The Knott and Loadpot Hill

Wednesday 30th August 2023

On this walk I headed into the Far Eastern Fells to reach places that I had not visited in a long time, but first I joined the route of the Coast to Coast Walk. I had planned to climb up the Knott from Hayeswater, but since I was staying at the Patterdale Youth Hostel I realised that the Coast to Coast would be better, more direct, despite having climbed that way in 2021, as far as the Angletarn Pikes. The Coast to Coast path took me from Patterdale up to Boredale Hause and around the Angletarn Pikes in gorgeous weather that soon had been sweating as I toiled up the path. I ignored the pikes and enjoyed the rest on level ground while passing around Angle Tarn, but soon I was sweating again as I climbed up over the top of Satura Crag. At that point I branched off the Coast to Coast to climb towards Rest Dodd on much fainter paths, but even those I branched off to follow the wall that traverses the northern slopes and from a gap in the wall I turned north to cross the horrendously boggy saddle that defends the Nab. This isolated fell lies in the middle of the Martindale Deer Forest and the only access route is from the col with Rest Dodd. No one would have bothered with it if Wainwright hadn’t highlighted the fell in his guides and so I obediently followed his steps across the saddle that was saturated with water after the rain that I had endured over the last week.

I previously visited the Nab in 2010 as part of my first round of the Wainwright fells and now as I attempted to complete a second round I cursed him every time I had to jump across peat hags with the knowledge that I would have to cross them again on the way back. My efforts had little reward with a tiny cairn at the summit and views that were nothing special, though there was some appeal west with the Helvellyn range in the distance and Heck Crag across the valley. After successfully crossing the boggy col again, I climbed up to the top of Rest Dodd and followed a wall down to another saddle before climbing steeply up the other side eventually crossing the Coast to Coast path and reaching the summit of the Knott. This is a curious fell that must be crossed by hundreds of people, but with very few of them actually visiting the summit. The Coast to Coast path passes close by but does not actually reach the top and I must have also passed by on many occasions without visiting the summit. The only time I had previously done so was in 2006, so now I finally returned before dropping the short distance onto the busy path and straight across up to Rampsgill Head. The views north down Ramps Gill were sensational and with a brisk wind blowing I sailed over the top and along the ridge towards High Raise, overjoyed at the feeling of being up high.

I continued over High Raise and along the route of the Roman road, High Street, on a broad grassy ridge that took me over the minor tops of Raven Howe and Red Crag before finally reaching the top of Wether Hill where I had my lunch. The last time I had been at the top of Wether Hill was in 2006, the same walk that took me onto the Knott, but the hill further north along High Street, beyond the inevitable bog, had not been visited since 2004. When I climbed Arnison Crag the day before I wondered if there was a fell that I had not climbed even longer and Loadpot Hill was the answer, which makes me wonder why. It lies on the eastern edge of the Lake District and in 2004 after visiting the grassy hill I had descended the vast northern slopes across Moor Divock to the village of Askham, but this time instead of following my walk of 2004 out of the Lake District, I headed towards the western edge of the grassy slopes to Bonscale Pike and Arthur’s Pike, which I had previously visited in 2009 when I was also heading out of the Lake District to the village of Askham. The recognised summit of Bonscale Pike is very unsatisfying with higher ground a short distance away towards Loadpot Hill, but the real star of the fell is the elegant column of rock known as Bonscale Tower and the tremendous views across Ullswater.

Arthur’s Pike was a short distance away, across Swarth Beck, and is more clearly defined with a bigger cairn and views that were best looking out of the Lake District towards the Pennine range. Despite wanting to head back to Patterdale I had to go in the other direction at first crossing the top of steep crags until I reached a clear bridleway where I turned left and headed back towards the fells with Ullswater to my right along a path that I had never taken before and enjoyed the opportunity. I was astonished at the progress I had made on this walk and had even planned an option to bypass Bonscale Pike and Arthur’s Pike, but that had been unnecessary as I had been so quick on the Roman road of High Street. I couldn’t believe I had already reached the top of nine Wainwrights so the sensible thing to do was to take it easy for the rest of the day and follow the Ullswater Way back to Patterdale, but ahead of me were two Wainwrights that I hadn’t visited in a long time and I couldn’t resist them. When I reached Howtown I crossed Fusedale Beck and began to climb the bracken-covered slopes of Steel Knotts, which I had previously climbed in 2006 on the aforementioned walk. When the gradient eased I reached a cairn that gave me good views over Ullswater and was highlighted at the start of lockdown in 2020, but the summit, known as Pikeawassa, was much further along the ridge and there my best views were in the other direction towards the remote valleys of Ramps Gill and Bannerdale with the Nab rising between them.

Turning around, I headed back along the ridge and branched left towards Lanty Tarn and St Peter’s Church at the top of the pass descending very steep crags on a narrow path and when I eventually reached the church I crossed the road and began to climb my eleventh Wainwright on this walk, Hallin Fell, which I had previously climbed in 2008. Echoing that walk, I ignored the wide path that leads up to the summit and headed across the eastern slopes to a cairn that affords good views across Ullswater before climbing up the ridge to the crowded summit where a tall obelisk sits proudly over the landscape. I quickly moved away from the crowds steeply down grassy slopes to the perimeter path and into Hallinhag Wood where I found the Ullswater Way and followed it through Sandwick and along the awesome path that skirts Place Fell. The heat and strenuous walking had worn me out by this time so I wasn’t tempted to add a twelve Wainwright to my tally with Place Fell. This was an epic walk, especially considering that at the start of the holiday I was very tired and had come to the Lake District for some rest and recuperation. It seems to have worked as I was now feeling better than I had all year and marvelled at the huge number of fells that I had reached on this walk, which surpasses my previous record in one day of ten from back in 2009 and I could so easily have added the Angletarn Pikes and Brock Crags to the start of the walk.