This walk begins in Miterdale, and crosses the top of the Wastwater Screes with dramatic views of Wastwater, Wasdale and the surrounding fells.  The return takes in the fascinating stone circles on Boat How.

Route: From the car park head west then north on bridleways to the open ridge leading to the summits of Whin Rigg and Illgill Head.  Descend to Burnmoor Tarn and pass south west of the tarn to Burnmoor Lodge.  Here head up on to Boat How before locating the prehistoric stone circles on Brat's Moss.  Descend into Miterdale and crossing the River Mite via the ford or the bridge follow the track back to the starting point.

The views from the top of the Screes are stunning and you can get into some exciting situations, but care is needed.  On no account should the gullies be used as escape routes.  Any thoughts of descent this way could end in tragedy!

The start of the walk
Cross the bridge and walk up the track to a bridleway

The bridleway passes through delightful woods

Here the trees have been felled to give distant views to Harter Fell and Green Crag

Once the ridge is attained, the route to the summit of Whin Rigg is clear

Looking the other way towards Irton Pike

The summit of Whin Rigg

Ahead, there are superb views of Wastwater ...

... and behind us, the estuary at Ravenglass can be seen
In the foreground is Greathall Gill

Dramatic views from the Screes path

The three walkers ahead lend some scale to the scene
Yewbarrow (left) and Kirk Fell (right) are the principal fells seen

From the top, the gullies look safe enough
But, beware! There is no way down!

A close encounter with the Screes
The top of the cliff is one of Wainwright's two viewpoints
Beyond, the ridge leading to Illgill Head

Broken Rib - the viewpoint for the previous photo
This is Wainwright's second viewpoint (See The Southern Fells Whin Rigg p. 8)

Beattie at the upper viewpoint

Beattie at the summit of Illgill Head

Wasdale Head with Kirk Fell and Great Gable beyond

Views of the Western Fells from the summit

Burnmoor Tarn from Illgill Head

Lower down, Burnmoor Lodge can be seen in splendid isolation

Burnmoor Lodge (sometimes called Keeper's Lodge) was built as a fishing and hunting lodge
Today, boarded up, it looks rather neglected and run down

One of the stone circles on Boat How
These could date from the late Neolithic or Bronze Age

Stone circle
Harter Fell (left) and the serrated tops of Green Crag (right) are the fells

The cotton grass is just about over

The path drops back into Miterdale

River Mite at Low Place farm
The river can be forded here, or use the footbridge

The water levels are quite low

This quirky signpost can be seen in the wall at Low Place farm
'Hod reet fur Eshdel' translates as Keep right for Eskdale
From Low Place just follow the track back to the car park

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Photographs taken with a Fuji MX-2900 Zoom or a Canon EOS 20D
Copyright © 2008 Derek Cockell     All Rights Reserved

THE PICTORIAL GUIDES

The Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells
The Central Fells
The Southern Fells
The Northern Fells
The North Western Fells
The Western Fells

The 214 Challenge