Harter Fell

On the descent, we crossed paths with a lone walker coming up. He'd just come across Ulpha Fell and said that he'd fallen into a bog up to his waist. His trousers looked cleaner and drier than mine, and so I was a little doubtful of the claim. I thanked him for the warning, and we started across the fell. Our route across the moor actually started off drier than our earlier approach route to Green Crag. Halfway across, the lone walker had been to the top of Green Crag, and then caught us up. We stopped to let him pass, but he said that he'd follow us if we didn't mind. His name was Jack, looked in his early twenties and was from Kendal. He told us that he'd completed 152 Wainwrights. Mo jumped in and Tommy Trumped him by saying that he'd already done 175. The last 200 metres to the bottom of Harter Fell were the boggiest. In fact, it was more like a swamp, with some open pools of water. I guessed that this was where Jack had 'gone up to his waist' when he had come across here earlier. There were plenty of dry islands though and it was easy enough to navigate through the boggy archipelago with a bit of care.  After we had crossed a stile to access Harter Fell, Jack asked us if we knew if there was a route back to Hard Knott along the base of Harter Fell. He'd come across Harter Fell already and wanted to go back a different way. I got my map out and showed him the route we had taken through the forest plantation this morning. He only appeared to have a gps, and when I looked at its map, it seemed pretty scant with detail compared to an OS map. I couldn't see the bridleways and forestry tracks that we'd used this morning. Maybe it just wasn't zoomed in enough. Anyway, Jack seemed happy enough and disappeared in the direction I'd pointed out.

For years I'd admired Harter Fell from the surrounding fells. It is aesthetically pleasing with a distinct pyramid shape and a craggy summit. Whenever I've seen it from afar, I've always said to myself that one day I'd to climb that mountain. I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to get around to it. Maybe it's because you have to go over the Wrynose Pass to the start, and then when you complete that challenge, the nearby Coniston fells had always felt more appealing. Just like a pyramid, the gradient of its flank was consistently steep. The top itself was a jumble of huge rocks and crags. The trig point was tucked away on one of the crags. It offered super views of the surrounding fells. The Scafell massif was even closer now. Looking towards Bowfell we could see a lower craggy lump in the foreground. This was Hard Knott, our next Wainwright.

Hard Knott

The gradient of Harter Fell was as consistent on its east side, as it had been on its west. Our feet had dried out somewhat on the traverse and we were disappointed to find yet more bog on the undulating fell to Hard Knott. The rolling bumps on the way to the top of Hard Knott pass meant that we couldn't see the road. Even though my map told me that the road was just a short distance away, I had the curious feeling that somebody had come along, dug it up, and replaced it with bog. It wasn't until we were a few metres away that the thin sliver of tarmac came into view. We crossed it and started the steep ascent to the summit of Hard Knott. The mountain was a congregation of rocks, crags, bogs and gullies. It had so many false tops that I lost count. At one point we caught up with a couple of walkers who had stopped on a top for a minute or two. As we joined them, I could see that the summit was still further on. 'I thought we'd reached the summit', I gasped. 'Not far now', one of them said. They were correct, and within another 5 minutes we stood next to Hard Knott's summit cairn. 

Where is the best view in the Lake District? Maybe it is from the top of Raven Crag at Thirlmere. I also have a soft spot for the view up the Buttermere valley from the southern side of Mellbreak. Well, looking northwards towards Scafell, Bow Fell and the Crinkles, I reckon that the summit of Hard Knott can stake a claim for this prestigious prize too. We sat down and had a 10 minute break whilst marvelling at the dramatic spectacle before us. It was hard to extract ourselves away from the scene, but time was dragging on, and given the shorter days, I wanted to get back to the car park before it was dark. We needed to find a bridleway back through the Dunnerdale Forest and forest navigation is always better done with a bit of light.

Dunnerdale Forest

My 2002 version of the OS map showed the bridleway entering the forest near to the top of Hardknott Pass. In reality we had to retrace our steps back to the pyramid slope of Harter Fell before finding the gated access to the plantation. Mo's 2016 map had the correct positioning of the bridleway. It was called a bridleway, but I couldn't really envisage any cyclists or horse riders using it. The path was a mixture of rock, stream and bog. Undergrowth was creeping in on either side of the path, and I had a feeling that it wouldn't take long before the forest would reclaim it. The occasional footpath post gave some reassurance that we were indeed on the right track. Halfway along the bridleway we came across a small rotting post that said there was a viewing point off to our left. We made our way to a rocky outcrop that protruded from the forest. It was indeed a good view over the forest and across the valley to Grey Friar and the Coniston Range. We continued our descent along the rough bridleway and eventually it dumped us out on the forestry road on which we had started our walk in the morning.  Our boots squelched during the ten minutes walk back to the carpark.

The terrain may have been boggy, but the views from all three tops were exceptional and well worth any discomfort. After five decades I'd eventually reached the top of Harter Fell, and possibly seen the best view in the Lake District from the top of Hard Knott. You couldn't ask more from a walk really.