Difficulty: Hard with some exposure
Distance: 18km / 12 miles
Time: 6 Hours approx.
Starting from: Gatesgarth Farm, Near Buttermere
Postcode: CA139XA
Price: £20 per person / Family tickets available
The Route:
A long route with plenty of climbing, in bad weather we will avoid the more exposed sections of the route by Pillar Rock and climb along the ridge instead.
From Gatesgarth farm we will cross the fields and clim over Scarth Gap, descending into the Ennerdale Valley at the Black Sail Youth Hostel before climbing again to the top of Black Sail Pass.
After following the ridge for a short distance we will follow the High Level Route, a wonderful path that traversess below the crags to Pillar Rock, from here climbing the rocky slopes above to reach the summit of Pillar. A wonderful viewpoint of oth the Ennerdale and Wasdale Valleys.
Descending back to Black Sail, this time along the ridge we will either cross the summit of Kirk Fell or along the path traversing it's western slopes to Beck Head, the pass between Kirk Fell and Great Gable.
Here we will join the 'Moses Trod' path, an old smuggling route, traversing the fellside above Ennerdale and Buttermere untill we descend to the Warnscale Beck path back down to Gatesgarth Farm.
View Larger Map
Directions:
From Keswick – Leave Keswick on the Borrowdale Road (from the mini roundabout near the co-op) Follow this road for aprox 8 miles, passing through Rosthwaite to the village of Seatoller, from here the road climbs over Honister Pass, descend the eastern slopes of the pass to Gatesgarth Farm, a car park will be seen on the opposite side of the road from the farm, there is a charge for this car park. We will meet by the bridge.
From Cockermouth – Leave Cockermouth on the Lorton Road, leaving town opposite Sainsburys. Follow this road through the village of Low Lorton and continue until a road leads to the left, signposted for Buttermere, follow this road and continue past Buttermere. After the road passes alongside the lake a farm will be reached on the right, park in the car park opposite (there is a charge for this car park), we will meet by the bridge.
