Route: Knott Rigg and Ard Crags
Area: North Western Lake District
Date of walk: 16th April 2016
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 5.8 miles
Ascent: 1,700 feet
Weather: cloudy at first, gradually becoming sunnier
We’ve climbed these two fells a few times before, but today’s route was a new one for us as we’ve not previously returned via the path above Sail Beck. We parked at Newlands Hause and thanks to an early start no-one else was around. The hause is about 1,100 feet above sea level and this gave us a big leg up Knott Rigg which stands at 1,790 feet
The climbing starts immediately and the way ahead is obvious throughout. After reaching the top we continued along the ridge to Ard Crags, with ever improving views of Newlands Valley far below
At the summit of Ard Crags we followed a faint path down towards Sail and then joined the delightful path which runs above Sail Beck. Care was needed on a couple of occasions where the recent floods had washed away parts of the path
Eventually Newlands Hause came into view and with it the only two snags to this walk. Firstly we had to ford Sail Beck which we managed to do without incident (although Gilly may disagree with that assessment) and secondly there’s a climb back up to the hause. A climb at the end of a walk is unwelcome but it looked worse than it was, and we agreed that this new route was one we’d happily repeat, as it enables a relatively short circular walk up these two great little fells
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)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Red squirrel backlit by the early morning sun before we set off this morning
Start of the walk at Newlands Hause, looking down into Newlands Valley
We follow the sign for Ard Crags
Looking back down the Newlands Pass into Buttermere
Newlands Valley, a glimpse of Derwent Water, and Skelgill Bank leading up to Catbells
Looking down to Newlands Hause and Moss Force Waterfall at the start of the walk
We continue along the ridge
Sail in the background
High Stile from Knott Rigg
High Stile and Red Pike
Another view back to High Stile and Red Pike, with Buttermere below
Looking back down the ridge to Newlands Hause and High Snockrigg
Newlands Valley and Catbells
Walking towards Ard Crags, with Sail beyond
We can just make out the Irish Sea in the distance beyond the western fells
Looking back along the ridge path
We peer down to our return route - the higher of the two paths on the far side of the beck
Summit of Ard Crags ahead
Keskadale and Newlands
The lower slopes of Robinson
Looking back along the ridge to Knott Rigg
Keskadale
We reach the half way point of the walk at the summit of Ard Crags
From the summit we descend a faint grassy path to the col below
We follow the path above Sail Beck
Views of the High Stile Range accompany us for most of this section of the walk
Our path can be seen snaking around the fellside
High Stile
Herdy
The path continues all the way down to Buttermere, but we leave it just beyond this point to descend to Sail Beck below
We cross the beck below and join a faint path near the sheepfold - we then have to climb back up to Newlands Hause top left of picture
The sheepfold and Sail Beck - if the beck is in spate and cannot be forded there would be a long walk down to Buttermere and back up the Newlands Pass
We’d not seen another soul on the walk, until this last section where we were overtaken by some fell runners, half way into a 16 mile run
At the end of a fantastic walk I make a quick diversion to see Moss Force, a short stroll away from the car park
Later that day I received my complimentary copy of the Lake District bid for World Heritage status
Many of the photos in the bid document were taken by me on my walks, and appear elsewhere on this site
