Get Lost Mountaineering

Robinson Horseshoe from Little Town

Start/Finish

Car park (limited parking) about 300 m SW of Little Town at NY 232 195. From Keswick, follow signs to Portinscale then Swinside then Little Town.

Distance/Time

15 km      Approx 7 hours

Peaks

Robinson, 737 m, NY 202 168

Hindscarth, 727 m, NY 215 165

Dale Head, 753 m, NY 223 153

High Spy, 653 m, NY 234 162

Maiden Moor, 576 m, NY 237 182     OL 4   The English Lakes   North Western Area

Introduction

This is a very fine walk with excellent views on a clear day. Skiddaw, Blencathra, the Helvellyn Range, the Scafells and Great Gable can all be seen as well as Lowes Water, Crummock Water, Buttermere, Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake. The views across Derwentwater to Skiddaw are very fine indeed. In mist, navigation is relatively straightforward due to very good and distinctive paths. Cat Bells could easily be added to the walk, adding about an hour at most.

Route

(1) From the car park, follow the road across the bridge then take the next left past Newlands Chuch/Old School. Follow the lane past Low High (!) Snab and continue ahead on the grassy track alongside a wall. When the wall turns right uphill, follow it on an unofficial “footprint” path to reach the crest known as High Snab Bank. Follow the crest SSW on the obvious path. After a shallow dip, there are two rock steps. Both are easy scrambles when the rock is clean and dry but the first is best avoided in the wet by going to the right where there is a faint grassy path which traverses the grassy slopes to the N before cutting back on to the ridge. The second step is less intimidating in the wet and involves a right to left traverse along a rocky ledge. After this, the ridge rise more steeply but there are no further difficulties. As the angle eases, large cairns appear but it is still some way to the summit which is at the far end of the summit plateau where there is a large shelter cairn which is the summit of Robinson, 737 m. There is another cairn about 40 m past the summit almost on the edge.

(2) Descend gently S on a good path towards another cairn. The path soon runs alongside a fence down to a grassy col. From here the path forks. Take the left fork which slants, roughly NE, up the hillside to eventually reach the large summit cairn of Hindscarth, 727 m joining the main path from Dale Head just before the summit.

(3) Descend gently on the main path, roughly S but to E of the crest, to a shallow col. The path soon swings SE climbing along Hindscarth Edge to eventually reach a large “pillar” cairn on the edge which is the summit of Dale Head, 753 m. (The cairn does not appear to be the highest point.)

(4) Descend NE on the obvious path close to the left hand edge. This path gradually swings E and is stepped lower down. The path crosses the stream, flowing from the col/Dale Head Tarn, slightly below the col then ascends NE then N, not far from the edge, towards High Spy. There are quite a few large cairns marking this path which soon leads to the summit “pillar” cairn of High Spy, 653 m.

(5) Continue N, still on the obvious path. After about a km, leave the path and go about 50 m right, E, on a faint path, to reach a small sharp top with a cairn which is an excellent view point. Return to the main path and continue N across Maiden Moor. When the path splits, fork left on the minor path which follows the left hand edge on a grassy plateau to reach a small summit cairn close to the edge which is Maiden Moor, 576 m.

(6) Continue on the path which curves right to rejoin the major path then descends towards the col before Cat Bells. Just before the col, a grassy path forks left, follow this down to a stony track and follow the track to the tarmac road at Little Town Farm. Turn left and, in about 300 m, reach the car park

Notes

(a) This walk took place on 10^th August, 2010 and 25^th September, 2010.