Northern England: Hartsop, Cumbria

Distance: 19km/12 miles
Time: 8hrs
Type: Hill
Where: Circular walk from Hartsop via High Raise, Martindale and Beda Fell (Far Eastern Fells).
Start/End: Hartsop (NY409131).
Terrain: Lakeland fells and valleys, with stretch along high-level ridge. Good paths, but care needed in poor visibility.
Maps: OS Explorer OL5; Landranger 90.

To the south and east of Ullswater, along a narrow no through road from Pooley Bridge, is the quiet area of Martindale, home to the oldest native red deer herd in England. The deer seek sanctuary here in the valleys of Ramps Gill and Bannerdale, where they give birth to their calves. In order to help protect them, walkers are asked to keep to the preferred routes clearly marked on the noticeboard maps. There is some excellent crowd-free walking along the high ridges that surround the beautiful, steep-sided valleys of Martindale. This fine walk, starting at the hamlet of Hartsop (just off the A592 to the southwest of Martindale), provides splendid views. For a step-by-step guide, download walk’s Routemaster as a PDF.

Click here to download a pdf routecard
Click here to download the GPS data for this route as an Anquet file
Click here to download the GPS data for this route as a GPX file