We will have a free day in Keswick the second Monday in October with the RS tour. I would like to hike to Wall Crag in the a.m. and Cat Bells in the p.m. So the question is how doable is this?
The Walla hike I would like to stop first at Castlehead overlook then proceed up to the crag and return to town by continuing south, but cutting back through the woods to the parking lot, to Friars Crag skipping Ashness Bridge to have time for the afternoon hike. I plan to start early to get back by lunch.
According to the boat schedule there is a 13:30 boat going anticlockwise arriving at Hawes End at 13:40. I would like to hike to the peak and then continue south making the 180 turn back to the north and catch the 16:50 boat at High Brandelhow and back to Keswick going anticlockwise again.
I'm in good shape and at 6'5" I move downhill very quickly when necessary. I'm use to hiking at altitudes above 7,000' in the state and hiking last year in Scotland up to 2/3,000' was very easy.
Doing this on the free day means I miss the group outing to Castlerigg stones. So I would like to do that early the next morning at sunrise. While I think it would be fun to walk there, the smarter move is probably to go by taxi or some car/bus transportation. It looks like anything before 7 am means special arrangements with taxis. Any suggestions on how to get to Castlerigg and approximate costs would be appreciated.
Of course all of this depends on the weather, but most of our hiking in Scotland in October was in at least some rain and sometimes that makes the views even more incredible if the timing is right. I have a good raincoat and waterproof boots. I'm also guessing that the group will be staying in a hotel near town center, with a lot of tours staying at Crow Park from what I've read on reviews. I also have hiking maps downloaded to my phone to make sure I'm on the right path.
I know that is a lot but any feedback or suggestions on things I might not have taken in consideration would be welcomed.
Thanks!
Posted by
Lake District, England
8149 posts
You can do Castlerigg on the bus- the X5 to Penrith at 0610 and 0710 from the Bus Station will drop you at the road end (5 minute journey)- the first stop on the Penrith road as you turn off the A591- just tell the driver where you want to be on the safe side. £2 each way.
Buses back are at 0735 and 0830, or there is the 555 from a stop on Chestnut Hill (barely any further)-outbound also at 0710, inbound at 0655, 0805 and 0905- also £2.
You can also walk back in on the old railway path.
You never see taxis on the rank at Keswick anyway during the day- you always have to ring up as they are always worked off their feet, so little difference there. It's barely two miles out to Castlerigg there so I would have thought it would be no more than £5 or so each way. The risk coming back in is that they are on schools work.
For Catbells there is always the 77/77A bus which goes round the back of the lake. It stops at the foot of Catbells and will stop anywhere safe if flagged down. Buses ex the Bus Station at 0830 and xx.30 to 1130, then 1330, 1530 and 1730, returning from Grange to Keswick at 1149, 1349, 1549 and 1749.
For Walla Crag there is the Borrowdale open top bus 78 which is half hourly from 0850 to 1820, last one back from Borrowdale at 1850. All the buses are £2 per journey of any length.
Posted by
Rhode Island, USA
238 posts
I can't give you feedback on the hiking but we did this tour this past June and we stopped at the Castlerigg Stones on the way into Keswick. I'm not sure if the reason was our guides preference or the weather forecast. If this is the case then you will be able to do your hiking and still see the stones. Our guide gave an optional lake boat tour on the morning of our free day. One of the members was dropped off at one of the boat stops and hiked back to Keswick. The day after the free day was an early start as we left the Crow Park at 8:30. The guide impressed upon us that luggage needed to be down early if possible and tour members and luggage needed to be loaded quickly as the bus causes traffic problems. This may impact the time you set if you need to see the stones on the morning the tour leaves for Hadrian's wall.
Posted by
OP
46 posts
Thank you isn31c and Don, your information is very helpful.
The bus to Castlerigg wasn’t an option I thought of with the early start I’m thinking of doing. It looks like I would need the 6:10 out and the 7:35 coming back. That’s a little earlier than I was thinking, but looks doable according to Don. Maybe could grab a bite to eat before getting on the bus at 8:30 if I have everything ready to go.
I would like to take the boat to Catbells if it is a nice day, but having the bus information is nice if the day isn’t that nice. More expensive, but always nice to be on the water, especially in the Lake District.
I was hoping a past tour member would jump in (I would have bet money isn31c would come to my rescue-thank you for all the help you have given to the many posters on this forum). Don thanks for the heads up on departure time and the possibility of seeing the stones on the way into town. I’m not surprised about the early departure time, this will be our 4th RS tour and are familiar with being ready to go.
Keeping my fingers crossed that I won’t need more help because of train strikes. We have our tickets for Paddington to Bath for the 1st. Last year our train to Inverness was cancelled and we almost didn’t get our rental car.
Thanks again.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8149 posts
At least you will get from Paddington to Bath. Even on an ASLEF strike day (the more restrictive of RMT vs ASLEF days) there are hourly trains from 0728 to 1928 (last of the day).
On RMT strike days on that particular line it is broadly the same level of service- hourly from 0730.