Bleaberry Fell, High Seat and High Tove
Walk date – 9th April 2025
Distance – 8 miles
Weather – dry and sunny with a constant cold wind
Another dry and sunny day although there was a constant cold wind which seemed unable to decide from which direction it was coming. It made no difference whichever direction we walked, it was always present and kept the temperature well down despite the strong sunshine. I can’t say what the speed of it was as we wore lighter weight jackets today and the Kestrel meter which measures wind speed and wind chill didn’t get transferred from J’s winter jacket to the one worn today. However the fell top assessor’s readings from Helvellyn summit today reported an average speed of around 19 mph so it was probably somewhere close to that during our walk today. Jackets and gloves stayed on today and the only time we had some respite from it was when we found a sunny and sheltered spot for the coffee break we took on the northern side of High Seat. We had hoped that walking back down the Watendlath valley to the car park at Low Strutta would provide a warmer and wind free walk back to the car but that didn’t work out in our favour either.
Route
Low Strutta car park – Brown Knotts – Bleaberry Fell – High Seat – The Pewits – High Tove – Watendlath – Low Strutta car park
Looking back at the footbridge over Barrow Beck after walking up the High Strutta footpath from the car park. The footpath is not visible in the shot but is between the green grassy area and the brown bracken on the far side. The High Strutta path is very steep in places but it does lead directly over to High Seat. We aren’t going direct to High Seat hence our turn off to the bridge.
As we approach the high point on Brown Knotts we get a good view of Derwentwater and its little islands. The wind was whipping every which way across the surface of the water as the shot shows, although it was coming predominately from the north as we walked across here. Eyes and noses were soon streaming non-stop.
The southern end of Derwentwater from Brown Knotts where the surface of the water indicates the windy conditions.
Cat Gill and Walla Crag as we reach the path where we double back on ourselves and cross over to the path up to Bleaberry Fell.
Cloud building behind Blencathra but it came to nothing in the end.
At the old sheepfold now and a look back at the Skiddaw group and Lonscale Fell. About a dozen walkers, but in ones and twos rather than one large group, came by in quick succession while we were here so we hung back and waited until they were a good distance ahead before starting out again. We’re not keen on walking in a queue of folk.
A look to the south west as we followed the curved path around to …..
….. the pitched path leading up to the summit of Bleaberry Fell. This is the steepest part of the climb, and the whole walk because High Seat, although its higher than Bleaberry Fell, doesn’t climb quite so steeply or over as long a distance as this one does.
A look back over Low Moss, Derwentwater, Keswick and Bass Lake up just before we got started on the ptiched path.
Not the best photo I’ve ever taken but this shot of the summit shelter on Bleaberry was the best I could do at the time. A shot from the other side, where the entrance to the shelter is, showed nothing more than a dark mound of stones backlit by the sun which was even worse. The line of cloud in the distance looked ominous but that too came to nothing.
The view over to High Seat as we leave the summit of Bleaberry and make our way across. We reckoned that three weeks or so without any serious rainfall might well have dried this otherwise notoriously boggy stretch. It mostly had but there were the occasional patches which still hadn’t completely dried out but even those could be easily crossed. Reaching High Seat with dry boots is a rare occurrence across here.
Looking back at Bleaberry Fell as we walked across. A couple of F16s flew very low over us as we did so, deliberately so I think. They made a terrific noise and we both ended up yelling at them.
By way of a change from the usual route and to take my thoughts away from those noisy F16s I suggested we climb up to High Seat summit using the path beside the fence. It disappeared occasionally and parts of it were a little moist but on the whole it was ok. The fence came in handy from time to time too.
Almost at the top so a look back towards Bleaberry Fell and showing the ‘regular’ path and the one alongside the fence that we used. In the distance the cloud which had been capping Skiddaw every now and then seems to be drifting away.
Approaching the trig column on High Seat where I spent a few minutes taking my usual views from the summit …..
….. the nearby rocky plinth is called Man and is a subsidiary summit of High Seat, beyond it are Clough Head and some of the Dodds …..
….. the path below is the one leading from High Strutta via Dodd (the heathery high point on the right) to High Seat. On the left skyline are Grasmoor, Wandope, Crag Hill and Sail and over on the right are Grisedale Pike, Hobcarton Crags, Hopegill Head and Whiteside …..
….. the Skiddaw group with some of its northern fells neighbours …..
….. just to the left of centre the skyline shows Dale Head and the tops of its neighbours Hindscarth and Robinson …..
….. below us are Great Crag (L) and Grange Fell (R) and behind them a mass of hazy fells. In the centre of the skyline is Lingmell flanked by the Scafells on the left, and Great Gable and Kirk Fell on the right.
….. more or less due south of High Seat are Coldbarrow Fell and Ullscarf, High Raise, Pike O’Stickle, a very distant Grey Friar, Crinkle Crags and Bowfell …..
….. while back at the trig column and looking due east brings into view Catsty Cam, with just its very top appearing between White Side (L) and the Helvellyn group (R).
Seeking respite from the chilly wind we found a sunny and sheltered spot and had a coffee break for a few minutes. It was more than pleasant to be out of the wind and the coffee went down a treat! Below us we could view the ridge of Great Crag but no clear view of Dock Tarn. I’ve convinced myself that just a sliver of it is on view on the extreme left below Great Crag’s rocky top but I could be imagining it …..
