Hawkshead into the woods

The walk, stage by stage

1. 1

   Hawkshead Car Park → Latterbarrow (5.3 km, 273 m)

   Climb of about 273 m over 5.3 km (around 5% average).

   Depart Hawkshead towards the hamlet of Colthouse before entering the sprawling, dense coniferous plantations of Claife Heights. Navigate the winding network of broad forestry tracks, steadily gaining elevation through the timber, before finally breaking out of the dark tree line onto the open fell to tackle the short, steep grassy pull to the summit of Latterbarrow.

   Waypoints

   Hawkshead Car Park, Colthouse, Claife Heights forestry tracks, Latterbarrow summit obelisk (244m).

   Decision point

   Inside the plantation, rely on the distinct waymarker posts at major junctions, but monitor your GPS or map closely as the commercial forest looks identical in all directions. Once you breach the tree line, the towering, mortarless stone obelisk on Latterbarrow's summit is easy to spot and acts as a visual beacon guiding you up the final ascent.

   Easy to get wrong

   While the gradient is generally gentle and lacks the exposure of the high fells, the commercial forestry tracks are notorious for holding deep, clinging mud, especially following timber extraction. Active logging operations can frequently alter the landscape overnight, leaving paths chewed up by heavy machinery and older maps rendered useless by new clear-felling or stacked brash.

   If you need to get off

   The map shows the line on lanes to about 1 km, past Colthouse, then on public bridleways through the woods of Claife Heights; at about 4.6 km a public bridleway leads about 420 m north, losing about 45 m, to the lane at High Wray; elsewhere on this stage the way off is back or on, never more than about 2 km; not walked for this guide.

2. Latterbarrow → Finish (2.3 km, 9 m)

   Descent of about 174 m over 2.3 km.

   Leave the summit obelisk and take the much shorter, direct path dropping south-west straight off the fellside. Descend the steep grassy slopes to quickly rejoin the lower fringes of the woodland, following the lanes back past the buildings at Colthouse to return to the Hawkshead car park.

   Waypoints

   Latterbarrow obelisk, south-west descent path, Colthouse, Hawkshead village finish.

   Decision point

   The descent path from the monument is deeply worn and highly obvious. Once you are off the steep upper fell and back into the pastures, the sightline of Hawkshead's white-washed buildings and the prominent church spire in the valley below provides a visual target.

   Easy to get wrong

   The initial grassy descent directly off the summit cone is surprisingly steep; after heavy Lake District rain, this heavily trafficked trod turns into a slick, polished mud-slide that can easily put you on your back.

   If you need to get off

   Follow the route's own line to the finish; do not be tempted to stray east into the pathless woods or bracken to find a shortcut, as this will lead you away from Hawkshead.