0:00:04 > 0:00:10Nestled in the far north-west of England, this is the Lake District,
0:00:10 > 0:00:13a land defined by its natural beauty.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25And known to millions who love the Lakes
0:00:25 > 0:00:27was the late Alfred Wainwright,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30author, guide writer, and talented artist.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34But above all, he was the greatest fell walker.
0:00:36 > 0:00:42Wainwright's guides have inspired generations of walkers to roam these glorious fells.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44And now, a century after his birth,
0:00:44 > 0:00:49it's my turn to go in search of the real Wainwright experience.
0:01:16 > 0:01:22Today I'm in the jaws of the Borrowdale Valley to walk to the summit of Castle Crag,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26a small but spectacular fell in the north-western area of the Lakes.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30What makes this fell so special is that it is the only fell under 1,000ft
0:01:30 > 0:01:33to make it into Wainwright's guides.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Today, I want to discover what makes it worthy of inclusion.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The crag itself is like a mini-mountain.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53It has this lush tree-covered top.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55A bit Harry Potter, actually.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Perfect for a family walk of about a mile and a half.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10My walk begins in the pretty village of Grange, in the heart of Borrowdale.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Now although I'm enjoying my walks in the Lakes,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23it would take years to become any sort of expert,
0:02:23 > 0:02:29'so to find out a bit more about Castle Crag and the history of this wonderful corner in England,
0:02:29 > 0:02:35'I'm meeting Sarah Woodcock, the National Trust's senior curator for the Lake District.'
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Sarah, what sort of presence does the Trust have in the Lake District?
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Well, the National Trust has been here for over 100 years.
0:02:42 > 0:02:48We look after 25%, a quarter of the Lake District.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Conservation is one of the main things everyone knows about the Trust.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Absolutely. Conservation is our main activity, as well as giving access.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00We work with volunteers preserving the landscapes and the buildings.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03So they come here for a week, for a year?
0:03:03 > 0:03:06They can come here for a week and do footpath work
0:03:06 > 0:03:09or work with our wardens in the forests.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Any sort of things, all sorts of things, work that needs doing.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16So it can be a short-term project, or if they want to get more stuck in...
0:03:16 > 0:03:19They can come regularly, they can work with our learning staff
0:03:19 > 0:03:25and learn about the properties, learn new skills. There are all sorts of things people can do.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Let's talk a bit about numbers. How many people come to the Lake District every year?
0:03:29 > 0:03:31How many potential volunteers?
0:03:31 > 0:03:34There are 19 million visitors to the Lake District.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I wonder what Wainwright would make of that?! 19 million!
0:03:37 > 0:03:40I think he would be really shocked, very surprised.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43He loved the peacefulness of the Lake District, so that would be a shock.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Is there any way you can monitor what we're all doing,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49how many of us make it to the summits or where we're all going to?
0:03:49 > 0:03:52It's difficult to do that because it's open access.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55You can't really measure how many people are here.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57So one of the ways we do it is through the car parks.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01- Right.- For instance, the car park we've just come from,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05there are over 200,000 visitors through that car park each year.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10- That's like a big London car park in a shopping mall or something.- Yeah.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Tourism is obviously the big industry,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14but it wasn't always that way.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19No, you can see in the landscape the history of activity here,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23starting with the sheep farming, working through quarrying and mining.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29The quarrying and mining industry was really on an industrial scale in Borrowdale.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31That would have been happening in Wainwright's day.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35It was, it was at its height, the slate quarrying.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Over 100 people were employed just in this quarry up here.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Same with the mining again.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Over 500 people employed in the mining industry.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Seems hard to imagine that you'd be taking a peaceful stroll through the Lakes
0:04:47 > 0:04:52- and there would be this hive of activity.- Yes, very different.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Now, I'm up to Castle Crag, as you know, today.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56What sort of thing should I look out for?
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Look out for the Herdwick sheep,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01particular to the Lake District and introduced by the Vikings.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04- Are they scary? - They're very friendly.- Viking sheep!
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Very gentle.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08And look out for the wonderful caves.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Ooh, caves! I'll watch out for those.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14I won't do potholing, though!
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- All right, Sarah, thanks for your help this morning.- That's OK.- Bye!
0:05:19 > 0:05:23Before I head off, let's take a moment to look at the route ahead.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46Castle Crag is situated in the north-western area of the Lakeland Fells.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50It lies on the edge of Derwentwater, and unlike my other walks,
0:05:50 > 0:05:55this is a low-level valley walk, progressing through Borrowdale.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05My journey begins at the picturesque village of Grange.
