The English Lake District is justly famous for the interplay between its mountains and water – a relationship that reaches a mesmerizing climax at Buttermere. At less than two miles long, this is far from the largest lake in the region, but it couldn’t have been more perfectly formed to complement the high fells surrounding it. Superb views are guaranteed from any of the adjacent mountains, improving steadily as you gain altitude. There is, however, one perspective on Buttermere that’s truly in a class of its own.
Overlooking the southwestern end of the lake is what looks, when seen from the water’s edge, a rather squat, pyramidal fell, noticeably stumpier than its neighbours, but possessing heaps of what the Americans would call “attitude” (that’s with a “t”, not an “l”). In late summer when the heather’s in bloom and the enfolding summits trail shreds of mist, Fleetwith Pike has a truly commanding presence about it.
Apart from its position slap in the centre of one of Lakeland’s most scenic enclaves, the main reason Fleetwith qualifies as a great viewpoint is the abruptness with which its northwest ridge – known ominously as “the Fleetwith Pike A Hill with Attitude 39 Edge” – rises from the waterside. And it’s this airy, broken line which our route follows to the top. You don’t have to wait long to see why. After barely ten minutes of strenuous climbing, a superb vista unfolds of wavering ridges, cliffs, corries and summits, centered on a string of lakes that draw your eye down the valley to the blue line of the sea, with the distant mountains of Dumfries and Galloway fringing the horizon.
Although less satisfyingly symmetrical than those from Fleetwith Pike, the great views continue as our route progresses south and west towards Hay Stacks, Wainwright’s favourite fell and another magnificent vantage point over the valley. From its craggy crest you also gain a wonderful panorama of Ennerdale and its presiding giants Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar. Throw in a scattering of delightful high tarns and the possibility of extending the itinerary along the lake and you’ve a recipe for a classic hill day.
In spite of its relative isolation from the Lakes’ most frequented honeypots, the valley is well served by public transport, with a dependable bus link running between Keswick and Cockermouth.
[1] Leaving the Gatesgarth Farm car park, turn left up the Honister Pass road (B5289), passing Gatesgarth Cottage on your right, immediately after which you’ll see a footpath sign pointing left towards the base of Fleetwith Pike’s northwest ridge and the white cross commemorating Fanny Mercer who fell to her death after tripping over her walking pole there in 1887; do not follow the bridleway! The path zigzags steeply up, with the views back over Buttermere growing more spectacular at every step. Having surmounted the initial obstacle of Low Raven Crag, the trail levels off briefly before getting stuck into the rocky spine of Fleetwith Edge. Simple hand holds may occasionally be needed during the rest of the ascent, but the steepest crags can always be avoided. After 45–50mins of relentless gradient, you arrive at the lumpy topped summit of the hill, marked by a cairn.
(A) Although it looks wedge-shaped from Buttermere, Fleetwith Pike is actually the spur of a larger, more rounded fell dividing the Gatesgarthdale and Warnscale valleys. Steep crags crenellate two of its sides, while to the east the hill shelves at a more gentle gradient to the Honister Pass, headquarters of the slate quarry whose satellite workings pockmark the high ground in this area.
[2] Keep heading past the cairn on the same clear, but often boggy, path, which winds east over humps of heather, past the heads of gulleys slicing down mighty Honister Crag to your left, then skirting a succession of little tarns. After the last of the tarns, at around NY212141, the trail begins to drift right, away from the ridge, towards the opencast slate quarry below.
(B) Honister Quarries - the steady decline in the slate industry saw the quarry close in 1987, but the site recently re-opened – partly as a functioning quarry, and partly as a visitor attraction offering mine tours. One of its sidelines is a Via Ferrata route that cuts, by means of fixed cables and metal ladders, across the vertiginous Honister Crag below Fleetwith Pike’s north ridge – an approach to the summit recommended only for those with a good head for heights. It costs £35-£39.50 per adult to climb the Via Ferrata (October 2012).
