Fusedale Circuit
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Start St Peter's Church, Howtown (The Hause)
Download GPX →Walked by Lee, September 2024Compare walksAbout this walk
Safety & conditions
- Steep crag edges above Ullswater: Bonscale Tower and the western drops off Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike are serious — keep well back, especially in cloud or wind.
- Boggy, featureless plateau: the Loadpot Hill saddle is peat-hagged and wet, and the broad grassy tops give little to aim for in mist — a compass day if the cloud is down.
- Summer bracken + a washed-out descent: the Brock Crag short-cut and the steep climb from Mellguards up Bonscale Pike can be thick, navigation-sapping bracken, with one eroded section underfoot — walking poles help.
- Easy-to-miss summits: Wether Hill and Loadpot Hill both have their true top just off the obvious path — step the few metres across to be sure you've actually bagged them.
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 6 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.
Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
1 Hallin Fell2 Bonscale Pike3 Arthur's Pike4 Loadpot Hill5 Wether Hill6 Brownthwaite Crag7 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)
escape route
Easy 73%Moderate 13%Hard 11%Severe 3%
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
St Peter's Church, Howtown (The Hause) → Hallin Fell (0.8 km, 166 m)
From St Peter's Church at the Hause, above Howtown, take the steep, grassy track north-north-west up the zig-zagging slopes of Hallin Fell. The gradient is continuous until you reach the wide summit plateau, where a stone obelisk marks the highest point.
WaypointsSt Peter's Church (Martindale), Hallin Fell summit stone obelisk.
Decision pointThe stone obelisk on the summit is a prominent landmark on the ascent.
Easy to get wrongThe descent and lower slopes of Hallin Fell can become tricky from mid-summer through autumn due to thick, chest-high bracken that completely hides the narrow paths and uneven ground underfoot. Take careful step placement, and avoid getting overly distracted by the views down Ullswater.
If you need to get offVery early bail. If weather or energy dictates an immediate abort, simply tag the summit of Hallin Fell and retrace your steps down the zig-zag path back to your car at St Peter's Church.
© Lee McCoy - 2
Hallin Fell → Bonscale Pike (3.5 km, 387 m)
Descend north-east off Hallin Fell towards Ullswater, then follow the path round above the shore to Howtown pier. Cross Fusedale Beck there by the boardwalk, cross the road, pass the buildings at Mellguards and begin the climb up the steep, grassy western flank of Bonscale Pike. The trail reaches the summit cairn, then a second cairn on the edge; the two stone pillars (Bonscale Towers) stand about 60 m north of it, a little lower, perched on the cliff edge.
WaypointsMellguards, Fusedale Beck, Bonscale Towers (rock pillars), Bonscale Pike summit.
Decision pointThe prominent Bonscale Towers act as a visual target near the top of the crags.
Easy to get wrongThe initial turn-off and climb rising from Mellguards toward Bonscale Pike is often heavily shrouded in dense bracken during summer and early autumn. This makes finding the correct trod difficult. Keep a very close eye on your GPS track until you gain higher, open ground above the bracken line. The descent off Hallin Fell towards the lake is the steepest of the walk, about 44% for 250 m, so take care on it; the grass is slippery when wet.
If you need to get offFrom Mellguards you can abort the climb entirely and retrace your steps along the lane back to Howtown.
© Lee McCoy · 3 photographs - 3
Bonscale Pike → Arthur's Pike (1.2 km, 44 m)
From Bonscale Pike, head east, then north-east, across the grassy ridge. The undulating path dips about 35 m to cross Swarth Beck above Swarthbeck Gill, then climbs, leading directly to the large stone beacon and cairn on Arthur's Pike.
WaypointsSwarth Beck, Arthur's Pike beacon and summit cairn.
Decision pointThe large stone beacon on Arthur's Pike is clearly visible across the open ridge.
Easy to get wrongExposed to wind coming off the lake; ground can hold water in shallow dips. The path crosses Swarth Beck at a ford; after rain it can be tricky to cross without getting wet feet. On Arthur's Pike, the west side falls steeply to Swarthbeck Gill, and the direct approach from Howtown is steep and very rough, with some scrambling over loose ground and no single clear path.
If you need to get offTake the inland path bypassing Arthur's Pike to cut straight towards Loadpot Hill, or retrace your steps via Bonscale Pike back to Mellguards.
© Lee McCoy - 4
Arthur's Pike → Loadpot Hill (2.7 km, 156 m)
Turn south from Arthur's Pike to join the broad, high track along the line of the old High Street Roman road. Follow this wide, gentle ridge route southwards across the open moor towards Loadpot Hill.
WaypointsHigh Street Roman road track, Loadpot Hill trig point (Wainwright summit).
Decision pointThe broad embankment of the Roman road provides a clear handrail along the general line.
