Walk Summary
A delightful walk among the pretty hills of the Longsleddale Valley on the outer edges of the Lake District. Includes the classic view of the Haweswater valley from Harter Fell (assuming it isn't misty). A less familiar, but equally enjoyable alternative, to the Kentmere Round.
Date: 14/11/2022
Length: 9.2 miles
Height Gain: 508 m
Terrain: Rocky road, rocky paths. stone paths, grass paths, very boggy fell, swamp, trackless fell, crags (easy scrambling). Care is needed crossing the col between Tarn Crag and Branstree, the ground is quite swampy.
Navigation: Map/compass and gps required. The route is reasonably obvious to the top of Grey Crag. The area between Grey Crag and Tarn Crag is very boggy. The fence, higher up the fell is a good handrail across the bog. The path that contours Branstree to the top of Gatescarth Pass is trackless (although I did pick up a vague path). A fence/stone wall runs along the ridge from Harter Fell to the RUPP beyond Shipman Knotts.
Start: Sadgill offroad Parking
Route: Sadgill Offroad Parking, Great Howe, Grey Crag, Tarn Crag, Selside Brow, Gatesgarth Pass, Harter Fell, Kentmere Pike, Shipman Knotts, Wray Crag, Sadgill Wood
Map: OL7 The English Lakes South Eastern Area
Weather: Grey morning, misty afternoon
Walkers: Nun, Calse and Mo
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Longsleddale Valley
Captain's Log
Longsleddale
I'd not been to Longsleddale before, and I would probably have never gone if it wasn't for the most eastern of Wainwright's 'Far Eastern' fells. Grey Crag and Tarn Crag appear on the fringes of my Lake District map and I'd always tagged them as Shap Fells. Longsleddale is also an awkward destination in that you have to go all the way out to the A6 in order to enter the valley. I travelled from Ambleside to Longsleddale, and I my car satnav had great fun in directing me along some rather narrow single track roads. By the time we got to Garnett Bridge, and the entrance to the Longsleddale valley, my nerves were slightly on edge with the prospect of a tractor coming flying around every blind corner. As we exited Garnett Bridge I saw a sign indicating road works, but the dates were wiped out. Driving along the valley I noticed the usual paint marks on the road, indicating where road maintenance should be carried out. Halfway along the valley we passed a tarmac rolling machine that had been parked up in a 'passing layby'. I thought about turning around and reinspecting that roadwork sign. I didn't want to park my car at the end of this valley and then find my only way out blocked by road resurfacing. It would have meant a six mile round trip to reinspect that sign, even if I could find somewhere to turn around. I pressed on. Maybe I should have gone back to have a proper look at the sign, since the thought of being marooned in the valley stayed in the back of my mind for the rest of the day, lurking in every thought like a Great Spotted Woodpecker pecking the back of my head.
The tarmac finally ran out and we parked in a small open area. My first impression of the valley was that it was very picturesque. Clearly this valley would be a lot more popular if access was easier. The road had actually continued over a small bridge and finished at a farm. Our route for the day would be to walk along the eastern side of the valley and then come back along the west. It would include four new Wainwrights, Grey Crag, Tarn Crag, Kentmere Pike and Shipman Knotts, with an additional one, Harter Fell, that we had done before.
Grey Crag And Tarn Crag
It was a steep climb out of the valley. A field and a stone wall had to be traversed before we reached open fell. It wasn't long before we stood on a lower peak, Great Howe, and this gave us a view of our first Wainwright Green Crag. A boggy path wound its way across the fell and gradually ascended to its summit. A light mist was now rolling in and the surrounding landscape had an ethereal quality. Green Crag ticked, we headed towards Tarn Crag. A thicker mist was now drifting in, and its top disappeared. The direct route to its summit crossed a boggy looking area and so we decided to avoid the worst of it by crossing higher on the fell. Our avoidance strategy only partially worked, and we ended up with soaked boots. At the top of Tarn Crag we found a sighting pillar, one of four used for the routing of a tunnel from Haweswater towards Kendal. Another sighting pillar could be seen near the summit of Great Howe, the first hill we climbed, earlier in the day. The pillar used to be surrounded by a wooden frame, but this has now decayed. The tunnel runs 1300 feet below the pillar. Second Wainwright ticked, we headed northwards towards Branstree.
Sighting Pillar On Tarn Crag
Grey Crag
Descending From Tarn Crag
Harter Fell
We followed a fence down to the pass between the Mosedale and Longsleddale valleys. The top of the pass was quite a quagmire and at one point my leg disappeared up to the top of the gaiter. I can imagine the area can be tricky after a drop of rain. Rain wasn't our problem today though; thicker mist was drawing in, giving the day a gloomier feeling. In my original route planning I'd included the summit of Branstree, but the misty conditions demanded a rethink. We'd already ticked Branstree on a previous walk (see With Trail And High). There isn't much of a view from the top, even if the weather is clear, and so I decided that we would contour around its side to the top of Gatescarth Pass. The terrain was actually a lot better than I expected, and we even managed to pick up a vague path for most of the way. It wasn't long before we'd reached the top of the pass. As I opened the gate across the track, a cyclist approached from the Longsleddale side wearing nothing but underkegs and trainers. He gave us a cheery 'Hello' as he rattled past us. I could probably just manage disrobing my upper half, but I'd want to wear some padded shorts to cycle along this rocky road.
We headed up into a dreary, grey mist. The gloomy cloud wouldn't leave us until we dropped out of it, a couple of hours later, at the other end of the valley. We climbed up to the summit of Harter Fell. It was a shame about the mist since the views from here, down the Haweswater valley are exceptional.
Kentmere Pike And Shipman Knotts
Despite the thick mist the route finding was fairly simple over to Kentmere Pike and Shipman Knotts; we simply kept the fence/stone wall that runs along the broad ridge to our left. The track to Kentmere Pike was easy going too and we soon found ourselves at its summit cairn. I took a peek over the stone wall to ensure that the trig was still there. There was no point waiting around for the mist to clear and so we set off straight away towards Shipman Knotts. Sometimes the path deviated from the wire fence or wall, but I decided to keep this navigational handrail in sight. We had a break on our last Wainwright, Shipman Knotts. As we chomped on soggy sandwiches, a walker materialised out of the mist, and then dematerialised back into it as he continued along the path. We finally dropped out of the mist when we got to Wray Crag. It was a steep descent from here and Calse chuntered that I should have chosen an easier path down. Although bits of it were quite steep, it wasn't particularly difficult to descend. It was also great to have escaped the sensory deprivation of the mist, and to have a view at last.
On reaching the RUPP we headed east towards Longsleddale. As we progressed, my Great Spotted Woodpecker reminded me of the potential roadworks on the road out of the valley. I couldn't see any roadwork lights within the valley itself, but I could see half a dozen cars parked near to mine. If the valley was blocked off, then we wouldn't be the only ones having to spend the night here.
Although much of the walk had been done in mist, the glimpses I'd had of the Longsleddale valley had revealed it to be very pretty. I'll definitely be back. We did come across some roadworks on the way out of the valley, but the workers kindly laid a sheet over the newly tarmacked area so that we could drive over it and escape.
Wray Crag