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CDh6
  • 5/13/2025
Wainwright Walks episode 3

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Travel
Transcript
00:00Nestled in the far northwest of England, this is the Lake District, a land defined by its natural beauty.
00:13And known to millions who love the lakes was the late Alfred Wainwright, author, guide writer and talented artist.
00:31But above all, he was the greatest fell walker.
00:36Wainwright's guides have inspired generations of walkers to roam these glorious fells.
00:42And now, a century after his birth, it's my turn to go in search of the real Wainwright experience.
01:12Today, I'm in the jaws of the Burrodale Valley to walk to the summit of Castle Crag, a small but spectacular fell here in the northwestern area of the lakes.
01:26Now, what makes this fell so special is that it's the only fell under 1,000 feet to make it into Wainwright's guides.
01:33Today, I want to discover what makes it worthy of inclusion.
01:36The crag itself is like a mini mountain. It's got this lush tree-covered top. It's a bit Harry Potter actually. Perfect then for a family walk of about a mile and a half.
01:57My walk begins at the pretty village of Grange in the heart of Burrodale.
02:09Now, although I'm enjoying my walks in the lakes, it would take years to become any sort of expert.
02:23So, to find out a bit more about Castle Crag and the history of this wonderful corner in England, I'm meeting Sarah Woodcock, the National Trust Senior Curator for the Lake District.
02:35So, Sarah, what sort of presence does the Trust have here in the Lake District?
02:39Well, the National Trust has been here for over 100 years and we now look after 25%, so a quarter of the Lake District.
02:47Wow. Now, obviously, conservation is one of the main things that everyone knows about the Trust.
02:51Absolutely. Conservation is our main activity as well as giving access and we work with volunteers preserving the landscapes and the buildings as well.
02:59So, they can come here for a week or for a year or...?
03:03They can. Yeah, they can come for a week and do footpath work or work with our wardens in the forests or, you know, any sorts of things really, all sorts of things.
03:11Work that needs doing on the land.
03:12So, it could be a small-term project or if they want to get more stuck in and learn more.
03:16They could come regularly. They could come and work with our learning staff and learn about the properties, learn new skills.
03:22You know, there's all sorts of things people can do.
03:24All right, let's talk a little bit about numbers. How many people come through the Lake District every year? How many potential volunteers are there?
03:31Well, there are 19 million visitors to the Lake District now, which is a huge amount.
03:34I wonder what Wainwright would make of that. 19 million!
03:37I think he'd be really shocked, actually, really surprised, because he loved the peacefulness of the Lake District, so that would be a shock to him.
03:43Is there any way that you can monitor what we're all doing? I mean, how many of us make it to the summits or where we're all going to, what we're doing?
03:49It's very difficult to do that because it's open access. You can't really measure how many people are here.
03:55So, one of the ways we do that is through the car parks.
03:57Right.
03:58For instance, the car park we've just come from, there's over 200,000 visitors through that car park each year.
04:05I mean, that's like a big London car park in a shopping mall or something.
04:09Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:10So, tourism is obviously the big industry now, but it wasn't always that way, of course.
04:15No, no. I mean, you can see in the landscape the history of activity here, starting with the sheep farming, working through quarrying and mining.
04:23And the quarrying and mining industry was really on an industrial scale in Borrowdale, in particular.
04:29And that would have all been happening in Wainwright's day, wouldn't it?
04:32It was at its height, actually, the slate quarrying. There were over 100 people employed in quarrying just in this quarry up here.
04:38And same with the mining, again, over 500 people employed in the mining industry.
04:43Seems hard to imagine, doesn't it, that you'd be sort of taking a peaceful stroll through the lakes and there would be this sort of, you know, pile of activity.
04:50Industrial activity going on. Yeah.
04:51Yeah, very different.
04:52Now, I'm up to Castle Crag, as you know, today. What sort of things should I be looking out for? What's on the way?
04:56Well, look out for the Herdwick sheep, particular to the Lake District, introduced by the Vikings.
05:01Are they scary?
05:02No, they're not scary. They're very friendly, actually.
05:04Viking sheep, OK.
05:05Yeah, very gentle. And also, look out for the wonderful caves.
05:08Ooh, caves. OK, I will watch out for those. Moody, ominous caves. I won't do potholing, though.
05:13All right, Sarah, thanks for your help this morning.
05:15That's OK. Cheers, bye-bye.
05:20Before I head off, let's take a moment to look at the route ahead.
05:26Castle Crag is situated in the north-western area of the Lakeland Fells.
05:46It lies on the edge of Derwent Water.
05:49And unlike my other walks, this is a low-level valley walk, progressing through Burrodale.
