High Water on High Tove - Photo Gallery

It wasn't exactly raining when I parked at Stanah but it was damp, misty and only it was surely only be a matter of time before I got wet. I walked along the road towards Keswick and turned right onto the road that goes around Thirlmere. I walked across the Thirlmere dam, which for such a large object is very unobtrusive and unexpected until you actually are walking along the top. After crossing the dam you get to a parking area at a road junction, turn right along the road and shortly afterwards a signpost points uphill to Castle Crag.

This steep path in common with most forest paths makes no concessions for walkers, it it wet and steep with slippery tree roots and greasy stones to walk over. The trees here are very tall, it will be a shame to harvest these impressive large specimens. After crossing a forest track you go through a tall double gate probably designed to keep deer in or out of the younger plantation you now have to go through. The path is just as steep and one tree the size of a very large Christmas tree has fallen across the path and in brushing past the other trees I was showered with water droplets.

There is another gate to go through before you cross another forest track, the path carries on and is still just as steep. The trees on this steep hillside are mature with plenty of room between the trees and there are patches of snow that you can walk through or avoid if you must. At the crest of the path there is a good covering of snow where it meets a forest track; this is also the place where, in passing last time I was here, I saw the notice pointing out the footpath to Raven Crag. You go through a tunnel under densely packed trees, I was surprised that there was so much snow under the trees and I was glad I had carried my ice axe with me.

There were a couple of sets of boot prints and one set of deer prints in snow, even animals use the footpaths when they are available. The deer tracks suddenly went off uphill and the footprints I was following suddenly stopped in front of a fallen tree; this was where I would have expected to start climbing. I could see no sign of a path or any other footprints so I carried on through the trees looking for a way upwards until I came to a ruined wall. I followed the wall upwards, a steep and uneven grassy slope containing a jumble of fallen trees and tree debris until I came across the footprints again leading to summit.

As I stood at the summit, a cairn stands on top of a small rock outcrop surrounded by a variety of broken and mis-shaped trees, the mist turned to rain. It rained briefly before stopping and the mist suddenly cleared just enough to give me a misty view along the length of Thirlmere. I descended the short way to a viewpoint beyond which the ground falls away suddenly and dramatically, it's a long way down in that direction. I found the footprints and a partly duck-boarded path that took me down to the fallen tree where the footprints had disappeared earlier.

The snowed up path is quite steep and I was even more glad that I had my ice axe with me. When I got back to the main forest track I turned left, Shoulthwaite Gill runs alongside and it is full of meltwater making cascades out of the rocky sections of the stream. After a while you have to cross through another tall gate where you can follow a vague path, its boggy nature was slightly improved by the covering of snow but it is going to be a muddy mess once it thaws.

The path was heading for High Tove, I don't want to go there yet and I certainly don't want to use that wettest of wet “paths”. I turned left in the direction of Armboth Fell summit where I found a cairn on a small hillock but nowhere near any obvious path. This is a real no-man's land, the whole area is called Armboth Fell on the map and the so called summit is only there for the benefit of peak baggers but without it there seems to be very little point in making this diversion. There is some evidence of quad bike tracks but I kept away from them as they tend to cause the ground to become soft and waterlogged, the snow cover tends to hide wet holes and you can become up to your knees in mud.

I kept to higher ground and tried to keep out of the snow, it was over ankle deep and is very strenuous to walk through over rough ground. At the crest of the high ground I could see Armboth Fell summit and had to make a course correction to get to it. I descended over rough grass, there was a large amount of melt water and the ground was very wet but it was generally surface water so I was able to walk over it with care. The young Fisher Gill has to be crossed and it spite of it being fuller than normal with melt water I was still able to stride over it on to the drier part of Armboth Fell.

