Keswick and Walla Crag

Friday, 7 October


The weather was still fine so we chose to drive up to Keswick to visit the town and do a local circular walk up to Walla Crag. Keswick is a busy little town and before we set off on the walk we paid a visit the Keswick Pencil Museum. The Cumberland Pencil Company has now moved to Cockermouth because it’s expansion was inhibited in Keswick because of the conditions set by the Lake District National Park. However, the museum is small but very well set out and the shop of course has lots of pencils and other artists’ requirements. The admission price is very reasonable considering the facilities. Of course it is probably subsidised by the Company and the shop sales.


My friend Malle Eden is an artist and when she heard that we were coming to the Lake district she asked that we have a photo taken in front of the Cumberland pencil factory. She and David – like most Aussie’s I would think have been using Cumberland coloured pencils for years.


I enjoyed the Museum especially the tins and boxes with illustrations of Derwent water on the lids – they were part of my childhood. The Museum has a very good collection and the entry is through a set that resembles a lead mine and then opens out into the story of the manufacture of pencils. When we bought out tickets we were given a black lead pencil and I’ve kept mine for Malle. We thought that a photo in front of the pencil factory was not very exciting, and the pencil museum façade is not really historic, but the small 1930/40s delivery van parked outside fitted the bill. Brian took the photo when I was talking to him so I’m not very impressed with it, but it will have to do.


We then had a bite to eat and set off on the walk not before firstly obtaining a brochure from the Tourist Information Centre that gave a very clear guide to the route of the walk. The views from the Crag were excellent and we the dropped down to the road running alongside Derwent Water into Keswick. We took the footpath along the road rather than the lake shore path as we had to get back to Cowan Bridge to welcome Tim and Hazel who were paying us a visit from Peterborough.