Easy to get wrongThe bogs: ground across this high plateau gets very boggy in places, requiring frequent detours off the main line. Summit: the track along the line of the Roman road passes the Ordnance Survey trig column on Loadpot Hill. The fell list puts the top about 90 m south-west of the trig, and the line goes about 50 m towards it and back. Take care not to stray too close to the steep drops of Brunt Stones on the western edge.
If you need to get offFrom Loadpot Hill, or after passing it, you can take a sharp right heading north straight across the plateau back towards Bonscale Pike and retrace your original steps down via Mellguards.
- 5
Loadpot Hill → Wether Hill (1.5 km, 52 m)
From the summit of Loadpot Hill, rejoin the main ridge track heading due south over broad, gentle grassy moorland to the small cairn marking Wether Hill.
WaypointsLoadpot Hill plateau, High Street line, Wether Hill summit cairn.
Decision pointMaintain a direct south compass bearing along the high, grassy spine.
Easy to get wrongStrict ridge navigation. Keep strictly to the central ridge line. The terrain directly to the east becomes exceptionally boggy and peaty.
If you need to get offRetrace steps north along the High Street track towards Bonscale Pike and Mellguards.
© Lee McCoy - 6
Wether Hill → Brownthwaite Crag (2.9 km, 32 m)
Continue south from Wether Hill along the high ridge track. Crucial navigation: as you approach the head of the valley, the route makes a sharp, acute right turn to drop west / north-west off the main High Street ridge down into upper Fusedale. Cross Fusedale Beck at a ford and pick up the high ridge line leading over Brownthwaite Crag.
WaypointsSharp right turn off high ridge, Fusedale Beck crossing, Gowk Hill junction, Brownthwaite Crag ridge.
Decision pointFusedale Beck serves as your visual target once you descend into the valley bowl.
Easy to get wrongThe sharp right turn leaving the high ridge is easy to overshoot or miss entirely in thick cloud or bad weather. Pay close attention to your bearings here so you do not wander south toward High Street. After rain, the ford over Fusedale Beck can be tricky to cross without getting wet feet.
If you need to get offGowk Hill / valley bypass. Where the path crosses Fusedale Beck, before it passes north of Gowk Hill, you can skip the short climb onto the boggy ridge of Brownthwaite Crag: take the public footpath north down the valley beside Fusedale Beck. It runs about 3 km down the valley floor to Howtown, and St Peter's Church at the Hause, where the walk began, is about 1 km up the road from there.
© Lee McCoy - 7
Brownthwaite Crag → Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) (0.9 km, 49 m)
From Brownthwaite Crag, traverse north along the narrow, undulating crest of Steel Knotts. Thread through the heather and rocky knolls to reach the prominent, sharp rocky tor of Pikeawassa, which forms the true summit.
WaypointsBrownthwaite Crag, Steel Knotts ridge line, Pikeawassa rocky summit outcrop.
Decision pointThe ridge line naturally funnels you straight to the rocky pinnacle of Pikeawassa.
Easy to get wrongThe ridge approach can be wet and boggy underfoot, while the final rocky top of Pikeawassa requires brief, careful footing on exposed rock.
If you need to get offNo way off this ridge has been checked for this guide; the way this guide describes is on along the ridge.
© Lee McCoy Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) → Finish (1.3 km, 2 m)
From the summit rocks of Pikeawassa, descend the steep northern nose of Steel Knotts on a well-trodden grassy path. The path comes down past Lanty Tarn to the road at St Peter's Church, where the walk began.
WaypointsPikeawassa, Lanty Tarn, St Peter's Church (Martindale), finish.
Decision pointMartindale Church and the valley floor are in clear view ahead.
Easy to get wrongThe northern descent off Steel Knotts is steep on tired knees.
If you need to get offDirect final descent to the road and finish.
© Lee McCoy
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, September 2024
Summits bagged (7)
- 1Hallin Fell388 m
- 2Bonscale Pike524 m
- 3Arthur's Pike533 m
- 4Loadpot Hill672 m
- 5Wether Hill673 m
- 6Brownthwaite Crag444 m
- 7Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)432 m
In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~44% drop around the 1.1 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: drops and exposed ground. The steepest stretch is a sustained climb of about 39% around the 3.4 km mark.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground. Estimated Hard from the map: graded from slope only (~44% max); treat exposure as unverified.
- Rock and scrambling: Hands for a few steps: between Bonscale Pike and Arthur's Pike (km 4.2–5.5). Ground underfoot not assessed; map estimate only.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-09-25)
- Ways off early: Marked on this route at about 1.6 km: Martindale Hause (retrace); at about 9.2 km: Howtown, below Brock Crag. The escape routes section below has the detail.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 7 gates · 1 kissing gate
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-09-25. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Getting there and back
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
If the parking is full
There is no real plan B here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so expect them to fill on the same mornings. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off.
- Martindale, St Peter's church (free, limited) — at the start
- Hallin Fell (layby) — joins the loop at about km 1.9 of 14.7: a 410 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Hallin Fell car park (free) — at the start
We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.
No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.
