Ten Tops to High Street - Photo Gallery
It was a damp morning but it wasn't raining when I got to the car parking area at the far end of Hartsop village; it did look as though it might stay dry too. From the car park I started to walk up the track towards Hayeswater and took the short diversion to the ruins of the old corn mill. You can tell it's an old corn mill because there are a couple of old millstones embedded in the floor in the middle of the ruined building. You can walk back along the good path to the main track or scramble up the steep, wet bank as I did.
After crossing Hayeswater Gill by a footbridge and passing a ruined farm building with the most luxuriant plant growth on any old roof, the track seems to be taking you to Gray Crag and does climb upwards across its lower slopes. You can continue up to the crest of the track to minimise the amount of grassy slope you have to climb but I prefer to get on to the hill as soon as possible. After passing the growing roof I continued upwards on the track until I reached a gate; I started to climb up the grassy slopes of Gray Crag as soon as I got through it.
It is a dauntingly steep slope that looks as though it could be awkwardly steep near the top; I'm not a fan of steep grass but sometimes it has to be done. I just took my time; the weather seemed to be brightening up and I kept my thoughts occupied with looking at the details on the hills on the other side of Hayeswater where I was going to be later. My slightly diagonal line of ascent brought me to the wall that took a more direct route uphill from the valley; the wall ended at a craggy outcrop but I carried on climbing.
The wall probably ended where it did because it got too steep to build it any higher; this is a different type of scrambling, using hands to cling onto the vegetation to support yourself. There isn't much difference between taking a zigzag route or going straight up in terms of effort; I chose whichever direction provided the best-looking footholds. The profile of the slope showed it to be about as steep as I would want to attempt, and it was with some relief that I found the path. I have been on that path before, it just follows the contours around the nose of Gray Crag but I couldn't remember which way I should go.
I decided to go right to look for the path that goes upwards towards the summit; it soon became obvious that I had made the wrong choice and I was on a very small path on a very steep hill. I decided that the best thing to do was climb; it was steep but not as steep as when I was below the path. I was heading towards the skyline when I came across the path coming up from the left; at least by this stage I was able to walk without having to use my hands. The weather had cleared up too; the sun was shining and Gray Crag was casting a shadow over the lower part of Brock Crags.
As I approached the crest of the ridge the rest of Gray Crag was ahead of m; it's steep, dark shape being silhouetted again a blue sky with bright sunshine peeping out from behind it. The hardest work was over for me but at that point I could see what a consistently steep-sided hill Gray Crag is. A final climb up to the ridge saw me bathed in sunshine with a fine wintry view of Hart Crag and St. Sunday Crag; beyond them the mist covered Fairfield and Helvellyn, keeping them out of the sun all day. There was also a pleasantly detailed view of The Knott and Straits of Riggindale on the other side of Hayeswater; it's amazing how the sun shining in the right direction makes the hills look extra attractive.
After a fairly flat walk along the ridge, I climbed the final easy slope to the summit of Gray Crag; I came across fragments of snow left over from the mid-week blizzard. After passing the summit cairn you cross an old wall and make the slight descent to a shallow col where you get a view along the length of Windermere. There is then an easy climb to join the wall running along the crest of Thornthwaite Crag's summit ridge. It was a lovely sunny day under a brilliant blue sky as I met other walkers at the enormous summit cairn; these were the first other people I had seen but there were plenty more all over place.
It certainly made a change for me to be able to see the lie of the land, it isn't often you get to see Ill Bell, Mardale Ill Bell and High Street from Thornthwaite Crag. I set off for Mardale Ill Bell, at first using the wide path towards High Street but with the intention of making sure I didn't miss my turning place. The path was filled with snow and with concentrating on getting across the snow I missed the turn off; in those conditions it was easy enough to cut across the rough grass to pick up the path I wanted.
The ground was half-covered in snow and the path was filled with it so I decided to stay a little higher up than the path that contours across Bleathwaite Crag above Hall Cove; it's a bit too exhilarating above that steep drop on slippery ground. The bright weather somehow makes distances look nearer than they are but it wasn't a difficult walk to Mardale Ill Bell even though it seemed to take much longer than it should. This path has fooled me before in bad weather and I could see that it completely bypasses the summit on its way to Nan Bield Pass; as it started to descend I made a beeline for the summit cairn.
From the summit of Mardale Ill Bell I could see what a bulky hill Harter Fell is, I hadn't realised before but it looks bigger than High Street that I always though was big. From the summit there was a faint path marked with a couple of reasonably-sized cairns showing the way to High Street; not that I couldn't have walked across open country in the good visibility with not much chance of meeting boggy ground. After another shallow col there was a fairly easy climb uo the little path that took me directly to the summit of High Street.
