Fleetwith Pike walk (& Warnscale Bothy) from Honsiter Slate Mine - an easy route for the best Lake District views

Fleetwith Pike walk view route map Lake District Buttermere Honister Slate Mine Warnscale Bothy

The stunning view from Fletwith Pike of Buttermere, Crummock Water and the surrounding fells. This must be one of the best Lake District views and it's easier to get here when you walk from Honister Slate Mine. Read on to learn about this walk

Fleetwith Pike & Warnscale Bothy - a must-do Lake District walk

This walk will give you some classic Lake District views - with the view from Fleetwith Pike over Buttermere being one of the most iconic views in the whole of the Lakes. Because it starts from the car park at Honister Slate Mine you are already starting at 332m elevation - so you're already half way up Fleetwith Pike! It's cheating I know haha - but if you are pushed for time, or have kids with you, it's a perfect route to squeeze in some amazing elevated Lake District views for relatively little ascent on foot. This particular walking route then heads down to Warnscale Bothy after Fleetwith Pike for another classic Lake District view which is a hidden gem and makes for another classic Lake District view (or even somewhere to stop for the night!), but many who walk this area are oblivious to where Warnscale Bothy is. You can of course miss Warnscale Bothy out if you want to shorten the route and just quickly visit the Fleetwith Pike summit

Fleetwith Pike & Warnscale Bothy walk overview

Walk Distance - 3.93 miles
Walk Time - 2.5 hours
Walk Difficulty - Moderate

Map route of this walk to Fleetwith Pike and Warnscale Bothy from Honsiter Slate Mine

map route walk Fleetwith Pike walk view route map Lake District Buttermere Honister Slate Mine Warnscale Bothy

This walk starts form Honister Slate Mine (where there is a large car park and superb cafe) The walk starts fairly steeply up Honister Crag but the path soon levels out and you'll pass some disused quarries and then it's a fairly leisurely walk to the summit of Fleetwith Pike. After admiring those incredible views over Buteremere from Fleetwith Pike, on this route we then head down towards Little Round Howe and then Warnscale Bothy which is off the beaten track for more classic Lake District views. You can of course miss out Warnscale Bothy, make the walk shorter and head back to Honister Slate Mine. It can be a bit tricky to follow the path to Warnscale Bothy as it is a bit hidden - so I suggest saving this Ordnance Survey route to your phone (click link below) to follow the route more closely.

If you don't have a Phone Map App - I really recommend the one by Ordnance Survey. You can download route maps to your phone such as this one and the app will show you exactly where you are on the route even when you have no signal - so no more taking a wrong turn :-)

Photos of this Fleetwith Pike walk

The walk starts from Honsiter Slate Mine, way up on Honister Pass where there is ample parking and the initial path is very clear indeed!

The path is pretty steep at first but nothing too tricky. Here you can see the clear path to the left which then forks off further to the left at the centre of the pic. You don't go near the sheer cliff face - unless of course you've opted for the famous Honister Via Ferrata route!

You soon arrive at the summit of Fleetwith Pike - just look at those incredible Laske District views - right over Buttermere and Crummock Water towards the Irish Sea in the far distance.

Haystacks Fleetwith Pike walk view route map Lake District Buttermere Honister Slate Mine Warnscale Bothy

You'll get some pretty special vies of all the surrounding Lake District fells on this walk, including this one over towards Haystacks (another superb walk in the area)

Warnscale Bothy Buttermere where is it location view

On this particular route we then head down to this hidden gem of a view at Warnscale Bothy!

You don't get many better window views than this do you! Buttermere and Crummock Water is perfectly framed!

At Warnscale Bothy you can stay the night if you wish - free of charge! There's a wood burner and elevated sleeping areas which have room for 2/3 people. Just please leave the place as you found it and take your rubbish home.

Honister slate mine cafe food drink parking

After Warnscale Bothy we then head back to the Honsiter Slate Mine cafe and enjoy a bit to eat and drink in this warm and cosy place and reflect on a superb few hours walking, taking in some of the best Lake District views. I hope this little blog post has helped in planning your own trip to the area!

Happy Hiking!

Post by Stuart Hodgson
'The Hiking Photographer'

I share my adventures as I'm passionate about the positive benefits the great outdoors can bring to us, including improvements to our physical & mental health, and I want to help others reap these positive effects too! I hope you enjoy the blog and it inspires you to plan a trip or three!

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