The Angle Tarn Crags

Saturday 12th June 2010

We have reached the final walk of my epic holiday to Scotland last June. I had travelled all the way up the west coast of Scotland visiting Ben Lomond, my first Munro, the awesome mountains of Glen Shiel, and the majesty of the Torridon giants on the way. The Northwest Highlands is an amazing place, unlike anywhere else in Scotland. The mountains are not as densely packed as further south, but there is literally nothing in between. It is a wide expanse with few settlements and a scattering of sheer sided mountains. The mountains in that area are stunning to look at, but scary to climb. Several times during this holiday I chickened out of going up a top due to what I would consider a very healthy fear of falling thousands of feet to my death that keeps me from doing anything too dangerous. That fear was not being exercised now as I was back in my beloved Lake District for the day before returning home.

I stayed in Patterdale overnight before parking at the Cow Bridge car park near Brothers Water for this short, easy walk before finally heading home. With another sunny day ahead of me I set off through the unspoilt village of Hartsop and along the bridlepath that climbs beside Hayeswater Gill. I walked up to Hayeswater last summer for the first time, also in good weather, but as I started the climb this time I couldn’t remember which side of the stream is better. I remembered taking the bridlepath the previous year but I couldn’t remember if that was better. Once on the wider bridlepath I decided that this was not after all the better path. The one on the other side is less travelled, narrower and stays closer to the stream affording better views of the cascades. After a while a filter house is reached beyond which a footbridge leads over the stream and up to the bridlepath.

Once at the mouth of Hayeswater Reservoir I crossed the stream and climbed up the steep grassy slope to the wind-swept col between the Knott and Rest Dodd. I had considered going up the Knott but dismissed it as being pointless as the Knott is an insignificant blip on the side of Rampsgill Head whereas my objective was Angle Tarn which is in the opposite direction. Instead I crossed the saddle and began to climb up to the top of Rest Dodd which I had previously visited in 2006 on my way down from Rampsgill Head. On that occasion I had rejected the Nab as a worthless northern extension of Rest Dodd, but now I descended to a fence with the objective of bagging this Wainwright. The Nab lies in the middle of the Martindale Deer Forest so access is restricted and the only acceptable route is to cross from Rest Dodd as I was doing.

The Nab is not a particularly appealing fell as the col is usually rather boggy (though it was not too bad when I was there) and the top is a simple grassy dome. The only compensation is the great view down Howe Grain towards Martindale. Returning to the fence below Rest Dodd I followed it across the northern flank to a small north western ridge of Rest Dodd which I crossed before descending the western slopes to the scattered outcrops of Satura Crag. The main footpath, which the Coast to Coast follows, passes over these crags on its way over the High Street range. I spurned the path in order to climb up to the top of Buck Crag. My goal on this walk was to go up all the crags that surround the gorgeous Angle Tarn which nestles in a slight hollow amongst the fells; Buck Crags was not only the start, but is also the highest top. From there I crossed the path and headed to the top of Brock Crags which sports good views of the area, over Brothers Water towards the Kirkstone Pass and along Patterdale. Four years ago, for some reason I didn’t go up this Wainwright, but now I was able to correct my mistake.

From Brock Crags I headed towards Angle Tarn itself, passing over Cat Crag which lies just next to the picturesque lake. From there I continued to the best peaks in the area: Angletarn Pikes, which has two main tops with the northern one being slightly higher. After visiting the southern top I crossed over to the northern top where I sat on the steep northern slopes and had my lunch. From this vantage point I could see over the wide Boredale Hause to Ullswater and beyond to the Helvellyn range of fells. A desire to get home as soon as possible prompted me to end the walk at this point so I dropped down off the fell and onto the route of the Coast to Coast Walk travelling as far as Boredale Hause where I took a wide stony track back to Hartsop. This was a great, if short walk, up the tops around the beautiful Angle Tarn. This may not be the best part of the Lake District but there are some gorgeous crags around Angle Tarn and they compensate for the bare, grassy terrain elsewhere.