0:00:04 > 0:00:08Nestled in the far Northwest of England, this is the Lake District.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13A land defined by its natural beauty.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26And known to millions who loved the Lakes was the late Alfred Wainwright,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30author, guide writer and talented artist.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33But 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.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12I'm starting today's walk down there,
0:01:12 > 0:01:17in the bustling tourist town of Keswick in the heart of the Northern Lakes.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20It's where Wainwright famously enjoyed his favourite fish and chips.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24I'm heading over Derwentwater and up Catbells to discover
0:01:24 > 0:01:27why Wainwright thought this was the perfect family fell.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30The perfect walk for grandparents and little 'uns alike.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Keswick is a popular base for travelling across the Lake District,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49and so it's no surprise that it plays host
0:01:49 > 0:01:52to over a million visitors of all ages every year.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Catbells is one of the most photographed viewpoints in the Lake District.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Wainwright recommends that you sail across the lake here.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05He says it makes the expedition "rewarding out of all proportion
0:02:05 > 0:02:07"to the small effort needed".
0:02:09 > 0:02:12"Even the name has a magic challenge."
0:02:24 > 0:02:27With such popularity, Catbells is one fell where you're guaranteed
0:02:27 > 0:02:30the company of other walkers along the way,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34which wouldn't have been to Wainwright's taste elsewhere in the Lakes.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50That's the profile of Catbells,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53and Wainwright says in his opening page for this fell,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57"Words cannot adequately describe the rare charm of Catbells,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59"nor its ravishing view.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01"But no publicity is necessary.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04"Its mere presence in the Derwentwater scene is enough."
0:03:11 > 0:03:15"It has a bold, 'come-hither' look that compels one's steps,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19"and no suitor ever returns disappointed."
0:03:22 > 0:03:27"It is only to be seen from Friar's Crag and a spell is cast.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32"No Keswick holiday is consummated without a trip to Catbells."
0:03:34 > 0:03:38I'm taking Wainwright's advice and travelling across the lake.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41But before I do, let's take a look at the route ahead.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Taking the launch, I'll travel across Derwentwater,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56passing a number of small islands,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00each with their own histories and individual beauties.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11My walk begins at the lakeside jetty at Hawse End.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15The path here takes me through woodland
0:04:15 > 0:04:18before reaching the foot of Catbells.
0:04:20 > 0:04:21Here the path splits in two,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25and I'll follow the route up the engineered zigzag path,
0:04:25 > 0:04:27up the north breast of the fell.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33The path is interrupted by a short scramble up a polished rock face...
0:04:36 > 0:04:38..before reaching a stony plateau.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47From here, I'll walk along the top of the distinctive steady ridge
0:04:47 > 0:04:50which gives Catbells its famous profile.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55It has three distinct impressions
0:04:55 > 0:04:58before reaching a heavily eroded tower of rock,
0:04:58 > 0:05:03which takes me on a steep climb to reach the rugged and exposed summit.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Frank Harrison, a local guide, has agreed to join me on my trip across Derwentwater.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Frank, you've been a guide in these parts for nearly 50 years.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Things must have changed an awful lot in that time.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Well, I started in the '50s.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44There were no tracks as today, where they have deliberately gone out,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48the National Trust, and made paths.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52- You made your own path. - As Wainwright did.- Yes.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54I was a guide at the time.
0:05:54 > 0:05:5915 to 2,000 miles a year, I walked.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02- So, I was...- You're giving me a run for my money.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04I would have done then.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Here we are on the beautiful Derwentwater.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Everything is working in our favour. The weather's good.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Tell me some of the stories as we move through this stretch of water.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Through this stretch of water here,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19comes to Friar's Crag.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23And Friar's Crag, it was regarded by Ruskin
0:06:23 > 0:06:28as the most beautiful view down the lake in the Lake District.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Two famous people from these parts, Beatrix Potter and Wordsworth.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37There's a nice Beatrix Potter story in connection with Catbells.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Beatrix Potter, of course, Fawe Park, which is over there.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43They came and stayed at Fawe Park a number of times...
0:06:45 > 0:06:47..and of course it has a walled garden.
0:06:47 > 0:06:53And the story of Peter Rabbit and the walled garden
0:06:53 > 0:06:56started over in that spot.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59When you climb Catbells
0:06:59 > 0:07:02and you look down,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05you will see Little Town,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle lived above Little Town.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11- Mrs Tiggy-Winkle?- Yes.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15The island, which is Herbert's Island,
0:07:15 > 0:07:20that is also where Squirrel Nutkin used to go to collect the nuts.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24If you believe that, you'll believe anything.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30The Cumbrian mountains are older than the Alps
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and older than the Himalayan mountains.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Not only that, they were as high as the Alps.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Possibly to the height of Everest.
0:07:39 > 0:07:45They have lost, if charges are correct, they have lost up to 27,000 feet.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49There's a book out already saying that they are still coming down.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Eventually, there will be no Lake District.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55They will level out and fill all the lakes.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Let's hope that's long, long, long after our time.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02We won't be around when it happens.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05That's what they claim is likely to happen.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09If you consider that this is only 17 feet at the best,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11that's a very shallow lake.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16There you have Castle Crag, looking down there.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Looking gorgeous.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24Frank, that, so far, is one of my favourite walks, Castle Crag. It's a little gem, isn't it?
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Yes, it is a very good one.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Catbells coming up behind us.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Described as a family walk, would you agree with that?
0:08:38 > 0:08:44Difficult, really. Although it is a family mountain,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48at 1,500ft, just under, not too high,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51you've got to be careful where you put your feet on it.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56They've made, again, vast differences over the last 30 years.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02From the day when you walked on Rock Ridge, in order to get down,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06they've moved stuff and it's better for the family today
0:09:06 > 0:09:08than it was 30 to 40 years ago.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11What else about Catbells do you think
0:09:11 > 0:09:14is so alluring to people?
0:09:14 > 0:09:19I think, it's close to Keswick.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22It's under 1,500 feet.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29You think, as you said earlier, that it's just a family walk.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33But there's no question about it, there's a lot of rock there.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Wainwright - I come back to Wainwright -
0:09:36 > 0:09:41he didn't envisage that anyone would take any book
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and make it into
0:09:44 > 0:09:48a directory for all of the mountains.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53Do you think he didn't? I think this is his legacy. I think he knew.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58Well, the point is, people do use the book without a map,
0:09:58 > 0:09:59then they get stuck.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04If you're going to use Wainwright's book, you have got to use a map at the same time.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- Take your OS map with you as well. - You must.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11What advice do you have for me when I tackle Catbells?
0:10:13 > 0:10:16I think you should set yourself a pace
0:10:16 > 0:10:19that is the same pace
0:10:19 > 0:10:24when you're going up, on the level and coming down.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Frank, thank you very much.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28- The pleasure is all mine. - And I know where to come
0:10:28 > 0:10:31if I need to know anything about the Lake District.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- I hope so. I hope you enjoy the walk.- I certainly will.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48- See you, Frank!- Bye!
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Well, this is Hawse End, which is my stop.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03And through those trees should be the beginning of the walk.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25The one thing everybody seems to know about Wainwright is he liked to walk alone.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28He didn't like to be disturbed or approached.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32He wanted to focus all his energies on getting every detail to put into these.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34But Catbells was the one walk
0:11:34 > 0:11:37where he actively encouraged families to follow in his footsteps.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46"Catbells is one of the great favourites,
0:11:46 > 0:11:52"a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the fell together,
0:11:52 > 0:11:53"a place beloved."
0:12:19 > 0:12:25Here there are two paths both marked in the guide, but Wainwright says the zigzag route is exquisite,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27a much more enjoyable start to the ascent.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29So that's got to be the way.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47This specially laid-out route is known as Woodford's Path
0:12:47 > 0:12:49after its creator, Sir John Woodford.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57He was an army major-general and veteran of Waterloo
0:12:57 > 0:13:00who had a summer home at Derwent Bay near the launch landing.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07He used his experience of digging trenches and making defences
0:13:07 > 0:13:10to engineer this impressive path,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12purely to use on excursions from his home.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23His efforts paid off. More than 130 years later, people are still enjoying it.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Wainwright even went on to describe it as an enchanted stairway.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57There are so many ways to enjoy the Lakeland fells.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Some people aren't happy with views from the summits.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30It's not as easy as you might expect.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And...it's gone a little bit windy.
0:14:38 > 0:14:44Despite being a family walk, Wainwright detailed the crags and caverns on this fell side.
0:14:44 > 0:14:49A reminder of centuries of mining, and a warning to walkers.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54"This fell is not quite so innocuous as is usually thought,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58"and grandmothers and infants should take care as they romp around."
0:15:07 > 0:15:09That looks like a bit of a scramble up ahead.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Time to get the hands dirty.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20The rock here has become really polished, actually.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25All the walkers over the years doing exactly what I'm doing.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28There's a plaque here.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32"Thomas Arthur Leonard, father of the Open Air Movement".
0:15:36 > 0:15:40Leonard is known as "the father of hiking", responsible for getting
0:15:40 > 0:15:43the Ramblers' Association under way in 1891.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47He pioneered country holidays for families
0:15:47 > 0:15:51from the industrial centres of 19th century Britain.
0:15:51 > 0:15:57These were for families from similar backgrounds to Wainwright's own humble origins in Blackburn.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00And there...
0:16:02 > 0:16:04..is the first view of the summit.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23It's amazing you can be so close
0:16:23 > 0:16:25to all the creature comforts of Keswick
0:16:25 > 0:16:30and yet, within about half an hour, you get to a viewpoint like this.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39In one direction, there are fine views across Derwentwater to Blencathra,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41or Saddleback, as it's sometimes known.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Standing behind Keswick is the giant peak of Skiddaw,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47and looking north towards Bassenthwaite Lake,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50the valley looks straight down to the Solway Firth
0:16:50 > 0:16:52and the Scottish hills beyond.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01The name "Catbells" has got people divided, but Wainwright commits to his view here.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04He says it might well be a corruption of "catbeales"
0:17:04 > 0:17:07- that means "shelter" - "the shelter of the wild cat,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11"although this has been disputed by authorities of repute."
0:17:17 > 0:17:21"Scenes of great beauty unfold on all sides,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25"and they are scenes in depth to a degree not usual.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29"On this side the hamlet of Little Town is well seen down below,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31"a charming picture.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37"But it is to Derwentwater and mid Borrowdale
0:17:37 > 0:17:43"that the captivated gaze returns again and again."
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Gets a bit steep here,
0:17:53 > 0:17:58and it's a bit disconcerting that you lose the summit behind this outcrop.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05This area was once home to a booming mining industry.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Today, almost all mining has ceased,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10but its legacy is still visible on the landscape.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19- Hi, Ian.- Hi. You all right? - Good to see you.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Ian Tyler is the curator of Keswick's mining museum,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26and is here to tell me a bit more about the history that lies beneath the fells.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30It's a history that dates back to the 16th century and this very fell,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33when Queen Elizabeth imported her miners from Germany.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40This is where the Germans actually started to mine in Cumbria.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44The reason why they were here was because of Queen Elizabeth.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48She desperately needed copper, she desperately needed lead,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and the Germans had the expertise.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53They were the finest.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56They were about 150 years ahead of us,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00and they had the ability to not only dig and prospect,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03they also had the ability to smelt the ore.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Anybody can dig things out the ground, but you've got to be able to smelt it.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11And they built, in fact, the biggest smelt mill in Europe,
0:19:11 > 0:19:13just over in Keswick at Brigham.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Wainwright's made a few references to the mining history of Cumbria.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Now, this is a relatively small fell compared to most,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23but there are many mines along here, aren't there?
0:19:23 > 0:19:27There certainly are. There's about four different veins
0:19:27 > 0:19:31coursing through the fell, but lower down here we've got Old Brandley,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and then further on we've got Brandlehow.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37But the biggest mine on the fell, right under the summit of Catbells,
0:19:37 > 0:19:43is Yewthwaite Mine, which is round about 1,000 feet in vertical height.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47So, when we get up to the summit, there's 1,000 feet underneath us of mineshaft?
0:19:47 > 0:19:52Yes, a hole, a great big gash, wider than this and much deeper.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55There are some villages that wouldn't be here if it wasn't for mining.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59Absolutely. Right throughout the Lake District. You've got Coniston,
0:19:59 > 0:20:04which was one of the first haunts of the German miners -
0:20:04 > 0:20:08they were there for 50 years and set up an incredible industry
0:20:08 > 0:20:10and, of course, that brought people in,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13cos the farmers have got to come in to feed the people.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18You've got Caldbeck likewise in the Northern Fells, Threlkeld
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and indeed Keswick itself.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Because when you walk across the Fells,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24you see hints of the mining industry that was,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26but you'd never know it was so prolific.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Absolutely. I mean, we mined 20 different commercial minerals here,
0:20:30 > 0:20:35and through 400 years, we created and dug out these minerals,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38created fabulous wealth and employment.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43In 1900, half the male population was working in mining.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45It's incredible, isn't it?
0:20:45 > 0:20:47It is. It just so happens
0:20:47 > 0:20:52I have a very good sample of what was here, and it was lead.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55You carried lead in your backpack, Ian?
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Yeah, just specially for you!
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Blimey! Well, thank you, because the one thing I do know is it's going to be heavy.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04There we are. This is the lead here.
0:21:04 > 0:21:05Whoa!
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Lead was used for
0:21:09 > 0:21:13many different things - windows, church roofs,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15lead piping,
0:21:15 > 0:21:20but most important of all, probably, musket balls and bullets.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22How much lead was mined?
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Well, literally thousands of tonnes.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29Probably round about 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes in the 1850s.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Within the lead there was silver.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35- Mm-hm.- And the silver belonged to Queen Elizabeth I,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38and all the silver went down to the Royal Mint.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40I'm going to let you hold that! It's heavy.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45And the silver went down to the Royal Mint and was turned into coin.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Another valuable mineral - copper.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Absolutely, and that is really why the German miners were here.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Mmm...
