Day 9. Thirlmere Loop. North Central Fells. 3 Wainwrights.

Day 9. Thirlmere Loop. North Central Fells. 3 Wainwrights.

Wainwrights: Raven Crag 461m, High Tove 515m and Armboth Fell 475m.

The start point is the dam head on Thirlmere reservoir which is big enough for 7-8 vehicles. There is another car park where my down route meets the lake.
Head North out of the car park and turn immediately left on a defined footpath that takes you steeply uphill for nearly a kilometre. At the top you go through a large gate where you will get onto a well maintained stepped path that leads you to Raven Crag with its wooden platform and gorgeous vista. From here retrace your steps and take the footpath for Castle Crag which is just another viewpoint or skip this if you wish.
Next head South on an obvious track until you hit the edge of the forestry. There is a style here (hidden behind tall ferns) so I would advise to cross over to the moorland at this point as the forestry fence is a six foot one. From here head generally South to SW over undulating terrain, indistinct paths, feint trails and lots of boggy ground to the cairned summit of High Tove. Then after this the way SE to Armboth Fell is obvious, it looks like a decent path and not steep at all. However the path is pretty much a boggy mess all the way. There are two tops on Armboth Fell and the lower Southern one is the Wainwright. There are a small pile of stones on both.
The last leg is in reality following Fisher Gill all the way down to forest line along a boggy footpath. The footpath on the OS map is wrongly mapped as I actually walked down along the footpath but my gpx track shows me off trail on the map. On the jomo navigation map it is spot on. Either way the route is a boggy one. Once below the tree-line the trail becomes rocky and steep. Eventually you come to a gate bordering the road (here is the other car park) where you turn left for the two kilometre road hike back North to the start point.

Parking: Car park at start point and at other end of the tarmac stretch.
Route: Once out of the forest it was literally all boggy, rough and quite hard going underfoot. Slowed things down by about 1kph. Even on the rare marked trails. Nice views from Raven Crag. Good short walk to take in three Wainwrights though. Tip of the day…do it in the summer.
Route Statistics: 9.5 kms with 450m of height gain done in 3 hours 50 mins. Very slow boggy going!