05:55My journey begins at the picturesque village of Grange.
06:05The first stage of the route is covered by woodland and follows the edge of the river.
06:12I'll make my way across the National Trust campsite at Hollows Farm, before the woodland opens out at the mouth of the river.
06:20Next, the path turns off and heads southward towards the old quarry road.
06:27Here, the route is swamped by the imposing crags on either side.
06:32Then the path splits off and I follow a short, sharp ascent up the crag side, navigating my way through a zigzag path, carved out of the slate spoil heap.
06:44Before making my final ascent to the grass-covered plateau and reaching the professionally made summit cairn.
06:51This is a really nice, gentle walk. I mean, half a mile in, we're still on the road, but there it is, the lost world waiting for us.
07:10When Wainwright wrote book six, the ordnance survey hadn't determined the altitude of the summit at Castle Crag.
07:25By comparing the horizontal plains of surrounding fells to the east and west, Wainwright quoted the height as 985 feet in book six of his pictorial guides.
07:46But the official height today is recorded as 951 feet.
07:53But hey, what's the other 30 feet between friends?
07:56But that is exactly the kind of detail that Wainwright was obsessed with.
08:01These are Wainwright's own enthusiastic thoughts on this diminutive fell.
08:26If a visitor to Lakeland has only two or three hours to spare, poor fellow, yet desperately wants to reach a summit and take back an enduring memory of beauty and atmosphere of the district, let him climb Castle Crag.
08:43The path runs alongside the River Derwent, which winds its way through the Borrodale Valley.
09:00Wainwright calls Castle Crag an obstruction in the throat of Borrodale, as it forces the river through a narrow gap before widening so it can continue on to feed into Derwent water.
09:12The weather in the Lake District is so changeable that sometimes a short walk with spectacular views is perfect.
09:25And with this one, you get to reach a summit as well.
09:28All that and back in time for lunch. Quite sweet really.
09:31Just look at it. If you were a Lakeland poet, how could you not be inspired?
09:47There's something fairytale-like about the appearance of this place. That's the great thing I've come to realise on my walk so far. No two are the same. Even the same fell can be experienced in so many different ways.
10:03I'm sure there are one or two of those Viking sheep here I'm supposed to be looking out for.
10:20Well, I thought I might see one or two, but not a full herd. Hiya!
10:24Wainwright was a huge animal lover. So much so he even dedicated book four of his pictorial guides to...
10:38The hardiest of all fell walkers. The sheep of Lakeland. The truest lovers of the mountains. Their natural homes. And providers of their food and shelter.
10:51It's getting a bit hot now.
11:18Just listen to that.
11:20That is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.
11:34I'm only ten minutes away from the road, but as I head through the woods, out of the foot of the valley, I can feel that this gentle ascent has begun.
11:50There's just so much to take in visually and so much to listen to. Too much to commit to memory. So what Wainwright used to do was take photographs on all of his walks.
12:14Which if you think about it, in the 1950s and 60s, that was pretty impressive.
12:23Whilst out walking, Wainwright would make notes, but he never drew in situ. He would painstakingly create sketches from his photographs, fitting them together to get the whole view of a mountain range or the entire summit view.
12:35Using just pen and ink, he was able to bring to life his Lakeland walks as detailed illustrations.
12:42Always watch where you're going. That's what Wainwright said.
12:57Woo!
12:58Woo!
12:59Woo!
13:00Woo!
13:01Woo!
13:02Woo!
13:08Although Wainwright was a solitary, fiercely private man – some might even say curmudgeonly
13:22– he also had a well-known sense of humor.
13:23Although Wainwright was a solitary, fiercely private man,
13:26some might even say curmudgeonly,
13:28he also had a well-known sense of humour,
13:31quite a dry sense of humour,
13:32and he occasionally dropped this into his writing.
13:35Now, this is book six, and the walk's included in book six,
13:38the North Western Fells, and there's an interesting dedication
13:40to those unlovely twins, my left leg and my right leg,
13:45storm supporters that have carried me about for over half a century,
13:49endured much without complaint and never once let me down.
13:53Nevertheless, they're unsuitable subjects for illustration.
14:08It's amazing how the light changes.
14:10We've come from this sort of dark, densely packed forest almost,
14:14into this.
14:15Look at the craggy grey open rock face.
14:20It's really beautiful, but it's so different.
14:22The landscape just changes.
14:23You go through a gate and that's it.
14:33It's a really different experience walking in the valley,
14:35because I can't see great views around me,
14:38as with the higher-level walks.
14:41Instead, these imposing crags are towering over me.
14:44Look at that view.
15:05Beautiful.
15:06Dermat water glistening in the valleys.
