 The 1990 guide to the valley notes that Beetham, "with the Goldsborough Club of Barnard Castle School, surveyed every sizable crag in the valley, working out well over a hundred routes with a wide range of difficulty".Beetham was responsible for developing the most popular crag in the valley, Shepherd's Crag, which lies just above the main road that runs beside Derwentwater.In an article in "The Journal of the Fell & Rock Climbing Club" (1946), Beetham explained the attraction of climbing in Borrowdale, comparing the experience with that found on the more traditional higher crags of the Lakes.