0:06:07 > 0:06:13The first stage of the route is covered by woodland and follows the edge of the river.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17I'll make my way across the National Trust campsite at Hollows Farm,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20before the woodland opens out at the mouth of the river.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Next, the path turns off
0:06:24 > 0:06:28and heads southward towards the old quarry road.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Here, the route is swamped by the imposing crags on either side.
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Then the path splits off
0:06:35 > 0:06:39and I follow a short, sharp ascent up the cragside,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42navigating my way through a zig-zag path
0:06:42 > 0:06:45carved out of the slate spoil heap,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49before making my final ascent to the grass-covered plateau
0:06:49 > 0:06:53and reaching the professionally-made summit cairn.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14This is a very nice, gentle walk.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Half a mile in, we're still on the road.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19But there it is, the lost world waiting for us.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33When Wainwright wrote book six,
0:07:33 > 0:07:38the Ordnance Survey hadn't determined the altitude of the summit at Castle Crag.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42By comparing the horizontal planes of surrounding fells to the east and west,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Wainwright quoted the height as 985ft
0:07:45 > 0:07:48in book six of his pictorial guides.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53But the official height today is recorded as 951ft.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Hey, what's 30ft between friends?
0:07:56 > 0:08:00But that is exactly the kind of detail that Wainwright was obsessed with.
0:08:21 > 0:08:27These are Wainwright's own enthusiastic thoughts on this diminutive fell:
0:08:27 > 0:08:32"If a visitor to Lakeland has only two or three hours to spare, poor fellow,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36"yet desperately wants to reach a summit and take back
0:08:36 > 0:08:40"an enduring memory of beauty and atmosphere of the district,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43"let him climb Castle Crag."
0:08:52 > 0:08:57The path runs alongside the River Derwent, which winds its way through the Borrowdale Valley.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04Wainwright calls Castle Crag "an obstruction in the throat of Borrowdale",
0:09:04 > 0:09:07as it forces the river through a narrow gap
0:09:07 > 0:09:11before widening so it can continue on to feed into Derwentwater.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21The weather in the Lake District is so changeable
0:09:21 > 0:09:25that sometimes a short walk with spectacular views is perfect.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28With this one, you get to reach a summit as well!
0:09:28 > 0:09:30All that and back in time for lunch.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31Quite sweet, really.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Just look at it.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47If you're a Lakeland poet, how could you not be inspired?
0:09:52 > 0:09:56There's something fairy-tale-like about the appearance of this place.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00That's the great thing I've come to realise on my walks so far - no two are the same.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04Even the same fell can be experienced in so many different ways.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20I am sure there are one or two of those Viking sheep here I 'm supposed to be looking out for.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Well, I thought I might see one or two, not a full herd!
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Hiya!
0:10:25 > 0:10:29HE WHISTLES
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Wainwright was a huge animal lover,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37so much so he even dedicated book four of his pictorial guides
0:10:37 > 0:10:42- to- "the hardiest of all fellwalkers, the sheep of Lakeland.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45"The truest lovers of the mountains,
0:10:45 > 0:10:50"their natural homes and providers of their food and shelter."
0:10:55 > 0:10:56Getting a bit hot now.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14RUSHING WATER
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Just listen to that.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23That is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36I'm only ten minutes away from the road,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39but as I head through the woods, out of the foot of the valley,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41I can feel that this gentle ascent has begun.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09There's just so much to take in visually and so much to listen to.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11Too much to commit to memory.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15What Wainwright used to do was take photographs
0:12:15 > 0:12:20on all those walks, which if you think about it, in the 1950s and '60s, that was pretty impressive.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Whilst out walking, Wainwright would make notes, but he never drew in situ.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30He would painstakingly create sketches from his photographs,
0:12:30 > 0:12:36fitting them together to get the whole view of a mountain range or the entire summit view.
0:12:36 > 0:12:43Using just pen and ink, he was able to bring to life his Lakeland walks as detailed illustrations.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Always watch where you're going!
0:13:08 > 0:13:10That's what Wainwright said.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Although Wainwright was a solitary and fiercely private man,
0:13:26 > 0:13:32some might even say "curmudgeonly", he also had a well-known sense of humour, quite a dry sense of humour,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and he occasionally dropped this into his writing.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38This is book six and the walk's included in it,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41the north-western fells, and there's an interesting dedication.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45"To those unlovely twins, my right leg and my left leg,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49"staunch supporters that have carried me about for over half a century,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53"endured much without complaint, and never once let me down.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56"Nevertheless, they are unsuitable subjects for illustration."
