Far Eastern Fells - A Howtown Circuit

As part of this year's Wainwright Society Challenge, I made my first journey into to wilds of Howtown and beyond to explore the outer reaches of the Far Eastern Fells.

The purpose of the challenge walk was to tackle one of the ridge routes between two fells, as described in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, as well as raising money for the Brathay Exploration Group. There are many high level ridges that are almost as legendary as the fells themselves, but I decided to pick a less obvious one. The walk between Arthur's Pike and Loadpot Hill is serene rather than sensational, and whilst other fells will have been rammed on this weekend, I had the place to myself here which was a great feeling.

I started off just outside of Howtown, heading back through the huddle of houses and welcoming pub before hitting the lower slopes of Bonscale Pike. After initially following the path that slants its way up the fell, the guide suggested that there was a more direct ascent to be made, and so I went for it. It has to be said this wasn't a path but a straight slog up the side of the fell, a hands and knees job.

Not the best ascent it has to be said, but my frequent stops to catch my breath were rewarded with the Ullswater opening up behind me. In addition, I made the summit in no time and this meant most of the hard work had been done for the day.

Bonscale Pike and Arthur's Pike both have a lot to offer. As long as you stick to the paths their ascents are relatively simple, and perched on the shores of Ullswater they offer great reward. What's more, both summits are embellished by spectacular beacons, stone handiwork from times gone by.

It is a simple walk from one to the other, with a dip between the two when crossing Swarthbeck Gill, and all the way you are accompanied by fantastic views. I will definitely be revisiting these fells!

From Arthur's Pike I then struck "inland", headed on the wide track that follows the gradual incline of Loadpot Hill. This walk now became one of solitude and serenity, as I did not see let alone encounter another soul in this path, which in the Lake District is a very rare thing. It felt almost like the North York Moors here as I crossed the sprawling mass of land that is Loadpot Hill and Wether Fell. Neither are especially scenic but a look at the map and the references to stone circles, tumuli and Roman forts tell you that this is ancient land and steeped in history. As this is also the route of the High Street Roman road, the path follows in notable footsteps.

Wether Hill has two areas of minor prominence which count as its summits and again, whilst not being especially spectacular, this place is not lacking in atmosphere.

I had originally planned on heading back to the car from here, but I had made good time, so I decided to head down into Martindale and up Steel Knotts. I'm not really sure why, but I decided to jog down the steep path, giving me the tiniest of insights into the world of a fell runner. It meant I covered ground quickly, pausing at a ruined house in Martindale for a spot of lunch.

Steel Knotts is a great little fell, with a craggy summit bearing the magical name of Pikeawassa. Perched just above Howtown, the views from here are as spectacular as you could wish for. From here it was a steep but straightforward descent back to Howtown, sadly still no stop in the pub, but a big smile on my face after a great day in the Far Eastern Fells.

Far Eastern Fells: Admiring Angle Tarn

After a highly satisfying walk around the High Street range last Autumn, I have been keen to revisit the Lake District's Far Eastern Fells for some time, and a recent trip to Ambleside provided us with the perfect opportunity.

You might say that heading to the Lakes on a bank holiday weekend is asking for trouble - and Ambleside itself was rammed - but the "less popular" fells are still sparsely populated, and this delightful walk from near Hartsop to a bunch of fells near Angle Tarn was an excellent choice. There were various other walkers out and about, but we still managed to enjoy some of the peacefulness and serenity that the Lake District has in abundance.

We started our ascent of Angletarn Pikes along the busy footpath to Boredale Hause, but here many of walkers then head north to Place Fell leaving us in relative peace and quiet. This was actually a fairly steep pull up the side of the fell, with wonderful views of Ullswater opening up in front of us. This was most appreciated, as often on an ascent you have to stop and turn around to appreciate the vista but not today.

I quite like a steep ascent to get things started. That hard work is soon rewarded as it means you reach the higher ground fairly swiftly. This certainly was the case today, once we had reached Boredale Hause, the walk across to the summit of Angletarn Pikes was an easy, enjoyable walk.

