Angletarn Pikes
Walk date – 11th November 2026
Distance – 5.1 miles
Weather – sunny, dry, very light breeze, some fair weather cloud, some ground frost about but mild overall
After days and days of complaining about the lack of sunshine we finally got some this week although early morning fog covered the Eden Valley as it always does. On Monday morning the fog was very dense so we took an unrecorded walk up to Heughscar Hill after the fog had cleared. As we approached the top of the hill we could see that Ullswater was still beneath an inversion and we passed a very pleasant half hour watching it rise as it dissipated. Even after sitting watching it for half an hour it still hadn’t fully gone and we never saw the tops of some of the smaller hilltops around the water although Hallin Fell was just beginning to appear as we left. As Tuesday is J’s volunteering day we hoped that the good weather would last until today when we could get out and enjoy it. It did, as the photos will reveal, although the early morning fog was still very prevalent along the Ullswater shoreline road. Surprisingly it was also still covering Penrith and we haven’t seen that before. The fog was beginning to lift at the Glenridding end of Ullswater and everything was clear by the time we reached the cricket ground in Patterdale. Not a single car was parked up at the cricket ground, for a change, but about half a dozen more had arrived by the time we were back.
Route
Patterdale cricket ground car park – George Starkey hut – Side Farm – Rooking – Boredale Hause – Angletarn Pikes north top – Angletarn Pikes south top – Coast to Coast path for return to Patterdale
From the deserted car parking area in Patterdale a look across the cricket pitch towards Place Fell with sunshine on its eastern flanks
From the cricket ground we walked through the churchyard, down the side of the George Starkey Hut and on towards Side Farm. The crags on the hillside behind the farmhouse were standing out clearly in the frosty morning sunshine.
Looking east where only the shapes of Hartsop Dodd, Caudale Moor and, over on the extreme right of the shot, Red Screes and Middle Dodd were standing out clearly against the subdued sky. It all looks chilly but it wasn’t, and reasonably warm for November.
A look back to see how the Glenridding inversion was getting on, which seemed to be thinning out. When we looked back again from the upper path to Boredale Hause it had gone completely.
We’ve reached the gate above Rooking now. A short distance beyond it is the path where the climbing begins.
Now we are climbing the upper path to Boredale Hause where a pause to give my back a brief rest reveals just the very top of Catstye Cam, more or less on the centre skyline, and over towards the left is the Striding Edge approach to the Helvellyn plateau.
Even higher now and a look towards Glenridding shows that the inversion over Ullswater has disappeared completely. On the centre skyline is Sheffield Pike, with Glenridding Dodd just below it, to its right is an area known as Brown Hills, on Watermillock Common, rising up to Hart Crag. To the left of Sheffield Pike is Stybarrow Dodd, then the dip of Sticks Pass which in turn rises up to Raise.
At Boredale Hause now, where we took another short break while having a look at Saint Sunday Crag and its subsidiary peak of Gavel Pike. Over on the left is the flat top of Fairfield followed by Hart Crag. A group of walkers have just left the Hause to begin their climb up Place Fell leaving us to have the peace and quiet of the Hause to ourselves..
Rucksacks have been re hoisted but before setting off I had a quick look at the old sheepfold hidden in the shadow of one of the lower slopes of Angletarn Pikes. The shot turned out better than I thought it would so that’s why its been included in today’s walk report. Its probably not used as a sheepfold nowadays.
We took to the path leading over to Beda Fell but turned off part of the way along and headed over in the direction of Angletarn Pikes. On the way across we took a look over to the east where a line of cloud merges with the North Pennines. Behind Hallin Fell, at the end of Boredale, where we should have been seeing Penrith over on the right, we were still seeing low lying fog and which even extended to the left of Hallin Fell. The white column which can be seen rising vertically above Hallin Fell is the steam rising from a rendering factory on the outskirts of Penrith.
A look back at Place Fell as we made our way over the very juicy terrain. There lots of squelchy sections across here, some of which can be avoided, but others are too extensive for a detour and just have to be splashed through. Having walked this route on previous occasions we were already wearing gaiters so at least we didn’t have soggy trouser bottoms flapping around our ankles.
Eventually the North Top comes into sight and although it looks unassailable from this viewpoint there is a path leading around the back of it up onto the top.
The above shot is a view of the south top from the north top. Both tops have a surprisingly extensive summit area and you don’t find yourself teetering on the top of a rock face. Instead little paths lead around the many, but small in height, vertical crags poking up through the grass and the views are excellent. In the shot above the view looks towards the south top but on the skyline, from left to right, are Rest Dodd, High Raise, The Knott, High Street, Gray Crag and Thornthwaite Crag. The sun doesn’t rise as high through autumn and winter as it does in the spring and summer so some of the tops look a bit ‘washed out’, and added to that the view is south facing and just where the sun is.