15:09Dermat water glistening in the valley is gorgeous.
15:20Now, this isn't a big walk, by any means,
15:24but you feel small in this valley.
15:27You can really feel a sense of walking into the V,
15:31into the neck of it.
15:37As a civil servant, Wainwright was in the enviable position
15:40of being able to enjoy the fells for pleasure.
15:43For the local quarrymen,
15:44the lakes were part of the industrial landscape,
15:47a place where they would work long and gruelling hours
15:50for the equivalent of 12 and a half pence a day in today's money.
16:01This is really where you get a sense of the history
16:03of this part of the lakes.
16:06Formerly a walling stone quarry,
16:08Castle Crag is now a silent reminder
16:11of a once-thriving industry.
16:14This is what Wainwright says about the spot.
16:17It's pitted with cuttings and caverns and levels,
16:20every hole having its tell-tale spoil heap.
16:23If these fells could talk, huh?
16:25It's actually quite moody as well.
16:26You can see the shards of slate.
16:30And speaking of moody,
16:31I think there's a bit of a moody change in the air as well.
16:33I can feel rain.
16:34With more than 3,500 kilometres of rights-of-way,
16:43there's plenty to explore in the Lake District.
16:46This mountainous area in England
16:47is, however, known for its temperamental weather.
16:51The Borrodale Valley is, in fact,
16:52the wettest valley in England,
16:54with an average rainfall of 140 inches per year.
17:00The fell tops can give fantastic views
17:02of the surrounding landscapes,
17:04but also have more severe weather conditions
17:06than in the valleys.
17:09Mist, cloud and horizontal rain,
17:12all familiar to the Lake District,
17:14can make any walk hazardous.
17:26And as is customary around these parts,
17:29I shall make my mark atop of the cairn.
17:32And that is where we're heading.
17:45Look, this is only a baby wall,
17:47but I feel tiny.
17:48It may be the wettest valley in England,
18:00but the rain is holding off,
18:02although the wind is biting cold.
18:04We're still only about 400 feet up here.
18:18The climb's getting a little bit steeper,
18:30but already the views are amazing.
18:32Don't know what water is over that way,
18:33and Ross Thwaite through there.
18:35And this barren landscape is just beautiful, actually,
18:38all the grey slate.
18:40A lone tree just in the middle here.
18:42This is a lovely spot,
18:51and it appears that other people
18:52have thought it was special too.
18:55Perfect little pit stop.
18:57Just what you need on a walk,
19:00although, of course,
19:00it's very dangerous to sit down
19:02on a big walk or a small walk
19:04because you never want to get up again.
19:06Now, Sarah told me about the caves,
19:13and I could spot one over there
19:14on the other side of the valley,
19:15but that's going to be too much
19:16of a detour for me right now
19:18because I've still got all that way to go.
19:24The detour from the quarry road
19:26leads to a series of caverns,
19:28the most famous of all
19:29being known as Millican Dalton's Cave.
19:31He abandoned his job
19:32as an insurance clerk in London
19:34for a life of adventure
19:35and freedom.
19:37The call of the wild
19:38led him to take up summer residence
19:40in a massive cave on Castle Crag.
19:42He was a self-titled
19:43professor of adventure,
19:45a vegetarian,
19:46a pacifist,
19:47and a teetotaler.
19:49He became known
19:50as the Burrowdale Hermit.
19:52The humorous words
19:53carved onto his cave
19:54still read,
19:55don't waste words,
19:57jump to conclusions.
20:05That's not exactly what you expect
20:32to see up here.
20:33The ladder.
20:36Oh, I guess there's no other good way to do this.
20:47Interestingly, Wainwright acknowledges
20:49that Castle Crag
20:50isn't a fell in its own right.
20:52He describes it
20:53as a protuberance
20:54on the rough breast
20:55of Scordell.
20:56It's a bit harsh.
21:00In his sixth book,
21:01Wainwright offers
21:02these words of wisdom
21:03to the novice walker.
21:04The first lesson
21:06that every fell walker learns
21:08and learns afresh
21:09every time he goes
21:10onto the hills
21:11is that summits
21:13are almost invariably
21:14more distant,
21:16a good deal higher
21:17and require greater effort
21:19than expected.
21:20Fell walking
21:21and wishful thinking
21:22have nothing in common.
21:25It's getting steep now.
21:29Shouldn't have had
21:30those fish and chips.
21:30I'm pleased my mum
21:45didn't come with me.
21:48Oh, look at that.
21:59This is incredible.
22:02But why?
22:05I'm a bit puffed now.
22:07I can't believe
22:08we've got to get
22:08to the top of that.
22:10This looks like
22:10some sort of computer game,
22:12the maze.