It was a lovely walk in the sunshine down towards Straits of Riggindale; there was just a hint of coldness in the air and a build up of clouds over Helvellyn that suggested that there may be a damp end to the day. As you get to Straits of Riggindale and start to climb there is a right turn that takes you around the head of Riggindale; this large, plateau-like ridge is surrounded by steepness on all sides. It is easy to follow the path as it bends to the right towards Kidsty Pike whilst not noticing the change in direction of the old Roman Road; given the prominence on the map you would have thought the high street would have been more obvious.
As it happens, I wanted to visit Kidsty Pike first, its beauty lies in beholding it from a distance; there is some exhilaration at the summit, especially in high winds, when you look steeply downwards to Riggindale. From the summit cairn I made a beeline towards High Raise across rough but not difficult grass, knowing that I would soon find a small path. I found the path, it is obvious enough to take you without problems to rejoin the Roman Road, looking just like a larger path, for the final climb towards High Raise.
If, unlike the Romans, you want to visit the summit of High Raise you have to leave the main path and bear right; you could leave it until you reach the crest but most people who know where they are don't leave it that late. The summit of High Raise is like an oasis of boulders in a sea of rolling grassland; a very nice summit with extensive views to the north and east but only mountains behind. There is a short retracing of steps as you head back down in the same direction as you came up; the fell on the other side of the col is Rampsgill Head with the Roman Road to take you there.
Once again the path will take you past the summit so you need to bear right, firstly around the head of Ramps Gill for the view across to Martindale; then you can find your way to the summit cairn a little away from the edge. The view from the summit of Rampsgill Head was of horrible looking weather in the direction of Helvellyn; I was sure it was heading in my direction. Heading in the direction of High Street you will soon find the high street again to take you back to Straits of Riggindale; turn right towards The Knott.
The Knott from that direction is probably the easiest to climb, most un-missable summit of all; just walk beside the wall all the way to the summit. I am curious about climbing The Knott from Hayeswater; from the summit it looks impossibly steep but if you descend a little bit it almost looks possible. Anyway, from the summit you cross back over the ruined wall and follow it downhill in the direct of Rest Dodd. After a steepish, but not awkward, descent on an eroding path you will reach the path to Patterdale; if you carry on downwards it starts to get quite wet, even in the half-frozen conditions there is scope for stepping in a deep watery hole.
You should keep by the side of the wall as much as you can except for where it gets too wet; at least there are practicable detours when the ground isn't completely soft. The bottom of the col is very swampy and not a comfortable place in wet weather; I have resorted to hanging onto the wall before now but it wasn't too bad this time. The climb up to Rest Dodd from this direction is one of the least exciting routes I know; usually it is towards the end of the day and you could probably do without another steep, green, slog uphill.
The summit of Rest Dodd comprises two cairns, one either side of a depression; it is either a summit tarn that has virtually drained away or somebody has excavated a large hole for some reason. The views to High Street and Martindale were still sunny, the view to Helvellyn was getting worse. There is a small path to show the way downhill, the ground is good and not too steep until it levels off; then it gets a bit boggy, especially around the streams you have to cross. Eventually you reach the Patterdale path again, the rugged section where you have to step over and around rock outcrops and boulders.
You will reach a gate, go through it and turn left to follow a wall towards Brock Crags; the ground becomes increasingly wet the closer to the summit you get. There is a faint path with an occasional optional one but sometimes they disappear and you have to just keep going; there is a small rocky hummock that might be mistaken for the summit but it isn't. Keep going in the same direction and you will see the summit with its large cairn; when you are nearly there you will have to detour around a pair of tarns, the way between them is too swampy.
The small summit has a good cairn and good views all around; Ullswater, Hayeswater, Brotherswater and Angle Tarn are all visible. I should have planned my descent a bit better but I thought I could remember the way down; I couldn't of course, and when I started to descend in the direction of Hartsop it didn't look at all familiar. I contoured around to the left below a large craggy outcrop; I could see a fence coming up at an angle and I met it when we both reached a ruined wall. The fence was accompanied by a groove that I decided must have been man-made and I turned right to follow it down hill.
I eventually reached a crossroads, a fence following the contours and a wall going downhill; there was a gate in the wall and a good path following the fence both ways. After trying to work out where I was (without looking at the map it has to be said!) I decided that turning left would take me out of my way to Hayeswater so I turned right to get to Hartsop. I was doing alright until after another gate the path just seemed to fade away; it looked like a faint path went steeply downhill from there, so I followed it until I reached a newly constructed fence. I had to use all of my climbing skills to get over the six foot high fence without damaging it or me.
After a further slither down grass and gravel I reached a stone wall that was too high to climb; I turned right to follow it and soon arrived at Hartsop village. After looking at my photos later I could see that the groove I had followed downhill was the higher of the two paths on Brock Crags; maybe I'll work out how to find the lower one next time.
Andy Wallace 27th January 2007