Coast to Coast Path: Haweswater

Thursday 27th August 2026

Although this was the first time I have done the whole of the Coast to Coast, I previously did most of the trail in 2010 when I just covered the parts in National Parks. On that occasion, my course through the Lake District was not too dissimilar to the route I had now taken, and my decision to stop at the Windermere Youth Hostel, in the Trout Beck valley, was repeated from 2010. So, my route now was following in my steps of then, through the village of Troutbeck and up the valley with the Troutbeck Tongue dominating the view ahead of me. I hadn’t planned on climbing the Tongue, but I since climbed it in 2010 I couldn’t resist the temptation now. A steep climb led me through the bracken with misty views down the valley until I reached the outcrops that adorn the summit. I had enjoyed a bit of sunshine at the start of this walk, though thin, hazy cloud soon began to thicken and the weather slowly deteriorated throughout the course of a day that would finally, tragically, take me out of the Lake District on the Coast to Coast Path. I had a lot of regret about this, but the worsening of the weather somehow made the necessity of leaving the Lake District easier for me to accept. After reaching the summit of Troutbeck Tongue I made my way along the extended ridge that took me past several rocky outcrops slowly descending to reach Hagg Gill and the start of Scot Rake. 

A clear path led me steeply up the western slopes of Froswick into an increasingly strong, cold wind while the clouds descended onto the tops of the fells, so when I reached the top of the ridge I decided I would not be following my 2010 route over the top of High Street. It felt too windy for that so I turned right onto a thin path that clings to the mountain edge above Gavel Crag and Bleathwaite Crag with occasional breaks in the clouds affording me with tantalising views down the valley to Kentmere Reservoir. This may not have been the quickest route, but it was an exciting path, and eventually I reached the clear, rocky descent that led me to Nan Bield Pass, which must be one of the greatest mountain passes in the Lake District. There, I turned left to descend a very rocky path, eroded in places, that slowed my pace considerably so that I became concerned, which prompted me to hurry once the terrain had eased and eventually I reached Mardale Head. Turning left, I followed the path that crosses the ridge that comes down from High Street while Haweswater Reservoir was looking rather depleted following the hot, dry weather this summer. The arm of the reservoir that extends to Mardale Head had no water in it and, after crossing the ridge, the remains of Riggindale Farm could clearly be seen, revealed where originally it had been covered by the waters. After crossing Riggindale Beck I finally rejoined the Coast to Coast Path, but with time on my mind I kept up my pace along the narrow path through tall bracken while many insects flew around me.

A steep climb took me across the slopes below Castle Crag while affording me with views, through the haze, back across the reservoir, towards the Rigg, with Branstree behind. The distant views were very poor so I turned my attention to the path and didn’t take another picture until I reached Shap Abbey. After a brief respite while crossing Whelter Beck, I crossed steep ground again, below Whelter Knotts, and eventually reached the Forces on Measand Beck, but this was too heavily wooded for me to see the waterfalls, so I didn’t stop. However, my rapid pace thus far beside the reservoir meant I could now slow down and take my time along a wider path to the end of Haweswater Reservoir where I turned into the small community of Burnbacks and onto a delightful path through woodland that led me to a road. There was a complicated arrangement here, crossing the road, over an ancient packhorse bridge and then over a footbridge, but I believe there are plans to build a new bridge to avoid the difficulties. Wainwright, in fact, never came this way. His original route went via Naddle Gate via a pre-existing right-of-way, but the Coast to Coast Walk was diverted in 1994 to Naddle Bridge and from there along permissive paths alongside Haweswater Beck. Where the trail leaves the river the route has been changed, thanks to national trail status, conforming to the right-of-way that previously led to an impassable fence, which now has a stile to enable onward progress past Highpark buildings and Rawhead. 

Behind me, in the distance I could see the mountains that surround Haweswater while around me the scenery was agricultural with rolling hills, which made it clear to me that I had now left the Lake District behind. At the end of all my holidays in the Lake District I have to say goodbye, to tear myself away, leaving a part of my heart behind, and this holiday is no different. But the difference is that my holiday is not over and, in a way, I now had a completely different holiday ahead of me, a second phase. There was a lot more of this trail to come. The rest of the walking was tedious with one point where the path was not clear, so I had to check my navigation, which brought me to the River Lowther, beside the ruins of Shap Abbey. As the long promised rain finally began to appear I followed the footpath that keeps off the road and led me into the village of Shap where this stage of the Coast to Coast Path ends. This is a heartbreaking stage of the trail because it had brought me out of the much-loved Lake District, but it also brought me to other places that have their own appeal. The rock scenery around Nan Bield Pass was stunning, one of the best places in the Lake District and now I had left the national park, to pass into more subdued, more agricultural surroundings. The rest of the Coast to Coast Path would not be able to match what I had just walked through.

