High Street and Mardale Ill Bell

Distance: 9.24 miles
Time: 5 hours 20 minutes

I needed to get away from everything today, so decided to walk High Street which I was planning on doing this weekend anyway. I went with my dad and he found the first steep bank up to Kirdsty Pike quite hard but with several stops we got there. After that it was much easier, it was a long gradual incline up to High Street itself. Once we reached the top my dad realised it was right next to somewhere he was walking with my uncle a few weeks earlier at Stony Cove Pike and they had intended to walk up to the Beacon at Thornthwaite Crag. So we added this onto our route. All that was there was a large stone beacon.

Then we walked over to Mardale Ill Bell and back down to Haweswater again. When walking down from High Street we sort of got side tracked with walking over to the beacon and we were going to head towards Ill Bell, which is an impressive mountain further South. I think that would of been a bit too much as it would of added several miles onto our walk.

There were some impressive views of the mountains to the West and we could see Windermere to the South.

Below are some pictures from the walk, I will be adding a 3D rendered route of the walk once Google Video has verified it (could be a couple of days). Click a picture for full size version.

(Above) High Street top left of picture with Kirdsty Pike just to the right of centre (pointy bit)

(Above) High Street from the top of Kirdsty Pike

(Above) Mardale Ill Bell Centre of photo in the distance with Harter Fell to the left

(Above) Kirdsty Pike, was up there 10 minutes ealier

(Above) the route up High Street, we didn't go up the well worn path but followed another route just to the left of the stone wall

(Above) Rare picture of me, at the top of High Street. Many people miss the top because the main path misses it

(Above) The Beacon near Thornthwaite Crag, we made a detour to add this in. You can see Windermere in the distance at the top right.

(Above) Ill Bell, one for another day but looks impressive.

(Above) Cairn on top of Mardale Ill Bell, another that most people probably just walk by. you get a nice view from the top of there.

(Above) Haweswater in distance with a small tarn in the foreground. Couldn't see a name on the map of the tarn.