0:14:05 > 0:14:06Cor!
0:14:08 > 0:14:10It's amazing how the light changes.
0:14:10 > 0:14:16We come from this dark, densely packed forest into this.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Look at the craggy grey open rock face.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23It's beautiful, but so different. The landscape changes.
0:14:23 > 0:14:24You go through a gate and that's it.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36It's a really different experience walking in the valley
0:14:36 > 0:14:38because I can't see great views around me
0:14:38 > 0:14:41as with the higher-level walks.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Instead, these imposing crags are towering over me.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Look at that view! Beautiful!
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Derwentwater, glistening in the valleys.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Gorgeous!
0:15:20 > 0:15:24This isn't a big walk by any means,
0:15:24 > 0:15:29but you feel small in this valley.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32You can really feel a sense of walking into the V, into the neck of it.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39As a civil servant,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Wainwright was able to enjoy the fells for pleasure.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47For the local quarrymen, the Lakes were part of the industrial landscape -
0:15:47 > 0:15:50a place where they would work long and gruelling hours
0:15:50 > 0:15:54for the equivalent of 12 pence a day in today's money.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05This is really where you get a sense of the history of this part of the Lakes.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Formerly a stone quarry,
0:16:09 > 0:16:14Castle Crag is now a silent reminder of a once thriving industry.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16This is what Wainwright says about the spot.
0:16:16 > 0:16:23"It's pitted with cuttings and caverns and levels, every hole having its tell-tale spoil heap."
0:16:23 > 0:16:25If these fells could talk, huh?
0:16:25 > 0:16:30It's actually quite moody as well. You can see the shards of slate.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I think there's a bit of a moody change in the air as well.
0:16:33 > 0:16:34I can feel rain.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42With more than 3,500 kilometres of rights of way,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46there is plenty to explore in the Lake District.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51This mountainous area in England is however known for its temperamental weather.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55The Borrowdale valley is in fact the wettest valley in England,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58with an average rainfall of 140 inches per year.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05The fell tops can give fantastic views of the surrounding landscapes,
0:17:05 > 0:17:09but also have more severe weather conditions than in the valleys.
0:17:09 > 0:17:16Mist, cloud and horizontal rain, all familiar to the Lake District, can make any walk hazardous.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29As is customary around these parts,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32I shall make my mark at the top of the cairn.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37It might be small,
0:17:37 > 0:17:39but it's on the top!
0:17:41 > 0:17:44And that is where we are heading.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48This is only a baby walk, but I feel tiny!
0:17:58 > 0:18:00It may be the wettest valley in England,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04but the rain is holding off, although the wind is biting cold.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28We are still only about 400ft up here,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31the climb is getting steeper, but already the views are amazing.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Derwentwater is over that way and Rosthwaite through there.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39This barren landscape is just beautiful, all the grey slate.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43A lone tree just in the middle here.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51This is a lovely spot
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and it appears that other people have thought it was special, too.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57A perfect little pit stop.
0:18:57 > 0:19:05Just what you need, although, of course, it's dangerous to sit down on a big walk or a small walk
0:19:05 > 0:19:06cos you never want to get up again!
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Sarah told me about the caves, and I can spot one over there on the other side of the valley,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18but that's gonna be too much of a detour for me.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I've still got all that way to go.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28The detour from the quarry road leads to a series of caverns,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31the most famous of all being known as Millican Dalton's Cave.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34He abandoned his job as an insurance clerk in London
0:19:34 > 0:19:37for a life of adventure and freedom.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The call of the wild led him to take up summer residence
0:19:40 > 0:19:42in a massive cave on Castle Crag.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45He was a self-titled "professor of adventure" -
0:19:45 > 0:19:50a vegetarian, a pacifist and a teetotaller.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52He became known as the Borrowdale Hermit.
0:19:52 > 0:19:58The humorous words carved on to his cave still read, "Don't waste words, jump to conclusions."
0:20:30 > 0:20:34That's not exactly what you would expect to see up here, a ladder.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41I guess there's no elegant way to do this!
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Interestingly, Wainwright acknowledges that Castle Crag isn't a fell in its own right.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55He describes it as a "protuberance on the rough breast of Scawdel"
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- that's a bit harsh!
