Route: Kings How
Area: Central Lake District
Date of walk: 26th August 2019
Walkers: Andrew
Distance: 3.5 miles
Ascent: 1,100 feet
Weather: Mostly sunny, very warm
I parked in the National Trust Bowderstone car park and from here followed a path which goes through beautiful woodland, gradually curving around the steep crags above – a direct assault on the fell would be impossible for ordinary walkers
After walking through Cummacatta Wood I arrived at the steep rocky staircase which leads to Long Moss near the summit of the fell. Grange Fell is a complicated place and is an area of many lumps and bumps comprising 3 separate tops. Kings How is the loveliest of these, although it is slightly lower than nearby Brund Fell. My destination today was Kings How. From the summit there is a superb view over Derwent Water looking one way and Borrowdale looking the other. Heather thrives on the fells in this area, and although the display was starting to go over, there were several purple patches which enhanced the views, especially those towards the head of Borrowdale
A direct descent from here is out of the question thanks to the crags on the west side of the fell, so I followed a narrow path which snakes round the other side of the fell and which eventually ends at the Borrowdale road. I followed the road for a short distance – there’s a narrow footpath most of the way – then crossed over at the sign indicating the Bowderstone. I followed this path through the woods, past the massive Bowderstone and back to the car park
What Grange Fell lacks in height it more than makes up for in beauty – this is a wonderful short fell walk at any time of the year
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
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Dawn on the day of the walk - conditions looked promising for photography so I drove over to Newlands Valley
I was just in time to catch the sun rising over Catbells
High Snab Farm below Hindscarth
Newlands Valley
I then drove to Manesty for a quick woodland meander...
Last on my whistle stop dawn tour was Buttermere
Later that day, the start of the walk as I leave the Bowderstone car park to enter Cummacatta Wood
I pass by this huge boulder, though it's a pygmy in comparison to the Bowderstone which features at the end of the walk
Looking up to the crags below King's How
I continue through Cummacatta Wood
Looking up to Grange Fell
A view back to Castle Crag, one of the 'Jaws of Borrowdale', King's How being the other
Zooming in to some intrepid climbers on the crags below King's How
The start of a climb up a rocky staircase, which becomes much steeper higher up
Derwent Water and Skiddaw through a gap in the trees
I arrive at Long Moss, a squelchy plateau below the felltop
More rocky steps leading to the summit
I emerge from the woods to this view across Grange Fell to one of its other summits, Brund Fell, or Jopplety How
Looking across Borrowdale to High Spy
Jopplety How again
I arrive at the summit of King's How on Grange Fell, looking over Grange village to Derwent Water and Skiddaw
The start of a glorious descent towards the head of Borrowdale, one of the best in lakeland, especially when the heather is in bloom
The lumps and bumps of Grange Fell, looking towards Jopplety How again
The River Derwent below
Castle Crag on the far side of Borrowdale...
I pass by a series of birch trees on the way down, which provide a perfect foreground for the wonderful views of Borrowdale...
The end of a wonderful descent - the path now turns away from the head of the valley
A short road section, with the River Derwent on my left
The famous Bowderstone (with a brand new access ladder). The boulder weighs around 2,000 tons and fell from King's How over 10,000 years ago. The end of a superb walk is just around the corner
