Buttermere - Red Pike - Great Borne - Buttermere

Joe Jackson

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Buttermere - Red Pike - Starling Dodd - Great Borne - Mosedale - Buttermere

Red Pike, along with High Stile and High Crag, dominates the south side of Buttermere, creating a seemingly inpenetratable barrier of rock. This great walk takes you right into the drama of the landscape and to a hidden gem. Bleaberry Tarn is tucked away high up away from the main valley and is a beautiful mountain tarn, only seen by people prepared for a serious walk. Surrounded by high crags, the scene is formiddable but thankfully there is an alternative route to get to the top. The path up to Red Pike is steep but fairly short, with the views from the top superb. An optional detour to the top of High Stile is also worth a mention, for it summits the highest point along the entire ridge.

From Red Pike the route descends to a huge, grassy plain and follows a path along to the next peak on the ridge: Starling Dodd. Ennerdale is viewed best from this peak, with a long-distance view down the whole valley to Great Gable at its head and Pillar to the south. Ennerdale Water can also be seen from this point. From here on it's another open, grassy plain to reach the next and last peak on the ridge; Great Borne, making this the third Wainwright of the day if you missed out High Stile. This grand rocky peak offers great views to a large section of the Cumbrian coastline and back along the ridge to Red Pike, now several miles away. It is to note that although this is the last summit of the day, the walk itself is only half-finished. The descent to the bridleway back to Buttermere is steep but easy going and once you get into Mosedale, it's still over three miles back to the village from here. Mosedale is a quiet valley with high crags on one side and grassy fells on the other. Although fairly featureless, when I was walking through here I was pretty sure there were a couple of ancient sites possibly relating to the cairn nearby.

After a short while of walking through the valley you will stumble across a stunning waterfall. The fall is called Scale Force and is in two sections. The lower of the two is about a 30ft drop and is near the bridge. The more impressive is the sheer 120ft drop set back deep in the ravine. It is visible from the path, but a scramble up the left side of the smaller waterfall offers the best view. After a rest by the falls it;s just a short way back to Buttermere.

England - North England - Cumbria - Lake District - North West