Friar's Crag: National Trust marks 100 years of preserving Keswick view

Friars' Crag is known for its literary and artistic associations with John Ruskin, Robert Southey, J. M. W. Turner and Arthur Ransome

The National Trust is celebrating the centenary of its acquisition of a viewpoint offering a vista once described as one of the best in Europe.

Friar's Crag is a promontory overlooking Derwentwater near Keswick in the Lake District.

It was bought by public subscription and donated to the charity in memory of one of its founders following a campaign to save it from development.

The unbroken view is a much-loved spot in the Borrowdale landscape.

Victorian art and social critic John Ruskin claimed the view was among the best in Europe and recalled seeing it was one of his earliest memories.

He wrote: "The first thing I remember as an event in life was being taken by my nurse to the brow of Friar's Crag.

"The intense joy mingled with awe that I had in looking through the hollows in the mossy roots over the crag into the dark lake has associated itself more or less with all twining roots of trees ever since".

The land was purchased with money in memory of Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley who was one of the three principal founders of the National Trust, and donated to the charity 100 years ago.

Friar's Crag was bought with money raised in memory of Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley

Rawnsley was passionate conservationist who recognised the importance of the Lake District in providing inspiration for literary figures such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

He rose to prominence after campaigning against industrial developments that threatened the area's natural beauty and went on to found the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty along with Octavia Hill and Sir Robert Hunter.

National Trust ranger Roy Henderson said: "It's so inspiring that Rawnsley's legacy is still reflected in the work of the trust to this day.

"His campaigning activity to preserve the Lake District for everyone for ever translates today into our efforts to mitigate the challenges we see - such as climate change, tree disease - as well as ensuring we're protect the places and spaces we love."

Friars' Crag continues to offer a place for reflection