Coast to Coast Path: Greenup Edge

Wednesday 26th August 2026

After spending a couple of days enjoying myself in the Lake District, taking advantage of the good weather, I now turned my attention back to the Coast to Coast Path, which also coincided with a worsening in the weather. Soon after rejoining the trail at the end of the previous day I had reached the Borrowdale Youth Hostel where I spent the night so the following morning I set off along the Coast to Coast Path into the village of Rosthwaite to complete the second stage of the trail. A more direct route from the youth hostel towards Greenup Edge would take you through the small village of Stonethwaite, which is often the route I take, most recently at the beginning of 2025. I had plenty of time for this walk so I decided to stick rigidly to the trail and make up for going my own way between Ennerdale and Borrowdale. From Rosthwaite I crossed the river and onto the path that heads up the valley past Stonethwaite towards Greenup Edge, however, I am not particularly keen on it, partly due to overfamiliarity having taken it many times in the last ten years and it seems to have few redeeming qualities, besides the imposing Eagle Crag that dominates the view. I was feeling very tired on this walk, not helped by high humidity while sheltered from the wind which meant I was sweating and cursing freely as I toiled up the valley. Eventually I reached the steep ascent beside Lining Crag where I caught up with the many other Coast to Coast walkers who had earlier overtaken me, but were now having difficulty on the steep, rocky terrain. I didn’t find it too difficult and all too soon I found myself at the top of Lining Crag where there are usually good views, but the grey overcast skies meant that it wasn’t worth stopping so I turned back onto the trail and headed across the broad saddle known as Greenup Edge.

Previously the path has been indistinct with cairns marking the route, but this has now been paved, which has made the crossing significantly easier, and soon I reached the edge with views into the bowl at the head of the Wythburn valley. The path is now very clear down the side of the basin so the infamous Wythburn trap, which lures the unsuspecting into the Wythburn valley, is no longer a problem with the flagstones leading the Coast to Coast walker unerringly to the head of Far Easedale. Wainwright took the Coast to Coast Walk from this point along the ridge to the left of the valley, saying: “Let’s do a ridge walk.” The national trail instead uses Wainwright’s direct alternative route, reserved for poor weather, along the bottom of the Far Easedale valley, perhaps to make the trail as easy of possible, but I still think the ridge passing Calf Crag and heading east to Gibson Knott must remain a target if the Coast to Coast walker has the energy and the weather is good. I was feeling tired and the weather was poor, and also the ridge felt very familiar to me having previously traversed it in 2021 while the valley felt less familiar, probably last done at the end of 2017, so I kept to the national trail and was able to see the work that has been done to improve the path including a wide bridge where it crosses Far Easedale Gill. 

This was a quiet walk, sheltered from the wind, with other Coast to Coast walkers ahead of me and behind me, slowly descending through the valley until, after passing the bridge at Stythwaite Steps, a wide track appeared, which brought me into agricultural Easedale, with a bit of rain at this point. After passing the point where the ridge route comes down from Helm Crag I joined a road and followed that through the middle of a field where the national trail turns left at a signpost to head towards Patterdale while Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk continues along the road all the way into Grasmere. There it turns around and heads back up the road turning right just after Goody Bridge soon rejoining the national trail.  After having my lunch in Grasmere I walked out of the crowded village onto the Coffin Route that goes to Ambleside because I had decided that I would not be staying in Patterdale, because the YHA have closed the hostel there. It was now getting quite warm, even with a bit of sunshine while I was in Grasmere, which meant I had a wonderfully relaxing walk along an excellent footpath that eventually brought me to Rydal Hall. This continued through Rydal Park, until I branched off the main track before reaching the road onto a path I’d never taken before which ascends beside Scandale Beck to Low Sweden Bridge and provided me with an offbeat entry into the noisy town of Ambleside. Soon I escaped the crowds again and took to the streets off the main road that led me into Skelghyll Wood.

This has become a familiar route for me to and from the Ambleside Youth Hostel, having last taken it at the beginning of this year, but it is still a good path with a steep rocky section to enjoy until the gradient finally eased and I came out of the wood, walking along Skelghyll Lane all the way into the Trout Beck valley and the Windermere Youth Hostel. My lingering memory of this walk was how warm and humid it was, which does not make for comfortable walking. Although there was occasional rain, no one seemed to notice it or put on waterproofs. After my exertion the day before, passing over Sca Fell and Scafell Pike, I appreciated the chance of gentler walking to let me recover.