Friars Crag

This famous view point is best visited on a still summer's evening, providing an excellent view of the lake and the Jaws of Borrowdale (looking down towards Castle Crag). The name comes from the Friars that would bring supplies to the hermit St. Herbert, who would row across from his island at their signal.

It is said that St. Herbert was a close friend of the revered northern saint, Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, for whom Durham Cathedral was built. St. Cuthbert is reputed to have visited Derwentwater and St. Herbert's Isle each year, and the pair prayed they would both die on the same day, which they duly did on April 13th, AD 687.

As you walk from the Keswick Landings to Friars Crag, you will pass Derwent Isle on the right and opposite on your left is a memorial to The Rev Canon Hardwicke D. Rawnsley of Keswick. - He was a founder of the National Trust in 1895 and a staunch defender of the Lake District.

Another poet associated with Friar's Crag is Ruskin, whose memorial stone stands amid the trees there.