Looking to the south west from the north top we can see Red Screes, and below it is Middle Dodd followed by the Caiston Beck valley, then Little Hart Crag, with High Hartsop Dodd below it, rising up to Dove Crag and Hart Crag. The curved shape of Hartsop above How is over on the right rising up above Brothers Water. Immediately below are the crags of Dubhow Brow.
On the skyline above the curving shape of Hartsop above How are Dove Crag, Hart Crag and the flat top of Fairfield. The valley to the right of Hartsop above How is Deepdale which we last walked through in 2015, and here’s the link to that walk if you’d like to see what the valley looks like –
https://www.wainwrightwalking.co.uk/three-fells-above-deepdale/
That’s more like it. The sun shines on the lower slopes which begin rising up from Deepdale and culminate on the summit of Saint Sunday Crag. Even Fairfield to the left of it has caught some sunlight on its eastern facing crags.
The skyline is filled with Saint Sunday Crag and the Helvellyn range but below them and appearing in greater details are, in ascending order, Arnison Crag and Birks Fell, both of which require some steepish climbing before reaching their respective summits. They might not be as high as Saint Sunday Crag or the Helvellyn group but they’ve definitely got a steep side to them.
Looking across what will be our return route across the lower slopes of Angletarn Pikes towards Glenridding and Ullswater and all the fells around them.
Looking due west now across the lower slopes of Angletarn Pikes at layer after layer of fells, all lit by the brilliant sunshine.
The view to the north east from the north top to show Bonscale Pike, Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill. They’re in the sun but we seem to be under a cloud at the moment.
On the skyline is a section of the extensive stretch of the ridge between Loadpot Hill and High Raise (above Mardale). The fell in the sunlight across the middle foreground is The Nab with the sun highlighting its notorious peat hags.
Looking south east across the south top at a skyline view of, left to right, High Raise, then Rest Dodd, Rampsgill Head, The Knott, and finally the Straits of Riggindale leading up to High Street.
Well, we’ve had a good long break, taken lots of photos, so now its time to head across to the south top, wend our way past the little tarn below, avoid the large mushy section and clamber up to it.
Here’s what the tarn looked like as we passed it. The path is on the other side of the tarn, as you can see, but the sun was shining directly onto the camera so I moved round to this position. The view is a little foreshortened but the tarn is bigger than what appears in the shot. The surface of it was covered in a thin film of ice and the colours of the grasses around it were zinging in the bright sunlight.
From the climb up to the south top which doesn’t take very long, less than five minutes, a look across the ‘mushy bit’ towards Beda Fell. The sunshine really brought out all the different colours of our surroundings and which made it all so exceptional to gaze on. Its much better to look at than that dreary greyish stuff we’ve had to look at lately.
Angle Tarn looking as pretty as a picture today. Its my favourite view and after a while …..
….. I took another one without all the scenery behind it this time.
A view looking back at where we’ve just been, the north top of Angletarn Pikes and the path, with the little tarn by the side of it, we followed over to where we are now. The north top is only about 39 inches or a metre higher than the south top but it counts as the summit. It might have the title of being the topmost point but what it doesn’t have is a view of Angle Tarn which is only visible from the south top. I’ve lost count of the number of walkers we’ve seen only visiting the north top before descending straight down to the edge of the tarn itself and completely by-passing the south top altogether.
We sat above the tarn for quite a while just gazing around at our surroundings, having something to eat washed down with a couple of cups of hot coffee and generally doing nothing very much. I know this is the third photo of the tarn but its my favourite view so I’m allowed a little indulgence I think. The reflections provided by the fair weather cloud above were perfect with not a ripple breaking the surface. It was a lovely place to be and lovely to look at too.
I tried for a zoom in on The Nab’s peat hags but this was as close as I could get. It gives some idea of how extensive they are, but it gives no idea of how wet they can be though!
Following our prolonged stay on the south top we began making our way back down the steepish path, with the crags of Dubhow Brow below, and eventually turned onto the coast to coast path below us back down to Boredale Hause.
A view of Brothers Water as we made our way down.
Passing below the north top …..
….. and a look up at the crags surrounding at as we walked along.
The green fields of Patterdale begin to appear again …..
….. as do the fells above them.
Blencathra appears in the distance …..
….. and so does Place Fell …..
….. and the fells on one side of the Glenridding valley …..
….. and a look at the fells on the opposite side.
A view of Place Fell as we approach Boredale Hause …..
….. where we had a brief stop before …..
….. continuing via the path on the right back down to Patterdale. The path on the left would also lead down to Patterdale but would take us much further up the valley.
This was the last shot I took as we took to the stepped path leading back down to the gate above Side Farm shown at the beginning of the walk. Its only just past lunch time but already the shadows are lengthening and by the time we are home again it will be mid afternoon and time to switch on the kettle, have a cup of tea/coffee and chat about the walk we’ve had and the fantastic weather. Today (Thursday) we’ve had the same kind of weather and tomorrow (Friday) will be much the same. So, if anyone is planning a walk in Cumbria better do it on Friday ‘cos it looks like we’ll be back to normal over the weekend and into next week. Oh well, it was lovely while it lasted!