Fusedale Round: Steel Knotts, Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike

A closed high-level horseshoe around Fusedale, taking in Steel Knotts, Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike. 8.9 miles / 14.3 km is the complete loop, back to where you parked, and about 4.5 hours is a realistic moving time rather than a target.

Start at the small parking area by St Peter's Church at Martindale Hause, pass to the right of the church and Lanty Tarn, then work up a faint path over Birkie Knott to the rocky Pikeawassa summit of Steel Knotts. The ridge drops past Brownthwaite Crag and Gowk Hill before the pull up to the High Street ridge, where you turn north over Wether Hill and across a broad grassy plateau to Loadpot Hill. Damp upland leads to Arthur's Pike, then a short detour upstream to an old sheepfold gets you across Swarth Beck to Bonscale Pike and its twin stone towers. From there it is a steep grassy descent below the crags to Mellguards and Howtown, over Fusedale Beck by the stone bridge, and back on bridleway and track beneath Steel End.

Call it 7/10, a proper fell day. The climbing is steep and grassy rather than technical, and no scrambling is required, but Pikeawassa's summit is rocky and the upland between Wether Hill and Arthur's Pike is rough, mossy and genuinely boggy in places. Surfaces run from decent bridleway to grassy trods that fade in and out. The descent from Bonscale Pike is the crux: steep grass above crags, and awkward if you drift off the line.

The middle of the round is open, featureless plateau with indistinct paths and little shelter. Carry a map and compass and be happy using them. In mist or low cloud, skip it; the same goes for wet, frosty or snowy conditions, which turn the Bonscale descent from steep into nasty. There are no facilities on the route, so bring your own food and water.

Public rights of way and open access land, no route-specific permit. Parking at Martindale Hause (NY435192) is informal and severely limited, and space around Howtown is tight too, so an early start helps. Dogs are allowed, but this is not a casual dog walk: there is an awkward stone stile early on, and the steep ground and crags near Bonscale Pike are a real hazard for a loose dog. On open access land, dogs must be on a lead of no more than 2 m from 1 March to 31 July and at all times near livestock; those rules do not apply on public rights of way, though local restrictions can exist, and given the sheep you will want the dog close regardless.

The short Steel Knotts and Pikeawassa loop from the same area gives you the rocky summit and the best of the Ullswater view in a fraction of the time and effort, without the boggy plateau or the Bonscale descent.