High Tove and High Seat

Thursday 3rd June 2021

After enjoying fabulous weather in the Lake District since the weekend, the usual conditions exerted themselves again with clouds covering the skies and promised rain. I was suffering from the consequences of many days of strenuous walking, so I was happy to do an easier, shorter walk that would allow me to recover. Setting off from the Burns Farm Campsite where I had been staying, I followed a similar route to that I had taken in 2006 when I came off the fells in diminishing light past Tewet Tarn and Low Rigg. There had been so little light I have no memory of the surroundings then, so it was great to finally be able to see and appreciate the scenery around Tewet Tarn on this path that took me to the church of St. John’s in the Vale where a short, sharp climb leads up to the top of High Rigg, but that wasn’t necessary and wasn’t my target for the day. Instead, I turned right at the church and followed the track down and around the fell to Rough How Bridge, and was now being reminded of a walk from 2016 when I had returned to Legburthwaite by this path after a traverse of High Rigg. Passing Shoulthwaite Farm I entered the wood that lines the western slopes of Thirlmere Reservoir and found there has been some tree-felling there in recent years that has left this northern tip cleared of trees. After climbing through the desolate scenery I reached a weir on Shoulthwaite Gill that is a point I have passed several times in recent years where I have looked longingly up the valley, but only now did I head up the valley.

I came down this secluded valley in December 2006 and found it to be a delightful place, but had only previously been back as far as the weir. Wainwright enthused about the Shoulthwaite Gill valley saying it “should find a place in every walker’s itinerary” and I whole-heartedly agree, though it is still not very popular. There are mighty crags to the west and the conifers of the Raven Crag ridge are to the east with a rock-filled stream at the bottom and a slender path that climbs the narrow valley. The path is very rough and craggy in places but has spectacular views up and down the valley especially towards the narrow tree-filled gorge near the top. After a tricky crossing of Mere Gill, the path climbs steeply above the gorge and only after that does the valley widen with the view opening out to reveal the broad Central Fells ridge. When the Shoulthwaite Gill eventually turns away from the woodland edge I crossed the stream and found a track that comes out of the plantation keeping to a very shallow ridge on relatively dry ground that climbs towards the main ridge. Despite dark, overcast skies, the rain had held off so far, though with very hazy distant views, as I followed this track uphill until eventually I reached a fence on the main ridge at a point that is marked on Ordnance Survey maps as Eddy Grave Stake.

There, I found gravel and flag-stoned paths that provided me with a dry route up to the top of High Tove while not far from there is the totally insignificant Wainwright of Armboth Fell. At the beginning of 2008, I climbed both these fells for my only previous visit, but now I couldn’t see the point in doing Armboth Fell, so I turned around and headed back beside the fence along a beautifully constructed footpath. There are signs of works to aid water-retention in these boggy gathering grounds for Shoulthwaite Gill while the recently made path provided me with an easy walk through the water-logged moorland. Eventually, the flag-stoned path ended as the gradient steepened and I climbed up to the top of High Seat where the clouds dropped enveloping me while I had my lunch. A rocky knoll, not far from the trig point that marks the summit, seemed to me to be almost as high, if not higher, than the summit, so after eating I made my way across to Man to stand on its height before following the fence north. This, however, proved to be a bad idea as the path beside the fence soon deteriorates in a quagmire. Just as I was wondering where the path goes from here I noticed some people a distance away to the west seemingly oblivious to any difficulty and a check on my map showed that the right path doesn’t follow the fence.

This path starts from the trig point on High Tove and keeps away from the worst bogs, so I hopped across to this better path that is still a bit sketchy in places and not the driest in the Lake District, especially after it started raining heavily. Slowly, I made my way along the path and up to the top of Bleaberry Fell, which, unlike High Tove and High Seat, I have visited a couple of times in the last ten years. The low clouds made this a forgettable visit so I quickly passed over and down a crumbly path onto the excellent flag-stones that cross Low Moss to the popular vantage point of Walla Crag, though not on this occasion as the clouds were low and it was still raining. Undeterred I took the excellent cliff-top path that I always enjoy before returning to the open fell and the descent to Castlerigg. It was still quite early at this point and I could have continued the descent into Keswick, but I didn’t need to do that, so I turned right to head straight back to the campsite where I could rest my aching legs. Even though this was a short walk with pretty miserable weather, I couldn’t really complain too much about the weather as it had waited until I was nearly finished before raining. The highlight was definitely Shoulthwaite Gill that I have waited fifteen years to visit again and the rest of the walk was simply an excuse to do that valley.