Explore with Amie

This walk is a great route for those attempting to climb all the Wainwrights but it is also a fabulous route nonetheless. Every walk in the Lake District blows me away and this one was no different. I was a little under the weather last week but, I found that I felt fine on the weekend and the sun was shining so, we headed out for the day. I still had no voice but it felt great to be out in nature. Obviously, with it being winter, we were against the clock a little bit with the light however, in true form, we set off a little late and didn’t begin the walk until 12 midday. Not something I would recommend on a winter’s day but, we managed it!

After a short walk up the road back towards the Cow Bridge Car Park, you head down a footpath alongside Brothers Water. This was lovely and autumnal! All of the leaves have turned now and are falling and it really made for a beautiful sight along the water. There were many people around enjoying the lovely weather. There is also a campsite along the main road so lots of people had come from there. If you are on holiday, this campsite might be a good spot for the night to complete this walk! The early part of this walk is probably one of the most difficult. You head almost vertically (or at least that is how it felt!) up the first Wainwright, High Hartsop Dodd. This has a height of 519metres so you’re gaining a good height from the offset.

From High Hartsop Dodd, the path naturally takes you across to Little Hart Crag and you have already bagged two wainwrights within the first 5km. From Little Hart Crag, we followed the path that ran alongside the boundary markers (metal posts) and up to Dove Crag. Although these are probably some of the lesser known peaks within the Lakes, they still have some very impressive views and are well worth the walk. At this height, the snow and ice was starting to appear which made it extra beautiful. Now the hardest part of the uphill was complete, I was also starting to feel the cold so put my jacket back on. We were wearing thermals though!

From Dove Crag, it is an easy ascent towards the highest point in this walk: Hart Crag. This is the 27th highest of the Wainwrights which isn’t too bad when you consider the ease of this walk. You also have two options on the descent. We chose the path that involved an element of scrambling on rocks down. To be honest, I don’t think this would be too difficult if it wasn’t a little bit icy and slippy; you probably could walk relatively normally. You do have the option to go around the rocks and down too which would be a little easier. This slowed us down massively as we had reached our target of getting to the top of Hart Crag in 2 and a half hours.

The descent does include another Wainwright, Hartsop Above How, which takes us to a total of five Wainwrights. Horseshoe style walks are my favourite to do within the Lake District as, not only do you bag lots of Wainwrights but, you can see where you have come from and where you’re going. It’s great to look back and think about where you’ve climbed and walked in the day.

Rather than walk all the way straight down this path and into the valley, to get back to the car park, you climb over the stile on the right hand side. This is over 3km down the descent path so, you have some time before you need to start looking out for it. Then you follow the path as it runs alongside the boundary wall, through a hole in another wall and down into the trees. This is a steep descent and it was getting dark when we got to this part of the walk which was not ideal. However, soon enough you reach the gate that you entered at the very beginning of the walk.

If you parked in Cow Bridge Car Park, you’re back to your car! If not, a short walk back along the road and you’ll be there in no time. I believe there are also bus stops here, although do check the times and have a few options in mind as you never know how long it will take you to do the walk.

It’s not a massively long walk, or one that is particularly challenging. However, it has some beautiful views and you gain some great height. If you want to have a look at the route for yourself click HERE, or follow the step by step below.

Start Point: Cow Bridge Car Park

1. Head through the gate on the left down the path that follows alongside Brothers Water.
2. Continue straight past the house and through the gate on the left. The track continues to the right so leave it here.
3. Follow the path across the field and through another gate before taking the path on the right up towards High Hartsop Dodd.
4. Continue up the steep incline to High Hartsop Dodd and continue following the path at the summit towards Little Hart Crag.
5. Once you have reached the summit of Little Hart Crag, follow the boundary posts (metal posts) to the right and continue along this path towards Dove Crag.
6. There should be another peak to the left of Dove Crag but, this is not a Wainwright, although you may add that to the walk if you wish. We did not and headed across to Dove Crag.
7. Continue along the path from Dove Crag to the next summit along. This is the tallest part of the walk: Hart Crag.
8. Take the path down to the right to descend. You have the option of going down the rocks or picking the easiest route and going around them.
9. Follow this path for approximately 3km down. You should be alongside a boundary wall after around 2 1/2 km. (If you look down to the right, you can see the campsite and Brothers water.)
10. When you reach a stile on the right, head over and follow the path as it bends to the left following the wall.
11. The path should cross another wall and eventually moves away from the boundary wall on your left and into the trees. This should be a steep descent.
12. Enter the trees and continue to follow the path. You should pass through two gates in the woodland.
13. Eventually, you will reach the gate through which you started the walk! Go through the gate and to the car park.

End Point: Cow Bridge Car Park

This is a great walk in one of the less talked areas of the Lakes and I highly, highly recommend giving it a go!

Amie x