Hartsop, Hayeswater, Hayeswater Gill, High Street, The Knott, Cumbria.
[ 11.6 km] Fri 24 Sep 2010

NY 4101 1299
As I drove towards Hartsop the wind seemed to increase in velocity. High winds hadn’t been predicted for today. Driving over Kirkstone Pass there were fallen leaves and branches all over the road and at one point a branch so large I could only just squeeze by. I didn’t want a repeat of last week when I could hardly stand up on the fell tops. The small car park at Hartsop was a mass of mud and puddles after a lot of recent rain. I set off east along the track towards Hayeswater. The first part of the walk was along the same route as last week (Wed 15 Sep 10) but then I headed up Gray Cragg but today I stayed on the track all the way to the Hayeswater Dam.

A small path continues along the west side of the reservoir for about half its length but eventually petered out. The way ahead was then very wet and the low cloud up ahead made me wonder if I was just going to get a repeat of last weeks washout walk. The wind and rain were on my back but thankfully the wind wasn’t too bad. I continued up the west side of Hayeswater Gill and tried to follow the same route I’d descended by last week. The going was steep but not too bad and mostly up steep grassy slopes and occasional sheep tracks to help with the traverses. The cloud began to lift a bit and by the time I reached the top I had a misty view of the reservoir below.

I turned left on to the main path and continued towards the trig point on High Street. The wind was constant but manageable. I was soon back in cloud and had a very misty view when I reached the trig pillar. There was some shelter behind the wall nearby so I used it to have a sit down and eat my sandwiches. I continued north and as I approached the main path saw the first people of the day coming up the path from the north. Continuing along the Straits of Riggindale I saw a couple of walkers on the summit of The Knott, which is where I was heading. The Knott summit is a short detour off the main path and is worth the excursion as it gives a very good viewpoint if the weather is suitable. I even managed to glimpse a low rainbow under cloud to the north.

Below there were many walker coming up from the main path from Angle Tarn, which is on the Coast to Coast route. I took the minor path down to Hayeswater and I descended saw a lone walker coming up. As I approached him I looked up to say hello but as we passed on the narrow path he looked directly ahead and completely ignored me and my brief greeting. Fortunately it is rare to meet strange people like this on the fells. My faith was restored when a bit further down a lady fell-runner was coming up. This time my greeting was acknowledged with a nice smile. At the reservoir dam I stopped to take a multi-shot photo of the reservoir and dam to experiment with merging the 8 images to make them look like one.

The weather had now started to improve and descending the track that I’d climbed earlier in the day was occasionally bathed in cool sunshine. Back at the car the car park was almost full. This time I remembered to put some money in the voluntary donation box.

This is the sort of parking charge I am very happy to contribute to and I think all parking should be on a voluntary basis like this.