I had looked at plenty of photos of Angle Tarn on the internet earlier and was keen to see this beauty spot and we were certainly not disappointed today.

A glorious blue sky brought out the depth of colour in the tarn that was just stunning. It was also interesting to see that there was still the odd patch of snow, especially around the top of Helvellyn.

After a rest at Angle Tarn, we progressed along the main High Street path, headed towards Rest Dodd. We made a note of the route off to the right which would take us to Brock Crags, our final fell for the day, before heading onwards.

This section of the walk started off fairly interesting, with rocky outcrops and ancient drystone walls, as well as extensive views.

Once we started the ascent of Rest Dodd, it got somewhat less exciting as the final stretch was a long pull up a grassy flank of the fell which had no real features of interest other than views down to the infamously boggy route along The Nab. To be honest, today would have been a good day to do that fell, as the ground was pretty dry underfoot.

The top of Rest Dodd was easily reached, but the summit too offered little reason to linger, other than views over to the High Street range, and so we headed back down via the same route as our ascent.

We were soon back on the path to Angle Tarn, and followed a path on the map which took us over to Brock Crags. With this fell's close proximity over easy ground, I don't know why Wainwright didn't include any ridge route to Brock Crags as it seemed ideally suited to be paired up with Angletarn Pikes?!

After Rest Dodd this was far more interesting walking territory, with rocks, tarns, walls and great views to keep us amused. This was a very short walk from the main path and after maybe fifteen minutes we were at the fell summit, and more than ready for our packed lunch.

Our path back down towards the path to Boredale Hause was made slightly more tricky by the fact that there was no real discernible path other than a few ruts and sheep trails that looked like they were headed in the right direction. Having consulted the map and GPS however we were definitely on track, and with no obvious dangers ahead we continued along our steep descent. Soon enough the path was more obvious, and before long we were back at the car. All in all another highly enjoyable exploration of the Far Eastern Fells.

Taking The Wainwrights Onto The Fells

Like many other walkers, I like to head out onto the fells, moors and dales well prepared. Normally I have a clear idea of the route I want to take and I have the full range of navigational aides stuffed into rucksac and pockets - maps, GPS, compass and usually a guide book. In the case of trips in the Lake District this inevitably means having a Wainwright Pictorial Guide in the pocket of my walking trousers ready to refer to at any given time.

Having done a fair amount of Lake District walks I have now embarked on visiting fells in each of the 7 regions that Wainwright divided the fells into, and every now and again I've taken a picture of the guidebook somewhere near the summit, so here I'm pleased to share with you my gallery of Wainwrights on the Fells.

Book One: The Eastern Fells - enjoying the sunny summit of Great Dodd

Book Two: The Far Eastern Fells - lounging on the High Street

Book Three: The Central Fells - guiding us up Grange Fell

Book Four: The Southern Fells - enjoying the panorama from Wetherlam

Book Five: The Northern Fells - the sights are set on Bannerdale Crags

Book Six: The North Western Fells - a wander up Wandope

Book Seven: The Western Fells - visiting Haystacks

Wansfell and Wansfell Pike from Ambleside

Ambleside always feels like a very welcoming place. With Loughrigg on the one side and Wansfell on the other it is safely nestled in and feels very cosy. The fells themselves are just as friendly, with easy access from the town and both offer a satisfying walk.

Wansfell has the added bonus of taking in the delightful Stock Ghyll Force waterfall on the way to the path up the fell.

With the number of daylight hours at their shortest in December, it is the ideal time to enjoy these lower fells which are straightforward to get to. We set off up the road towards Stock Ghyll Force just after lunch. The volume of rain which had fallen recently meant the falls were at full flow and as always were a joy to behold.

After the falls, the walk up to Wansfell Pike is an obvious and straightforward march up the path up the grassy slopes of the fell, with frequent stops to enjoy the vista opening up behind us. In particular the low sun cast some lovely light over Ambleside and beyond.

