England - Lake District - Stony Cove Circuit

Walk Summary

Starts in the picturesque village of Hartsop. Steep climb to Gray Crag with good views down to Hayeswater. Admire Thornthwaite Beacon's massive stone pillar. Head down and then up to Stony Cove Pike's extensive summit. Traverse to Hartsop Dodd and then descend to Brothers Water via the Caudale Quarry.

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Date: 12/05/2022

Length: 9.035 miles

Height Gain: 861 m

Terrain: Boggy paths, grass paths, steep stony-scree paths (descent from Thornthwaite Beacon), easy scrambling (ascent to Stony Cove Pike), trackless fell,

Navigation: High fell and so map and compass required. Stony Cove Pike is quite flat on top and could be confusing in bad weather. There are some stone walls that are good navigational handrails

Start: Cow Bridge Car Park (near Hartsop)

Route: Cow Bridge Car Park (near Hartsop), Hartsop, Gray Crag, Thornthwaite Beacon, Stony Cove Pike, Hartsop Dodd, Caudale Quarry, Brothers Water

Map: OL5 The English Lakes North Eastern Area

Weather: Morning, grey and showery. Afternoon, occasional sun. Strong wind.

Walkers: Nun

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Hartsop Bunnies

Captain's Log

Hartsop

Hartsop is a very pretty village. It is always a cacophony of birdsong. A Goldfinch introduced himself on a tree branch near to me, but was too camera shy for a photo. A crow disappeared under the eaves of a barn. In a field, two rabbits were out and about.

The north face of Hartsop Dodd towers over the village. There is a path that goes up this face and I've been up it a couple of times. It is straight up and isn't much fun. One of my ascents was on an icy day and I spent a lot of time sliding back down. My first target today though, was Gray Crag.

I followed the stone track up towards Hayeswater. There is an opportunity to climb up a steep grass ramp up to Gray Crag's ridge. You can see this route as soon as you leave the village I've climbed that route a few times, but it's steeper than it looks and very hard work. A better idea is to walk further up the track towards Hayeswater. When reaching the footbridge going across the stream, then head off uphill towards Gray Crag's ridge. It is still steep and exhausting, but much more manageable. This is the route I chose today.

Looking Back To Hartsop From The Hayes Water Track

Gray Crag

I went down to my tee shirt in preparation for my exertion on the climb to Gray Crag's ridge. After about 20 metres, it started spitting with rain and so I stopped to put my cameras in my rucksack. Then it started raining harder and I stopped to put my light top on. Then it started raining really hard and my rucksack was off again so that I could put my jacket on. Then a lovely rainbow developed and I stopped to take my camera out of my rucksack to get a picture. The rainbow disappeared just as I'd got the camera ready, and so I put it away again. The rain had stopped and so I took my jacket off...

And so it went on; stopping every 20 metres or so to either take something out of my rucksack or put something in. It was useful in that it did gave me justified rests on the way up.

When I reached the ridge I could see waves of rain drifting across the Fairfield and Helvellyn ranges. The rainbow kept appearing and disappearing. When I reached Gray Crag's summit I had the perfect situation that the rainbow was out, I had my camera available, and it wasn't raining at my location. Perfect.

Rainbow At Gray Crag's Summit

Thornthwaite Beacon

There was a strong crosswind as I walked along Gray Crag's ridge to Thornthwate Beacon. At one point ten Seagulls soared in circles above me and used the wind to drift southwards. Further on, four geese flew so low over my head I instinctively ducked. They were flying with a purpose and making good use of the tailwind. The area had plenty of Skylarks too with their feathered quiffs fluttering in the wind.

There were good views on both sides of the valley, I particularly liked the one down to Hayeswater. I reached Thornthwaite Beacon and took shelter behind the stone wall for a break. It was actually quite a nice, warm summer's day once I was out of the wind. Thornthwaite Beacon is certainly an impressive pillar. I wondered if it was tilting northwards, but maybe that's my imagination.

Looking Over To Froswick, Ill Bell And Yoke

Stony Cove Pike

It is quite a drop down to the col between Thornthwaite Beacon and Stony Cove Pike. The descent route traverses some crags and then falls steeply on a stony-scree path. The other side of the col is a little easier in that there is less scree and more fixed rock to step on to. There is one place where an easy hands-on scramble may be needed, but it is nothing serious. It didn't seem to take long to reach Stony Cove Pike's summit cairn. The top of the fell is quite a plateau and can be a little confusing in bad weather. A good navigational aid are the stone walls that cross the top. I picked one up heading towards Hartsop Dodd and I didn't have to leave it until I reached its summit cairn.

Plenty Of Skylarks About

Wainwright's Post On Hartsop Dodd

Hartsop Dodd

On the way down from Stony Cove Pike I met a woman and her dog walking up. We had a chat and she told me she was doing the Wainwrights (90+ now). She'd started the walk with her father who was waiting for her on Hartsop Dodd's summit. I told her I would go over to him when I got there and have a chat.

When I reached Hartsop Dodd's summit, I did go over to him for a chat. He was hunkered down behind the stone wall. We chatted for so long his daughter went to the summit of Stony Cove Pike and came back to Hartsop Dodd before we'd finished. He was a cheerful, interesting fellow and he pointed me to the wooden post (near the summit), that is drawn in Wainwright's book. They were going to return down to Hartsop by the steep north face path. My knees shrieked in horror. My descent route would be easier, via the Caudale slate mine.

Caudale Mine

I headed back towards Stony Cove Pike but then branched off over trackless moor to Caudale Mine. There are several derelict buildings around the slate mine and a lot of debris. I followed the path of the track they used to transport the slate down to the valley. It is quite steep and my knees were singing. I'd occasionally stop and admire the views over to the valleys leading up to Fairfield and also along the valley to Brothers Water and Ullswater. Nearer to the road there are some very pleasant waterfalls and rock pools. Once I reached the road, the day's hard work had been done. The route from there, through Sykes campsite, along Brothers Water and back to the car park, is relatively flat. I inadvertently disturbed a Heron that was fishing in the marshes at the north end of Brothers Water. It flew off into a field. The nearby sheep didn't appear to bother it.

I've done this walk many times over the years, or variations of it. It never fails to please. Hard walking, but spectacular views.

Caudale Mine

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