0:21:00 > 0:21:05In his sixth book, Wainwright offers these words of wisdom to the novice walker:
0:21:05 > 0:21:12"The first lesson that every fell walker learns and learns afresh every time he goes onto the hills
0:21:12 > 0:21:16"is that summits are almost invariably more distant,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20"a good deal higher and require greater effort than expected.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25"Fell walking and wishful thinking have nothing in common."
0:21:25 > 0:21:31It's getting steep now. Shouldn't have had those fish and chips.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I'm pleased my mum didn't come with me.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Look at that!
0:21:59 > 0:22:02This is incredible.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03But why?
0:22:06 > 0:22:10I'm a bit puffed now. I can't believe we've got to get to the top of that.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12It's like some sort of computer game.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24This precarious spoil heap represents exactly one of the aspects of the fells
0:22:24 > 0:22:26that Wainwright was fascinated by -
0:22:26 > 0:22:29the traces of man on the landscape.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Castle Crag quarry was still working as late as the '60s,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35with the quarrymen using gunpowder to blast the slate.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39This impressive spoil heap would have developed over decades
0:22:39 > 0:22:41as the fell was excavated.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51This is a climb certainly worthy of a bigger fell.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04Hello, world!
0:23:04 > 0:23:11I'm at about 600ft here, not even at the summit, but look at the views!
0:23:11 > 0:23:13That's the village of Rosthwaite.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16That of course is where the quarrymen would have lived.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21Snaking through the middle of the village is the road that Wainwright would have travelled along.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Famously, he didn't drive,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27so he travelled all around the Lake District on the buses.
0:23:37 > 0:23:44Wainwright's passion for this lovely valley was abundantly clear in his chapter on Castle Crag.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47"It encloses one mile of country
0:23:47 > 0:23:52"containing no high mountain, no lake, no famous crag, no tarn,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55"but in the author's humble submission,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58"it encloses the loveliest square mile in Lakeland -
0:23:58 > 0:24:00"the Jaws of Borrowdale."
0:24:13 > 0:24:18I've finally reached the quarry and this is not what I was expecting at all.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28This is just really strange.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Quite eerie.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36It's like the Statue Park in Budapest, actually,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39or a graveyard.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42But just weird and eerie.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49In fact, no-one is really sure if the stones were ever laid out like this for a reason,
0:24:49 > 0:24:50or even when they appeared.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52They are regularly cleared away,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55but nevertheless mysteriously continue to reappear!
0:24:58 > 0:25:01If you take a peek around here,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05you can see where the quarrymen have carved into the summit.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07They have taken a big old chunk out!
0:25:35 > 0:25:38This is the bit that's always so exciting.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40You make it to the top!
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Already, the views are magnificent.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47This is it!
0:25:56 > 0:26:01And there looks to be the cairn, so that is the proper top, really.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04And here is the big old crevice, chopped out of the rock.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11It's just so picturesque.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13It's like a little magic kingdom up here.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Look at this!
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Wainwright was very unimpressed by the size of Castle Crag,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25but for a bijou little mountain...
0:26:27 > 0:26:29..I think it's pretty top rate.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35It's got views, you can do it very easily in a day, half a day.
0:26:37 > 0:26:43You've got incredible scenery when you're down below, making your way up.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Once you're up here, what can you complain about?
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Nothing!
0:26:51 > 0:26:56At the highest point is a boss of rock, and at the top is a professionally-made cairn
0:26:56 > 0:26:59and this is a war memorial to the men of Borrowdale.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Wainwright suggests in book six
0:27:04 > 0:27:08that this rock was where an ancient British fort once stood.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14"One man armed with a stick could prevent its occupation by others,
0:27:14 > 0:27:19"whatever their number - there being only one strategic point
0:27:19 > 0:27:22"where passage upwards is restricted to single file."
0:27:24 > 0:27:27You're not at the top till you get to the very top.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Ta-daa!
0:27:39 > 0:27:41The view is restricted to the north,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45but there is a spectacular view of Derwentwater, backed by Skiddaw.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52What I've learnt today is that Castle Crag may be less than 1000ft,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56and covered by the scars left by man, but it's a perfect little gem,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59and I think it's truly deserving of its special status
0:27:59 > 0:28:06as the smallest of 214 fells to make it into Wainwright's seven pictorial guides.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Wainwright says that "Castle Crag is so magnificently independent,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21"so ruggedly individual, so aggressively unashamed of its lack of inches".
0:28:21 > 0:28:24And quite right too!
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 2007
0:28:44 > 0:28:47E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk