Great Crag walk - Watendlath walk

Route: Great Crag and Watendlath

Area: Central Lake District

Date of walk: 24th August 2026

Walkers: Andrew

Distance: 6.0 miles

Ascent: 1,600 feet

Weather: Sunny and very warm

Great Crag is one of my favourite fell walks, especially in August when the heather is in bloom. Combined with a visit to the remote hamlet of Watendlath, this makes for a perfect walk in the Borrowdale area

I parked by the roadside before the village of Stonethwaite. Parking in the village itself is now restricted to residents. I crossed Stonethwaite Beck via Stonethwaite Bridge, turning right immediately to join the Cumbria Way for a short distance. This path is also part of the long distance Coast to Coast walk. On reaching a circular sheepfold I left the Cumbria Way to join a path heading uphill which follows the course of splendidly named Willygrass Gill. The initial section was through woodland, giving some shade from a swelteringly hot sun. It’s a steep climb, but the addition of rock steps makes the ascent a straightforward affair. Once above the tree line I followed a rough path to the summit area of Great Crag, where Dock Tarn lies below numerous rocky outcrops. The tarn, set like a jewel among the lumps and bumps of the fell, is one of the highlights of the walk. As Wainwright says, ‘Dock Tarn is a place to lie adreaming, and life seems a sweet sweet thing’

Great Crag is a complicated place, full of ups and downs, and determining the summit and the path to it is not a simple affair. There are numerous small paths, some of which peter out. I didn’t visit the highest point today, but the route map does so and will guide you to the very top if that’s your aim

I then descended to Watendlath, crossing some remote and quite bleak terrain. Watendlath is both a tarn and a remote hamlet in the ownership of the National Trust. Refuelled by a pot of tea and a cheese and tomato sandwich at the friendly Caffle House Tearooms, I followed the path to Puddingstone Bank, which involves an initial climb, followed by a descent into Borrowdale, with glorious views of the valley along the way. The path merges with the Cumbria Way again and from here it was a short stroll beside Stonethwaite Beck back into Stonethwaite, and the end of a superb walk

For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box

Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)

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I walk into Stonethwaite from the nearby roadside parking spaces. The village was once an old dairy farm and, following a legal dispute, was confiscated in 1304 by King Edward, who sold it to the monks of Fountains Abbey for 40 shillings