Rosthwaite Fell walk - Bessyboot walk

Route: Rosthwaite Fell (Bessyboot)

Area: Southern Lake District

Date of walk: 23rd January 2014

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 6.5 miles

Ascent: 1,600 feet

This was a day of mixed weather – rain, sleet, hailstorms, gale force wind, along with a few brighter spells. We parked in Seatoller and, true to its reputation as being the wettest place in England, it was raining

There looked to be some better weather coming so we set off, crossing over Strands Bridge and making the climb up the fell. The path gradually disappeared, or maybe we’d gone off piste, but we knew where we were heading and were soon at Tarn at Leaves, not far from the summit

When we reached the rocky top there was a sudden white out, and we were assaulted by gale force winds and a seemingly horizontal hailstorm which stung our faces. The conditions were quite serious, so we put our picnic on ice (as it were) and began the descent immediately

It was a long and steep climb down to Langstrath and we were glad to finally reach valley level and join the Cumbria Way. It was a memorable walk, and wonderful to see some snow on the fells at last

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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)