Haystacks Circuit

This is a complete 5.2 mile circuit starting and finishing at Gatesgarth Farm near the head of Buttermere, with roughly 500 m of climbing from about 103 m at the road to around 599 m on the Haystacks summit area. Most people take 3 to 4 hours, and it is sensible to allow more if you want long stops or if visibility closes in.

You cross the road by the farm access, walk out through fields and over Peggy's Bridge, then start the steady pull up to Scarth Gap, the col between High Crag and Haystacks. From the gap the path turns onto Haystacks itself, zigzagging up through rock steps with a few short hands-on sections. The top is not a single tidy summit but a knot of rocky knolls, small tarns and heather hollows, and it is the best part of the walk.

Rated 6 out of 10, which in practice means moderate to hard. There is no technical climbing, but expect:

This is not a casual family stroll. It is open fell from Scarth Gap onward, fully exposed to wind and cloud, and the knolls on top make navigation genuinely confusing in mist.

• Sustained climbing to Scarth Gap with no real flat sections
• Several short scrambles on the ascent, easy enough when dry, greasier when wet
• Rocky, rubbly and locally loose ground on the high paths
• Boggy patches and stream crossings that can be awkward after rain
• Vague path lines across the summit plateau and no signage up high

• Start and parking: Gatesgarth Farm car park, reached by narrow, steep rural roads. Facilities are limited, so assume no toilets, water or refreshments at the start.
• Permits: none needed. This uses public rights of way, so keep to the paths, leave gates as you find them and respect livestock and nesting ground.
• Water: the tarns and Warnscale Beck are the only water on the route, and you should carry your own.
• Dogs: allowed and common here. Keep them close and in sight, and on a short lead near livestock and ground-nesting birds. Be aware the hands-on rock above Scarth Gap is awkward for some dogs.

The descent past Dubs Quarry and Warnscale is the least attractive stretch, rough underfoot and slow on tired legs, and the boggy sections take the shine off in wet spells. If you want scenery without the exposure, the lower-level Buttermere lakeshore circuit of about 4.5 miles is a much gentler walk at water level, though it gives up the tarns and the summit views entirely. There is also a shorter way to the same tarns from Honister Pass, which trades the Gatesgarth climb for far less effort and a less satisfying build-up.