Hopegill Head

Hopegill Head

North Western Lake District

Route: Ladyside Pike, Hopegill Head and Whiteside

Area: North Western Lake District

Date of walk: 18th April 2014

Walkers: Andrew

Distance: 7.0 miles

Ascent: 2,500 feet

Weather: perfect

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I was walking in mist with a bitterly cold wind, today it was wall to wall blue sky and sunshine all day

I set off from Millbeck early in the morning so as to be on the tops before the bank holiday walkers (anyone else following this route is recommended to start from the small parking space by Swinside, shown on the Google map)

I followed the ridge line of Swinside and Ladyside Pike heading towards the fearsome looking rock slabs that lead to the summit of Hopegill Head. They are easier to ascend than appears, though hands are needed at times – and I wouldn’t like to descend this way

There then followed my favourite half mile in Lakeland – the wonderful ridge walk from Hopegill Head to Whiteside. The views were fantastic. I visited both of Whiteside’s tops, returning to climb down the ridge leading to Dodd. It was a morning that will linger long in the memory

For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box

Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)

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