The rock outcrop considered to be the summit and a couple of smaller, nearby outcrops are the only dry parts of Armboth Fell. The rounded summit outcrop used to have a cairn but that has disappeared since last year, looking west all I could see was a flat, dull brown landscape with the occasional patch of snow on as the ground rises towards the High Tove ridge. Looking west was Helvellyn's dramatic ridge covered in mist, to the north was a bright sunny day and to the south Ullscarf looking uninviting with a huge mass of dark cloud beyond.

Rather than go down to the official path to High Tove it is a better idea to walk due west over rough ground to reach the path south of High Tove. The ground is nowhere near as wet as the official path but I did have to make a couple of diversions around the seasonal pools and melt water streams. The path running by the side of a fence is itself in a bad state, it is wet, muddy and eroded but at least it gets you to the summit. At the summit of High Tove I met a group of walkers who had walked the wet path and they looked suitably unimpressed, they were the first I had met and the last I saw until I reached Walla Crag.

I set off to High Seat knowing about the huge muddy mess of peat hags and I know the fence bends to right and then left before the climb to High Seat. I decided to try crossing the fence to make a beeline for High Seat and cleverly avoid the bogs. It can't be as simple as that or everybody would do it; I crossed area named The Pewits on the map which is apparently a benign grassy area. I don't know what a Pewit is but it isn't dry, the apparently grassy ground is very wet with plenty of melt water on the surface, some of it forming streams. Walking wasn't too bad probably because the ground was still partly frozen but my fear was that there would be a swamp trap forcing me to retreat or worse still I would get trapped and fall.

I was making careful progress around the peat hags, the lack of traffic here meant that there were no boggy areas, and I nearly got back to the fence with dry feet. I was crossing the last area of wet grass when I realised I was walking over vegetation, I was springing up and down with each step. I came to a point where the pools of water surrounding me looked deeper so I paused to work out a way across. However I started to sink and the water was coming over over my boots getting in under my gaiters. I was losing my balance so I tried to use my ice axe to steady myself and it just went down upto the head without meeting any resistance.

I lost balance even more and had to put my other hand down into the cold water, quickly stand up and risk getting across to drier ground the shortest possible way. It was one of my most worrying moments, the water was deep enough to submerge me if I hadn't got out, there was nobody else for miles around and I was well off the path. This short cut is not recommended, I would rather tackle the peat hags next time. It was with some relief that I got back to the fence without any further watery incidents.

High Seat's rocky summit was a welcome relief and an attractive summit with good views on what had become a nice sunny afternoon. I followed the fence on the descent with the north facing slopes still full of deep, but softening snow; on several occasions I fell knee deep in the snow and on one occasion I almost went full length having been tripped up by the snow. The wet path was made even worse with meltwater, I was making wide diversions and using the frequently positioned stiles to swap from one side of the fence to the other. Eventually I got to the climb to the summit of Bleaberry Fell and drier ground, there were good views for miles around but there was a cold wind blowing.

The descent north-westwards is on an obvious path of tourist-like quality, I made good time in descending and crossing over to to Walla Crag. There was a huge school party there all dressed in same blue waterproof jackets that looked quite bizarre from a distance. I descended by an obvious path, track and road before turning right at the signpost for Castlerigg Stone Circle that took me back to the main road.

I walked down the road for a short distance where just after a signpost on the left on the opposite side of road at Low Nest Farm there is a gap in the wall and a footpath signpost. The path across fields take you towards Dale Bottom and after crossing a small bridge over a stream a signpost points you left to “Church” across more fields until you reach a small road.

Turn left up the road and the first building you come to on the right is a Carlisle Diocese youth centre. Just before the building is a path up behind it that leads to a steep path up to High Rigg. My legs don't like the idea of this and don't want to climb again after the long descent from Bleaberry Fell, but before long I was at High Rigg summit. High Rigg is a lot easier with not climbing every subsidiary summit but it is still a long walk at then end of the day. The final two summits have to be climbed and descended before getting back to the road for the short walk back to Stanah.

It started raining as I descended from High Rigg and it was torrential on the way home so I was lucky to have got a better than expected day.

Andy Wallace 25th March 2006