(C) The recently rediscovered crumbling nineteenth-century Honister Incline (tramline) amazingly, sliced across the middle of the 1000-foot crag and was used to reach the seam of high quality green slate that erupts from the hilltop. Three winding drums hauled the bogies of slate up and down the cliff, in places crossing dizzying voids on lengths of timber. It looks insane by the standards of modern engineering, but the Honister Incline ranked among the nineteenth-century slate industry’s most impressive technological achievements. The line, was only in use for thirty years. Howling gales, rock falls and icy conditions on Fleetwith Pike played havoc with the installations and made maintenance very expensive.
Eventually, a new, less weather-vulnerable incline was constructed on the south side of the hill. This second tramway is the one followed by our route to reach the lower of Honister’s working quarries, Dub's Quarry above Warnscale Beck.
Pick your way across the top of the mine workings, and turn left when you reach the unsurfaced road lined by huge slate standing stones. Walk along this for a minute or so, then head right (south) down one of the faint fell tracks that head to an opening in the incline of the disused tramway. Turn right on to the old tramway, which runs in a dead straight line down to a second quarry site, where you’ll see the bothy, Dub’s Hut
[3] At Dub's Hut, there is a broken slate path sharp left that drop down towards Warnscale Beck, now visible below. Turn right from this path to walk along a boggy path to the Beck and cross it using the stepping stones to access the clear path that rises on the opposite side. Follow this onwards as it climbs through the rocks ahead through a saddle pass and down the other side to pretty Blackbeck Tarn.
(D) The largest of the lakes, Blackbeck Tarn, nestles in a hollow against a backdrop formed by the high summits of Great Gable and Kirk Fell to the south. Its smaller neighbour, Innominate Tarn, was a favourite haunt of the guide-book writer Alfred Wainwright. The Grumpy Old Fellwalker asked for his ashes to be scattered here – a wish his wife, Betty, fulfilled two months after his death in 1991. Some suggested the tarn should be re-named in his honour, but Innominate it remains Describing the path that winds west from the lake to the nearby summit of HayStacks, Wainwright famously quipped that “if you should get a bit of grit in your boot… treat it with respect. It might be me!”. The precise spot where his ashes were dispersed has always been kept a secret, so this is a piece of advice worth heeding.
The famous Innominate Tarn, lies another 5mins’ walk further along a rising, rocky trail. The route from here is impossible to lose as it wriggles west through the crags to the summit of Hay Stacks.
(E) By the time you’ve scrambled to the top of the hill, you’ll appreciate why the craggy top of Hay Stacks was where the legendary fells man wished to be his final resting place. Set at a right angle to the main crest, the summit ridge is marked at either end by cairns – the northern one is generally considered to be the higher of the pair. Both yield wonderful views. Peaks rise on all sides, with High Crag dominating to the northwest. “A shaggy terrier in the company of foxhounds,” was how “AW” saw the hill, which he came to regard as the loveliest in Lakeland. “For beauty, variety and interesting detail, for sheer fascination and unique individuality, the summit area of Hay Stacks is supreme. This is in fact the best fell of all.”
[4] Small cairns flag the two main paths tumbling off the top off Hay Stacks. Whichever you opt for, hand holds will be required on some of the trickier, steeper sections, as the crags descend in steps to Scarth Gap.
(F) When you reach the large cairn markings for the descent back to Buttermere, a short detour into the heather south of the summit crags gives you a peek into Ennerdale, one of the Lakes’ most remote valleys. The only building visible for miles is the white-washed croft of Black Sail Youth Hostel, used by walkers as a base camp for explorations of the mighty wall of mountains ringing the head of the valley, culminating in the bell top of Great Gable.
[5] Turn right when you reach the large cairn marking the pass that divides Hay Stacks from Seat and follow the well worn trail as it drops at an easy gradient through the little col known as Scarth Gap, passing a collapsed wall before fording a beck. Great views across Warnscale Bottom to Fleetwith Pike accompany this sustained descent down the side of the valley, which eases as only slightly it approaches the valley floor, now dominated by the lakeshore. the views back over Buttermere growing more spectacular at every step.
[6] On reaching the path junction at NY188148, take the route cutting sharply back to your right, which drops along the side of a little plantation to a gate through a drystone wall. From there it crosses the footbridge spanning Warnsdale Beck, and runs in a straight line over level ground back to Gatesgarthdale Beck, the farm and adjacent car park.