Volume Two: The Far Eastern Fells
Lying further east than the main tourist areas these fells are somewhat ignored. They are generally rounded in nature, lacking the dramatic outlines of the fells in the west of the District but High Street does have some impressive combes on its east side. In climbing terms the only popular crags are Raven Crag in Threshthwaite Cove (close to Hayeswater) and Gouther Crag in Swindale, there’s a couple of others but they aren’t overly popular.
The main “groups” are the High Street ridge following the old Roman Road and the Kentmere Horseshoe (another fell race route).
The Kentmere Horseshoe was a fairly regular trip for our school fell walks with the start only being half an hour or so from school. It was also one of my regular evening runs after work in Kendal. A later attempt in winter with Cath and our then dog had to be curtailed at Nan Bield Pass as the snow was over knee deep and progress was very slow, not helped by everyone who had gone before us making individual paths rather than following existing steps. Even cows have more sense than fell-walkers it seems.
During the hot summer of 1976 I had been on a school trip to Brittany. On our return the weather was holding so a friend and I decided to do the Coast to Coast walk, at the time fairly new following the publication of Alfred Wainwright’s guidebook in 1973 and yet to become overly popular. By and large it avoids the actual summits on its way through Lakeland but does visit Kidsty Pike almost as a final hurrah before leaving the district.
A year or two earlier on a school fell walking trip we made the slog up from Hayeswater to The Knott, I can’t remember our exact route after that but will have either gone across High Street and Thornthwaite Crag with its impressive summit cairn and then down to Kirkstone Pass or possibly continued on the old Roman Road to Troutbeck.
School trips also accounted for the small tops around Angle Tarn.
Further north I recall a post-work evening run around the lower part of Martindale. Arthur’s Pike, Loadpot Hill and the like are best suited to something like this as running is an excellent way to account for the multitude of somewhat retiring tops on ridges that you would otherwise not really visit.
The remainder were done in various small loops before the final mopping up campaign began.