The weather took a brief turn for the worse when we reached the summit of Wansfell Pike, and we encountered a group huddled behind the wall hastily putting on their waterproofs. We had set off fully kitted out in winter gear so no need to stop as we headed alongside the wall that goes from Wansfell Pike to the fell summit of Wansfell.

This is a beautiful walk that feels very remote despite being a stone's throw away from Ambleside. The fell top was very quiet, the only people we passed were some hunt beaters, who it must be said did not look best pleased to see us! Oh well we were on a public footpath and enjoying the walk so we carried on the undulating path that took us to the summit cairn.

As per usual, as soon as the summit was in sight, the winds picked up and apart from a brief interval to snap a couple of pictures, we didn't hang around.

There wasn't a great deal of daylight left but we decided to vary the walk a little, taking a return route via the Troutbeck side of the fell before coming round back to Ambleside via The Hundreds, along Nanny Lane before passing through Skellghyll Wood.

The sunset provided some fantastic scenes across Windermere, which my camera sadly didn;t capture too well but this was a magical moment. It was getting quite dark by the time we reached the woods but not so dark that we needed to break out the headtorches.

Before we knew it we were back at our cosy bed and breakfast in Ambleside, happy with the gratifying walk we had just completed.

High Street & The Far Eastern Fells

Into The Unknown...

I had only previously done one walk in the Far Eastern Fells, and seeing as it was a simple enough circuit up Wansfell from Ambleside, it felt very central and not at all as if I was in the wilds of the Far East! And as we are normally based in Keswick or Ambleside when walking in the Lakes, this is always a bit too much of a trek.

Anyhow one Saturday we set off early from home, grabbing a quick tasty breakfast on the A66 at the Llama Karma Kafe before talking the scenic route along the shores of Ullswater, through Glenridding and Patterdale before parking up in Hartsop.

Our chosen route was well defined and trouble-free, essentially following the valley up to Hayeswater reservoir, before hitting the high ground, following the long arching top of High Street, with the occasional diversion to grab one of the neighbouring summits.

The walk along the valley was gorgeous, with Hayeswater Gill babbling alongside us and the sun high in the sky as we headed up towards Hayeswater. I did have a slight "Wainwright moment" - you know when other people are walking, at more or less the same pace as you, but you'd rather walk alone? So you stop every now and then to let them get ahead, but a couple of minutes later they have a rest as well, so you keep catching up and the usual awkward smiles and small talk ensues... I digress.

We headed straight up the steep grassy slope that would take us onto the old Roman ridge, meeting up with the path and wall that travels in a remarkably straight line from Rest Dodd up to The Knott.

Once we had made it onto the higher ground and the High Street ridge, that was it, the hard work was done. All that remained for the next couple of hours was to wonder around the plateau, ticking off summits and making High Raise, Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike and even High Street some of the most straightforward Wainwrights I've tacked so far. The views were far reaching, and from Kidsty Pike we had a glimpse of some deer down in Riggindale below.

We enjoyed our lunch on the wall on the summit of High Street, with views all the way to Morecambe Bay, as well as the bulk of the Lake District fells. Sometimes perspective plays funny tricks on the eyes, as the Coniston fells looked much closer than they ought to be. High Street summit reminded me of Whernside, with the wall marching on relentlessly along the whole ridge.

The next summit of Thornthwaite Crag was clearly identifiable as was the route which followed the path of the ridge curling round to the imposing summit cairn. As with the previous summits this was a straightforward but rewarding walk with views of pretty much the whole of Lakeland and its iconic fells.

Thornthwaite Crag was pretty busy so we didn't hang around, pressing on instead down a ridge over Grey Crag that would bring us back down towards Hartsop. This doesn't appear to be a popular fell, and we had the place to ourselves.

Maybe it is off the popular beaten tracks, but it was nice to have a bit of solitude. The map and guidebook were both a little vague when it came to the route off the fell and back down into the valley, so we had to make up our own route, straight down the grassy flank of Grey Crag.

After that leg-burning descent we were glad to get onto the more gentle gradient of the footpath along Hayeswater Gill and back to the car.