Buses
The UB1 stops at Martindale Cattle Grid (near), 540 m and 74 m of ascent from this start. Seasonal: the UB1 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day, and it is not daily before then — a bus on 31 of the 56 days from 7 September. We don’t know when it returns. Confirmed with the operator, 9 October 2026. We haven’t published its last bus times, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back — times here are a guide, not a promise.
The UB1 passes this route at 2.3 km (Howtown, at Pier, 0 m off the line).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival Free parking beside St Peter’s Church at The Hause, where the walk starts. Spaces are limited. (Lee, who has parked here, checked 8 August 2026)
- Toilets No toilets are mapped within 250 m of the start. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Refreshments No café or pub is mapped within 250 m of the start: bring what you need. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Limitation Steep crag edges above Ullswater at Bonscale Tower and off Arthur’s Pike and Bonscale Pike: keep well back in cloud or wind. The Loadpot Hill saddle is boggy and featureless. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 28 September 2026)
Everything mapped near the start
Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of where this route starts (information boards within 150 m; benches and shelter within 50 m):
Also mapped within reach: an information board.
Distances are straight lines from where this route starts, not walking routes. Opening hours are as mapped and change; none of this is checked daily.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.
Water, shelter & getting away
Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is not proof the water is drinkable, so carry your own or use a supply you know is safe. Never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock upstream and leave you seriously ill. Use a treatment method suited to what might be in the water, and follow the device’s own instructions. Boiling and ordinary filters do not make water with dissolved metals or chemicals safe: where that is possible, choose another source.
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
When the sun reaches the tops
Not sunrise — the moment the sun clears the skyline from that summit, which on a fell with high ground to its east can be a good deal later.
- Hallin Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in late December — about an hour after sunrise.
- Bonscale Pike — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in late December — about half an hour after sunrise.
- Arthur's Pike — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
- Loadpot Hill — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
- Wether Hill — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
- Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) — in late March the sun reaches it around 07:15, about an hour later. In late September, about 08:00. It waits longest in late December — about an hour after sunrise.
How to read these times
The two equinoxes are shown because they fall in the walking season, and late December too wherever a top keeps you waiting then; the clock gap between the equinoxes is British Summer Time, not the hill. Rounded to the nearest quarter hour and meant as a general idea, not a schedule.
Modelled from a 30 m elevation model against each summit’s own skyline — the same figures the fell pages carry, never observed. Cloud is not in it.
More about this walk
Come by boat if you can. Howtown has almost nowhere to park and the eastern-shore lane is long and narrow, but the Ullswater Steamer pier is about 1 km from this start as the crow flies — sail in, walk the round, sail back, and the car never comes down the lane at all. If you are going back by boat, pick your return sailing before you set off, and allow for the whole walk, the walk to and from the pier and a margin; have a plan if you miss it. Sailings are seasonal, so check the timetable before you build a day around it. (Checked 4 Aug 2026; we don’t publish times here because a stale one would be worse than none.)
Escape routes
- At about 1.6 km: descend to Martindale Hause (retrace) — Early exit: from Steel Knotts the cleanest escape is simply to turn around and retrace the ridge back to the start — no awkward descent.
- At about 9.2 km: descend to Howtown, below Brock Crag — Cut short near Arthur's Pike: keep left toward (not onto) Brock Crag and follow the path down to Howtown, letting it swing naturally left at the steep section. Expect thick, hard-to-navigate bracken here in summer; lands at Howtown rather than the car, so a short valley walk or the steamer back.
Escape lines chosen from the map by someone who has walked this route; not every descent has been walked. In poor visibility a marked descent can be safer than retracing a ridge.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Shorten by retracing from Steel Knotts, or cut down to Howtown from near Arthur's Pike (below Brock Crag), skipping Bonscale Pike and its steep descent — both avoid the trickiest ground (mind the summer bracken on the Howtown line).
Why this direction: Walked anticlockwise from Martindale Hause — the steep little pull onto Steel Knotts first, then an easy high-level traverse of the High Street ridge (Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Arthur's Pike) before Bonscale Pike and the steep drop to Mellguards and Fusedale.
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Severe overall, partly from map estimates — hardest: Steepness
Five independent axes, not one score. One of the five were set on the ground; the rest are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground. Where an axis reads “desk” it comes from maps and guidebooks.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hallin Fell | 0.8 km | 166 m | 0:26–0:34 |
| 2Bonscale Pike | 4.3 km | 553 m | 1:47–2:22 |
| 3Arthur's Pike | 5.5 km | 591 m | 2:05–2:46 |
| 4Loadpot Hill | 8.2 km | 748 m | 2:54–3:51 |
| 5Wether Hill | 9.7 km | 791 m | 3:15–4:20 |
| 6Brownthwaite Crag | 12.5 km | 816 m | 3:52–5:09 |
| 7Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) | 13.4 km | 853 m | 4:06–5:27 |
| Finish | 14.7 km | 856 m | 4:22–5:48 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Places to stay near this start
- Low Gale (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 0.9 km
- Howtown Cottages (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 0.8 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).
