path climbs directly up the northern shoulder of Bleaberry Fell, winding through thick heather to reach the summit, which is marked by a stone shelter
WaypointsCastlerigg Fell (the saddle), Bleaberry Fell summit shelter
Decision pointDerwentwater remains a massive visual reference on your right (West). The path is generally clear as a dark peaty scar through the heather
Easy to get wrongThe Central Fells are notorious for holding water, and the depression between Walla Crag and Bleaberry Fell is a prime example. After wet weather, this section is a deep, peaty bog. The final climb up Bleaberry Fell is steep and can feel like a slog through the heather
If you need to get offIf the bogs are impassable or the weather turns, retreat North back to Walla Crag. Do not attempt to drop directly West off the steep, pathless crags toward the lake
Bleaberry Fell → Finish (6.0 km, 33 m)
From the summit of Bleaberry Fell, you will retrace your steps slightly north before picking up a descent path that branches left (West), dropping steeply off the fellside toward the iconic Ashness Bridge. Once at the bridge, the route levels out. You will follow the narrow road briefly down to the lakeshore at Barrow Bay. From here, pick up the flat, scenic Derwentwater lakeshore paths (or the trails through Great Wood) heading North, carrying you all the way back into Keswick
WaypointsAshness Bridge, Barrow Bay, Derwentwater Lakeshore, Great Wood, Keswick
Decision pointAshness Bridge and the road are clear targets below you. Once at the lake level, keeping the water on your left provides an infallible guide back to town
Easy to get wrongThe initial descent off the heather moorland toward Ashness Bridge is steep and can be very slick on wet grass
If you need to get offN/A – You are on the descent. If you are injured near Ashness Bridge, the road there has vehicular access, making it a viable pickup point
Summits bagged (2)
- 1Walla Crag379 m
- 2Bleaberry Fell590 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
Getting there & parking
Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Every option near this start, on the parking map →
Water, shelter & getting away
💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Buses
The 509 stops at Keswick Park Hotel (opp), 250 m from this start. Last bus: Monday to Friday 21:16 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 21:16 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 19:07 towards Keswick (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 8 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
The 509 passes this route at 0.0 km (Keswick Bus Station (K) (Stand 1), 280 m off the line). It passes again at 12.5 km. Other services cross it too — 78 at 2.8 km.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
If the parking is full
If the first one is full, these do not all fill together. The 3 below sit in different places or are different kinds of parking, so a busy morning at one does not mean a busy morning at all of them.
- Keswick, Pencil Museum (paid)
- Great Wood, Keswick (NT, paid)
- Lakeside long stay car park, Keswick (paid)
Worked out from the parking we hold within walking reach of this route and the other walks each place serves — two places that serve the same walks fill for the same reasons. We are not saying whether anywhere has spaces today, and we never will: this is what exists, not what is free.
When the sun reaches the tops
Not sunrise — the moment the sun clears the skyline from that summit, which on a fell with high ground to its east can be a good deal later. The two equinoxes are shown because they fall in the walking season, and late December too wherever a top keeps you waiting then; the clock gap between the equinoxes is British Summer Time, not the hill. Rounded to the nearest quarter hour and meant as a general idea, not a schedule.
- Walla Crag — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in late December — about an hour after sunrise.
- Bleaberry Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, about a quarter of an hour later. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in late December — about a quarter of an hour after sunrise.
Modelled from a 30 m elevation model against each summit’s own skyline — the same figures the fell pages carry, never observed. Cloud is not in it.
Safety & conditions
- Walla Crag’s summit edge is unfenced and drops steeply to Derwentwater. It is a viewpoint, not a scramble — stay back from the edge.
- The col between the two fells holds water. Expect bog, and boots rather than trainers.
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Make it easier or harder
Short version: turn back at about 4.7 km (drop to Start) — roughly half the distance.
Places to stay near this start
From Keswick: 28 places
