 |
Possibly the best walk in the Lake District! On this walk to Haystacks you will see some of the best views in the Lake District. Here we can see Haystacks to the left with the sun setting behind Red Pike and Buttermere and Crummock water in the distance. |
Overview of a walk to Haystacks - a classic Lake District walk
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 2.5-3.5 hours with stops
Difficulty: Moderate/Hard. Whilst relatively short - and on a well-marked path - the walk does have steep inclines and declines and a few bits to scramble up as you approach Haystacks from Scartht Gap. It's highly recommended though and a must-do Lake District Walk
Map of the Haystacks walking route:
|
For me the best way to walk to Haystacks is in an anti-clockwise route starting at the car park at Gatesgarth Farm (£4 to park) and heading up to Scarth Gap Pass first and then onto Haystacks. You will then pass Innominate Tarn and then Blackbeck Tarn before a leisurely descent to Warnscale Bottom along an old miners track. You can of course do this route in reverse but I prefer tackling Scarth Gap first as you can enjoy great views of Butteremere and Crummock Water on the descent
|
Elevation of the route:
 |
Here you can see the elevation of the full walking route over 5.2 miles. It's a pretty steady walk up hill for a couple of miles up to Scarth Gap and a bit of scrambling just before the 2 mile mark. After that it's relatively straightforward and you don't expend much effort from 2 miles onwards. |
Photos of this Haystacks walk to give you a great idea of the views & what to expect
The great Alfred Wainwright, the influential Lake District guidebook author had this to say about Haystacks; "for beauty, variety and interesting detail, for sheer fascination and unique individuality, the summit area of Haystacks is supreme. This is in fact the best fell-top of all". I can't argue with that, and whilst there are higher mountains in the Lakes and longer walks, I don't think any offer as much variety and better views than Haystacks, and for what its worth - it's my favourite walk in the Lakes too.
This particular Haystacks walk was done late one summers evening to maybe also see a glorious sunset on the descent (which wasn't to be!) But hopefully the photos below get across the beauty of this 5 mile or so walk and, if you haven't already, inspire you to visit Haystacks too!
 |
You can see the summit of Haystacks just left of centre -with Scarth Gap to the right |
 |
I've drew on this pic the rough route this walk takes up via Scarth Gap - to the summit of Haystacks - and then back down |
 |
You can see Gatesgarth Farm to the left of centre here where we parked and the path that we walked from there |
 |
A good view of Fleetwith Pike to the left and Haystacks to the right at the edge of the pic |
 |
Haystacks is not far off now! |
Nice post. It is really fantastic. Amazing pictures. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you :-)
Delete