Walk · Cumbria

Castle Crag and Millican Dalton's cave

Borrowdale
Seatoller Borrowdale Rosthwaite Longthwaite High Doat 283m Castle Crag 290m B5289 River Derwent Stonethwaite Beck High Hows Wood N 880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors
5.4MILES
2h 35mON FOOT
230mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland
Off-road 92% 8% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 60%Lane & track 32%Road with traffic 8%

Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at
National Trust Seatoller car park, at the foot of Honister Pass
Parking
Paid National Trust car park (free to members), roughly 60 spaces, and the most reliable in Borrowdale; Rosthwaite's is smaller and goes first
Directions to the start →

Five and a half miles and about two and a half hours for 230 metres of climb: the Allerdale Ramble along the Derwent from Seatoller, then the slate spoil zigzag onto Castle Crag, the smallest Wainwright and the best view in Borrowdale. Start at the National Trust Seatoller car park at the foot of Honister, paid, around 60 spaces, and usually the last car park in the valley to fill. The riverside section is enclosed and the Derwent has deep pools a dog can swim in, but the final 80 metres onto the crag climbs loose slate spoil that cuts pads and is genuinely steep, and the summit is a small rocky platform with drops on three sides - many people leave the dog with a companion at the col.

THE SMALL PRINTLeads on the crag: the summit push is loose slate spoil, hard on pads, and the top is a small platform with unfenced drops. The valley fields are grazed and lambing runs from March.

House rules, decoded

Livestock — leads on
Water bowls
REGION · CUMBRIA
GRID · 54.5137, -3.1712
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.KOMOOT.COM/GUIDE/2762675/HIKING-AROUND-BORROWDALE
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In the bar In the dining room Water bowls
VERIFIED 30 JUL 2026 VIEW ›

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