Route: Branstree and Selside Pike
Area: Far Eastern Lake District
Date of walk: 10th July 2013
Walkers: Andrew Gilly and James
Distance: 6.4 miles
Ascent: 1,800 feet
We parked at Mardale Head, at the far end of Haweswater. There used to be a village here but in 1935 it was submerged to form a reservoir to meet the needs of Manchester. The lake now supplies a quarter of the water used in the north west
We walked up along the side of Gatesgarth Beck to reach the pass. There then followed a dull trudge up the grassy slopes of Branstree. From the top the views were poor, as it was overcast and hazy
We walked over to the summit of Selside Pike along an easy path, through remote country. The scenery was lacking in spectacular features but there was a real wilderness feeling to it
It was an easy return the Mardale Head via the Old Corpse Road and the road along the shore of Haweswater
The weather had been indifferent but we’d still had a really enjoyable time
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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Looking back to Haweswater from the car park at Mardale Head - the end of the road
The path to Gatesgarth Pass, looking up to Harter Fell
A view back towards Haweswater
The top of the pass is in sight
Having reached the top of the pass, we turn off left and there follows a tedious trudge up the grassy slopes of Branstree
The summit of Branstree, with no views on this hazy day
A well built cairn lower down on Branstree, overlooking Haweswater
The easy down and up path through the grass to Selside Pike on the left
Selside Pike summit cairn - sadly no long distance views today
We make our way down through sheets of cotton grass, towards the Old Corpse Road
Swindale
James, with Mardale Head down below
The ruins of old shepherd’s huts along the Old Corpse Road
The Rigg, continuing up to Riggindale, home to England’s only golden eagle
The Rigg again, and Wood Howe island
The shoreline path was closed, so we walked along the road for a short distance, back to the car park at Mardale Head
On the way back home, a photo of the dam built 1929, which caused two villages to be submerged, causing huge controversy at the time
