Explore with Amie

Another weekend and another snowy walk! Spring feels like it is in the air but nobody has told the hilltops yet which still have a little bit of snow on them. Our recent walk to up Kentmere Pike was no different. This was much easier going than our snowy hike up Skiddaw though, where the snow was compacted and frozen leaving a very slippy path behind. However, our walk from Sadgill to Kentmere Pike proved to be a quiet, lovely winters day hike. I highly recommend this route which bags three wainwrights and can be extended to bag a few more on the longer summer days!

Firstly, it is worth noting that parking is very limited here. We got one of the last spots in a small parking area in Sadgill at the end of Gatesgarth Pass. Parking here is free although, it is very uneven if you have a car with poor ground clearance. Another alternative, would be parking in the nearby village of Kentmere however, that would extend the walk just a little and you’d have to drive back towards the main road in order to circle back. The track from Kentmere to Sadgill is quite a nice walk though as we did this as part of our three day walking trip from Windermere to Glenridding last year. We also walked up Gatesgarth Pass then on our way to Mosedale Cottage bothy and, I found it incredibly difficult as we were getting towards the end of the day and inclines are not fun when you have a big rucksack on! It was much easier to be walking down the Pass with no rucksack at all I can tell you that.

Onto our recent trip though…we began the walk by heading across the bridge over the river and joining the track towards Kentmere. Soon, you leave the track and head off into the hills. There was something a little bit like the Fairfield Horseshoe about this route, albeit without the views down the lake. There are a few rocky bits to clamber up but, it doesn’t become a scramble.

The main thing to note about this walk is, you’re following a boundary wall for the vast majority of the route. If you look at your OS map, you will see that the path follows along a wall as you hit the first three peaks. Number one is Wray Crag at 474m however, this is not a wainwright so you don’t get to tick anything off just yet. Then, around a km later, Shipman’s Knott is just to the right hand side of the path. We didn’t actually realise this was a wainwright and I said to Alex, “should we just run up in case?”. I’m glad we did. Though, we would have counted it anyway because, it is only 11 metres above the path. Shipman’s Knott is 587 metres high and the 72nd tallest wainwright all in all.

Continuing to follow the boundary wall, we soon came to Kentmere Pike which is higher than Shipman’s Knott at 731 metres. It was snowy at this height but, felt a bit more like frost or ice. It wasn’t too slippy underfoot though which definitely helped. Like on Skiddaw, we noticed some interesting icy formations where the boundary wall became a fence. It is pretty spectacular up on the fells in the winter. Of course, you have to be sensible but, if you are making good decisions, it really is incredible.

We had made a good decision by picking this area of the Lakes for a walk this particular weekend. Looking to the left at Kentmere Pike, I can imagine that on a clear day, you would get a great view across the Lake District with many of the fells visible. We saw a sea of dark clouds shrouding the hill tops and, whilst not the picturesque view of a clear day, gave a real since of the immensity and magnitude of the Lakes. It looked moody and dark. Our route, on the other hand, was nowhere near as dark and the summits were below the cloud base.

The final wainwright of this walk was Harter Fell which is the highest of the set at 778 metres, just beating Kentmere. This was the second time we had hiked to this summit, as we walked to the top of the peak during the camping trip I mentioned earlier. We came from the opposite direction this time and then had a relatively steep descent down to Gatesgarth Pass. Then, it’s an easy walk down the track back to the car.

As I said earlier, there are a few options to extend this walk towards Braintree and on to Tarn Crag and Grey Grag. You would take this walk to quite a high number of Wainwrights by taking on the slightly longer horseshoe. It would be a great route for a summers day.

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Start Point: Sadgill

1. From the carpark follow the lane over the bridge and then left onto a track.
2. At the barn head right – through the wooden gate.
3. Taking this gravel track uphill continue through another wooden gate.
4. At the 3rd wooden gate, take the immediate grassy path on your right.
5. Follow this path uphill where eventually it weaves towards the first peak; Wray Crag.
6. From here continue northwards along the footpath (the runs adjacent to a drystone wall on your left) until you reach the Wainwright, Shipman Knotts. [Note: the trig point is on the other side style over the drystone wall]
7. Continue north again, with the wall on your right. This soon heads gently downhill. Cross the drystone wall at the point you reach a ladder a-frame stile.
8. Once over the stile, follow the path on the left at the fork. Continue straight cutting the corner made by the drystone wall.
9. Then, the path rejoins the wall. Walk alongside it with the path on the right towards Kentmere Pike. The trig point is actually on the other side of the wall.
10. Keeping the wall on your right, continue straight.
11. Shortly after the peak, the wall becomes a fence. Keep following the fence-line as it bends to the right towards Harter Fell.
12. Once you’ve reached the peak, continue to the right, heading downhill towards Gatesgarth Pass.
13. Keep following the path steeply downhill, until it reaches a gravel track.
14. Turn right to follow the gravel track back down the valley, alongside the river.

End Point: Sadgill

This was a lovely wintery walk and I’m definitely going to miss the snow. Although, I’m super excited for spring to arrive and to have clear skies!

Have you walked this route?

Amie x