Longsleddale Round (Kentmere Pike, Tarn Crag, Grey Crag & Shipman Knotts)

Sadgill, Longsleddale → Shipman Knotts (2.2 km, 313 m)

Climb of about 313 m over 2.2 km (around 14% average).

Shipman Knotts → Kentmere Pike (1.8 km, 152 m)

Climb of about 152 m over 1.8 km (around 8% average).

Decision point: A simple ridge NE, staying close to the wall over Rough Crags and Goat Scar. The wall becomes continuous near the top — treat it as your handrail in cloud. Cross the stone stile near the summit to the cairn on its knoll; the trig point is a few steps further over the wall.

Easy to get wrong: Wet in patches but the wall keeps you on line. Two early escapes to Hallow Bank (Kentmere side) exist if needed — see the escape notes — both are steep and drop you into the wrong valley for the car.

Kentmere Pike → Harter Fell (Mardale) (1.8 km, 86 m)

Climb of about 86 m over 1.8 km (around 5% average).

Decision point: Return to the fence/wall line and follow it NE, descending gently over Brown Howe (a rise you'll barely notice), then climb beside the fence to Harter Fell's cairn and old iron posts (~778 m). Stay on the east side of the fence where the going is easier.

Easy to get wrong: Soft turf and boggy patches beside the fence. This is the last clean place to cut the round: from here you can drop to Brownhowe Bottom and follow the distinct Gatescarth Beck track back to Sadgill (see escapes).

Harter Fell (Mardale) → Little Harter Fell (1.2 km, 0 m)

Descent of about 115 m over 1.2 km.

Decision point: Take the cairned path NE off the summit towards Gatescarth Pass / Adam Seat, descending rocky-then-grassy ground to the broader shoulder above Gatescarth before the moors.

Easy to get wrong: Rough grass with embedded stones — slippery when wet. Keep to the cairned path, which curves to avoid the steepest drops.

Little Harter Fell → Tarn Crag (Sleddale) (3.8 km, 245 m)

Climb of about 245 m over 3.8 km (around 6% average).

Decision point: Drop NNW on trods to the wet col at the head of the Mosedale–Longsleddale pass. At the gate, do NOT go through — turn left (west) on the faint, mossy track toward Mosedale, drifting W then SW to firmer ground near Mosedale Cottage. Turn NW/N up Tarn Crag's NE ridge; where the path forks, take the LEFT fork to the summit cairn (664 m) — the right fork only leads to the tall survey pillar.

Easy to get wrong: The navigation crux. Mossy, peat-hagged ground where the path dissolves into bog and reappears on hummocks; in mist hold a steady W–SW bearing to Mosedale Cottage. The col onto the NE ridge is a notorious bogfest. The easy mistake is going through the col gate — keep it on your right and turn left.

Tarn Crag (Sleddale) → Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) (1.5 km, 52 m)

Undulating section of about 1.5 km.

Decision point: Head N from the cairn/pillar onto a path beside a fence descending NW. Cross the next fence by its step-stile and zig-zag down through peat hags to the fence corner just N of Grey Crag. Turn right along the fence across the Greycrag Tarn depression, then climb the grass beyond — bear left up a short grassy gully and left again to the summit cairn.

Easy to get wrong: Peat-hagged moor with no clear trodden line — the fences are your handrails. Greycrag Tarn is a peat-restoration area and is often dry, so don't rely on open water as a marker. Two similar cairns sit ~40 m apart; the main top is the obvious one.

Grey Crag (Sleddale Fell) → Great Howe (Longsleddale) (1.3 km, 3 m)

Descent of about 158 m over 1.3 km.

Decision point: Follow the path NNW from Grey Crag to the fence corner (the Harrop Pike junction). Instead of continuing to Harrop Pike, bear LEFT (SSW) along the fence toward Great Howe, over shallow peat hags, climbing gently to its rocky top and survey column.

Easy to get wrong: Easy to carry straight on to Harrop Pike at the fence corner — bear left for Great Howe. The survey column confirms you're on the right knoll above Sadgill.

Great Howe (Longsleddale) → Finish (4.1 km, 192 m)

Climb of about 192 m over 4.1 km (around 5% average).

Decision point: Descend NW beside the fence to the gate/step-stile into the steep field above Sadgill. Go diagonally down toward the top-left crags you climbed at the start, pick out the same rough gully and descend it carefully through the crag band and bracken, recross the gill, and make for the field-edge gate by the road. Turn left along the short lane to Sadgill Bridge and the parking.

Easy to get wrong: Find the original gully before you drop in — it's the only easy way back through the crags and the bracken hides it. The rock in the gully is greasy when wet; take your time.