….. moving the camera slightly to the right and looking across the humps and bumps of Grange Fell where Great Gable and Kirk Fell form the left skyline and Red Pike (Wasdale) and Pillar create the one on the right …..
After our coffee break it was back to being windblown and the walk down to High Tove. We approach the fence line and its backdrop of the Helvellyn ridge, where both gates were securely fastened so the stile had to be crossed.
Below us is the peat hag area known as The Pewits. We had thought that this might have also dried out but when we looked down we noticed that it still looked very watery plus a few pools that we didn’t remember being there on previous visits. The path looks different too, its now a pale shade of grey whereas we remembered it as a grassy one like the one we’re standing on.
To our surprise when we approached the peat hags we found that it was no longer necessary to walk through boggy ground as stone slabs had been laid all the way, almost reaching High Tove. It certainly speeded up the walk across and great for J’s ankle which doesn’t appreciate rough ground, it was bliss to walk over.
A couple of the new pools, which have formed since the stone slabs were installed, with a backdrop of fells from Stybarrow Dodd (L) over to Helvellyn (R).
Thanks to the stone slab path we soon arrived at High Tove with its summit marked by this pile of stones. The view is looking towards the top of Armboth Fell, the brown, heathery mound just behind the cairn.
Looking in the opposite direction gives a view of the northern end of the Helvellyn range from Clough Head to White Side.
The view south shows Coldbarrow Fell on the skyline with Middle Crag (I think) below it across the middle foreground. Somewhere behind Middle Crag is Shivery Knott which I’ve mentioned as the name crops up a few photos later on.
The large, and mostly indistinct, hump behind the fence line and Great Crag consists of Rosthwaite Fell and Thornythwaite Fell, better known to all walkers as Bessyboot and Glaramara respectively.
Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Pillar, Dale Head and High Spy form the south western skyline beyond the fence line …..
….. and a little round to the north west are the tops of the fells encircling Coledale where some of them form the well known Coledale Horseshoe. A couple of walkers are taking a lunch break beyond the fence and we briefly exchanged greetings with them as we passed by.
After going through the gate we found this notice attached to it. We had been wondering when the stone slab path had been installed and now we knew. Its also why I pointed out where Shivery Knott is located as it is mentioned in the notice title.
Having absorbed the info on the notice and with a look back over to High Seat we begin to make our way down to the little hamlet of Watendlath.
During the descent we began to come across various installations which looked as though they were part of the peat bog restoration plan as per the notice on the gate. This was a small pool which had formed behind a log held in place by the two shorter logs in front of it.
More water holding installations further down the path with a stepping stone route across a soggy bit.
A tiered arrangement of several pools plus another set of stepping stones which we passed only a little further down. We weren’t quite sure how these installations are meant to work because …..
….. some way further down the path was still quite wet and wasn’t completely dried out until we were much further down and could see …..
….. Watendlath Tarn and the buildings of the little hamlet close by it. The journey down was accompanied by the constant chatter coming from a group of three walkers not too far behind us. The end of the path leading to the hamlet couldn’t come quick enough for us both.
When we reached the hamlet the group dispersed and the incessant chatter ceased immediately. We decided that a cup of coffee in the cafe’s sunny garden would be just the thing to get frayed nerves back on an even keel so that’s what we did.
After the coffee break we began making our way back down the valley where I noticed this juxtaposition of old and new. The old being the cobbled footbridge further back along Watendlath Beck, and the relatively new hydro-electric installation just below us. This has subsequently blended in with its surroundings and is not as noticeable as it was when it was first installed. See our walk of 21st November 2021 when the installation work was in progress.
We had expected the walk back down the Watendlath valley to be sunny and wind free and while the sun continued to blaze down the windy conditions remained. Jackets continued to be worn.
Reecastle Crags towering above us as we walked along.
This shot might be a bit of a headscratcher at first sight but with a zoom in the words ‘ROAD SUMMIT’ painted in white on the stone might be just about readable. The stone marks the highest point of the Watendlath road so for us its down hill for the remainder of the walk back to the Low Strutta car park. Perhaps we should go up and repaint the wording so walkers will notice it more.
We called in at the viewpoint known as Surprise View for this quick shot of Derwentwater. The surface of the water indicating that the wind hasn’t gone away.
Almost down to Thwaite House now which we remember being renovated from a run down bungalow to this more modern two storey residence. It now has a greenhouse, raised garden beds with plants already growing in them and a wild life pond alongside the garden fence, so it seems as though it is now someone’s permanent residence. Passing the house and garden reminded me that we still have plenty of work to do in our own garden. We have been taking advantage of the good weather during the past couple of weeks but there are still some odds and ends of things to do before we can start planting the vegetable and flower seeds. The weather outlook suggests that the sunny weather is unlikely to last beyond this coming weekend so maybe we can get it all finished before then. For now all that remains for us to do is walk back to the car park and drive home. The wind has been a nuisance and so too was the constant chatter, but we’ve had a lovely sunny day with a bit of a surprise along the way, i.e. the stone slab path, so all things considered its been a good day out.