Friar's Crag

The 7th-century priest and hermit Saint Herbert lived on an island in Derwentwater. Friars' Crag derives its name from its use as an embarkment point by monks making a pilgrimage to the island. Both Friars' Crag and St Herbert's Island are now owned by the National Trust. The crag is at the end of a promontory about half a mile south of the modern boat landing-stages at Keswick, and is reached by a footpath along the eastern side of the lake. J. M. W. Turner painted the view from the crag in either the late 18th or early 19th century. The art critic and social reformer John Ruskin wrote of the spot: Ruskin, a pioneer of the protection of the unspoiled beauty of the Lake District, said that…