Route: Haystacks
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 28th December 2015
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 5.6 miles
Ascent: 1,900 feet
Weather: Dull and overcast, gale force winds
At long last a dry day was forecast and this presented a window for a long awaited fell walk. Haystacks – the favourite fell of Alfred Wainwright – would fit the bill perfectly. We drove over to Gatesgarth and followed the path across the head of Buttermere. It was blowing a gale and we were tempted to carry on walking round the lake rather than climbing up to Scarth Gap with the wind in our faces
Nevertheless we decided to carry on, even though Gilly was blown over at one point just below Scarth Gap. We continued up the fellside, which involves a few mild scrambly sections where walking poles become a nuisance, and eventually reached the top
The light was as dull as ditchwater and the normally sublime views from the summit were not at their best, so without lingering we made our way across the complicated knobbly top of Haystacks
There are two ways back down to valley level via paths running on either side of Warnscale Beck – we took the first one (easily missed) with the beck on our right, and after reaching Warnscale Bottom it was an easy walk back to the start
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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On the way to Gatesgarth I stopped the car near Hause Point to take this photo of today’s objective - Haystacks
The start of the walk, and our path takes us round the small woodland ahead, with Buttermere to the right
Haystacks - a middleweight in height but a heavyweight in character
Peggy’s Bridge
Warnscale Beck from the bridge
Looking back down to the bothy at the head of Buttermere
Haystacks
A view back to Gatesgarth
Bonnie
Buttermere, and a glimpse of Crummock Water
Gilly climbs up one of the steeper sections beyond Scarth Gap
Views of Ennerdale and Pillar appear as we gain height
Tarn at the summit of Haystacks
One of several cairns on the summit
Great Gable in mono
Crummock Water and Buttermere as we start the traverse across the summit ridge
The contradiction in terms that is Innominate Tarn, with Great Gable in the background
We follow the ridge past Green Crag
Looking down a gully to our descent path - the lower of the two in the picture
Warnscale Beck flowing into Buttermere
We pass by an old miners hut, which has merged into the landscape
Our descent path
Despite the dull weather, there are glorious views along Buttermere as we descend
One of a series of cascades in Warnscale Beck
Zooming in on the beck as it flows into Buttermere
Having crossed the footbridge over the beck, I look back to Green Crag
Buttermere Pines and Haystacks
We arrive at the Buttermere road and the end of this classic walk is just beyond Gatesgarth Cottage