0:21:57 > 0:21:59This is the copper that the Germans came to mine.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- It just looks like gold. - It does, doesn't it?
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Sadly, it isn't.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09And what we were going to do with it was to de-silver our coinage.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Queen Elizabeth desperately needed more money,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15and the problem was that our little rogues and vagabonds
0:22:15 > 0:22:18were nicking, literally, our silver coinage.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21They were clipping it so it was getting smaller and smaller.
0:22:21 > 0:22:27The idea was to take some copper, 15%, put it in the coinage
0:22:27 > 0:22:33and that would give her the 10 or the 15% silver back into the coffers,
0:22:33 > 0:22:38and that would then go into armaments and defence of the realm.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40So it was very, very important.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42She could recoup her losses.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Ian, thank you very much.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45- Thank you. - Can I keep that as a memento?
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- Of course you can.- It's beautiful.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Nowhere in the whole of the Lakes is there a better example
0:22:55 > 0:22:59of how the old industry of mining has been replaced by the new industry of tourism.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Where once we'd have been looking at filthy miners
0:23:02 > 0:23:06trudging their way up to the various shafts and workings,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10we now see similar hordes of people walking the fells for fun.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14No wonder the paths and the stones are so worn.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19Catbells has been witness to the full onslaught of Lake District industry for centuries.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28"Silence is always more profound in places where there was once noise."
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Oh, look.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43When you're up on the top of this fell, you don't expect to see the sheep,
0:23:43 > 0:23:44but there they are.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48It just doesn't seem wild enough for them.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52I'll follow them.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57The path along this ridge is straight and uncomplicated.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00You've got terrific views of the valleys on one side.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Look out across the water on the other side,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05and straight ahead, the path goes all the way to the summit.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11And sometimes that's really satisfying, especially when you've got a tired body and aching legs.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20It's possible to find quiet anywhere in the Lakes,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24even on a fell as popular as this and so close to the busy town of Keswick.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38This is the valley that houses Little Town which, as Frank told us,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40is where Mrs Tiggy-Winkle lives.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Beatrix Potter, rabbits, that kind of thing.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48The profile of Catbells even featured as an illustration
0:24:48 > 0:24:51in one of Beatrix Potter's children's books.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56But with the summit back in sight,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00I'm almost at the end and it's the final push to reach the top.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12The summit cone is reached by a final rocky stairway,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14which is heavily eroded
0:25:14 > 0:25:16where walkers have sought out easier routes up,
0:25:16 > 0:25:20almost mirroring the internal scars of this old industrial landscape.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36As you get closer to the top, you begin to understand
0:25:36 > 0:25:37what Wainwright meant
0:25:37 > 0:25:41when he said it isn't as innocuous as it first looks.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Oh.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54Last scramble for the top.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Catbells is so appealing and offers so much
0:26:04 > 0:26:07that its reputation predates even AW.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10He was powerless to make much of an impact here,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14simply because this fell's popularity was already well-established.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21Hey, hey!
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Wow, the summit's not what you expect at all.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31I thought it would be grassy, and it's all rugged rock underfoot.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34And it's small. I think this is the smallest summit I've been on.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Small summit, big views.
0:26:50 > 0:26:55"The summit, which has no cairn, is a small platform of naked rock,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59"light brown in colour and seamed and pitted
0:26:59 > 0:27:04"with many tiny hollows and crevices that collect and hold rainwater,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07"so that, long after the skies have cleared,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10"glittering diamonds adorn the crown."
0:27:15 > 0:27:19"Almost all of the native vegetation has been scoured away
0:27:19 > 0:27:23"by the varied footgear of countless visitors
0:27:23 > 0:27:28"that often it is difficult to find a vacant perch.
0:27:28 > 0:27:33"In the summer, it is not a place to seek quietness."
0:27:41 > 0:27:45It's a very different sense of achievement from conquering one of the big Lakeland fells.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49You can get to the top of Catbells in under an hour,
0:27:49 > 0:27:52or it can be the pinnacle of a grand family day out.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Either way, when you are here,
0:27:54 > 0:27:57you get the full flavour of the Lake District,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59for young and old.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06The joy of Catbells is in its accessibility,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08a simple fell that offers it all - lake, town,
0:28:08 > 0:28:14nearby fells, impressive views with distant panoramas,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18a great walk and an occasional scramble.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Catbells has been a favourite in Keswick
0:28:20 > 0:28:24since the dawn of fell-walking, and today it's easy to see why.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28So now I'm going to head down in the sunshine, the perfect ending
0:28:28 > 0:28:31to what Wainwright called "a truly lovely walk".
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.