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Millican Dalton's Cave - Castle Crag, Borrowdale

Standing on Friar's Crag, just outside Keswick, looking south to the 'jaws of Borrowdale' the tooth that appears in the centre is Castle Crag. For something so relatively short in statue it has quite a character.

It seems that the fell was given to the nation, i.e. the National Trust, in two parts by the Hamer family. The summit area to the memory of John Hamer, who died in the First World War. And later the surrounding land was given by Agnes, in memory of her husband Sir William Hamer in 1939.

Castle Crag has been quarried extensively for slate, many of the sites now hidden amongst the trees. The summit quarry however is obvious, and quite surreal. Many fragments of slate have been stood pointed end upper-most in a disconcerting manner. Why? Who knows! One such quarry was used as a summer retreat by Millican Dalton in the early 20th century. He called himself the 'Professor of Adventure', and made a small amount of money from guided climbing and walking.

This walk takes you to find his cave and then goes on a little circular trek to the summit. There is no safe direct path between the two; dangerous ground lies in the way. It would be unwise to even try.

The starting point for this walk is the village of Rosthwaite which, according to a sign, is the social centre of Borrowdale. Parking is available at the National Trust P&D car park. The Honister Rambler bus service also passes through the village.