22:12Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.
22:19This precarious spoil heap
22:21represents exactly
22:22one of the aspects
22:23of the fells
22:24that Wainwright
22:25was fascinated by,
22:26the traces of man
22:27on the landscape.
22:29Castle Crag Quarry
22:30was still working
22:31as late as the 60s
22:32with the quarrymen
22:33using gunpowder
22:34to blast the slate.
22:36This impressive spoil heap
22:37would have developed
22:38over decades
22:39as the fell was excavated.
22:47This is a climb
22:48certainly worthy
22:49of a bigger fell.
22:50Oh, hello world.
23:06Now we're about 600 feet here.
23:08Not even at the summit
23:10but look at the views.
23:11That's the village
23:12of Rosswaite
23:13down there
23:14which of course
23:14is where the quarrymen
23:15would have lived.
23:16And snaking through
23:17the middle of the village
23:17is the road
23:19that Wainwright
23:20would have travelled along.
23:21Of course,
23:21he didn't drive famously
23:23so he travelled
23:24all around the lake district
23:25on the buses.
23:38Wainwright's passion
23:39for this lovely valley
23:40was abundantly clear
23:41in his chapter
23:41on Castle Crag.
23:42It encloses one mile
23:45of country
23:46containing no high mountain
23:48no lake
23:49no famous crag
23:51no tarn
23:52but in the author's
23:53humble submission
23:54it encloses
23:56the loveliest square mile
23:57in Lakeland
23:58the jaws of Burredale.
24:12I finally reached
24:14the quarry
24:15and this is not
24:15what I was expecting
24:16at all.
24:25This is just
24:26really strange.
24:29Quite eerie.
24:33It's like the statue park
24:35in Budapest actually
24:36or a graveyard
24:37but just weird
24:41and eerie.
24:42in fact
24:45no one is really sure
24:46if the stones
24:46were ever laid out
24:47like this for a reason
24:48or even when
24:49they appeared.
24:50They're regularly
24:51cleared away
24:52but nevertheless
24:53mysteriously continue
24:54to reappear.
24:58And if you take a peek
24:59around here
25:00you can see
25:01where the quarrymen
25:02have carved
25:03into the summit
25:04and god
25:05they've taken
25:05a big old chunk out.
25:12so this is the bit
25:36that's always so exciting
25:37you make it
25:39to the top
25:39and already
25:42the views
25:43are
25:43magnificent
25:44and this is it.
25:47and there
25:57looks to be the cairn
25:59so that's the proper top
26:00really
26:00and here's the big old
26:02crevice
26:03chopped out of the rock
26:04it's just so picturesque
26:11it's like a little magic
26:12kingdom up here
26:13it's
26:13look at this
26:14so Wainwright was very
26:20unimpressed
26:20by the size
26:21of Custle Crag
26:22but
26:22for a bijou
26:24little mountain
26:24I think it's
26:28pretty top rate
26:29it's got views
26:32you can do it
26:33very easily
26:34in a day
26:34half a day
26:35you've got
26:38incredible scenery
26:40when you're
26:40down below
26:42making your way up
26:43and once you're up here
26:44what
26:45what can you complain about
26:47nothing
26:48at the highest point
26:52is a boss of rock
26:53and at the top
26:54there's a professionally
26:55maired cairn
26:55and this is a war memorial
26:57to the men of Burrowdale
26:58Wainwright suggests
27:04in book six
27:04that this rock
27:05was where an ancient
27:06British fort
27:07once stood
27:08one man
27:10armed with a stick
27:11could prevent
27:12its occupation
27:13by others
27:14whatever their number
27:15there being only one
27:17strategic point
27:18their passage upwards
27:20is restricted
27:20to single file
27:22and they're not at the top
27:25until they get to the very top
27:26whoo
27:28ta-da
27:30ta-da
27:34the view is restricted
27:40to the north
27:41but there is a spectacular view
27:42of Derwent Water
27:43backed by Skiddor
27:45what I've learned today
27:49is that Castle Crag
27:50may be less than a thousand feet
27:51uncovered by the scars
27:53left by man
27:54but it's a perfect little gem
27:56and I think it's truly deserving
27:58of its special status
27:59as the smallest
28:00as the smallest
28:00of 214 fells
28:02to make it
28:03into Wainwright's
28:04seven pictorial guides
28:05Wainwright says
28:13that Castle Crag
28:13is so magnificently independent
28:15so ruggedly individual
28:17so aggressively
28:18unashamed
28:20of its lack of inches
28:21and quite right too
28:23Analysis and understanding
28:39behind the biggest issues
28:41facing our planet
28:42the environment, nature
28:44and wildlife feature
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