Catbells, Maiden Moor and High Spy Ridge Walk

Difficulty: Easy-Moderate

Wainwright Guide: Book Six – The North-Western Fells

Fells: Catbells, Maiden Moor, High Spy

The fells on the Western shores of Derwent Water provide one of the most easily recognisable Lakeland skylines. Often described as a fell for the whole family, Catbells holds a place in many hearts. Anyone who hasn’t tackled the iconic walk will have it high on their list. The continuation of the ridge with Maiden Moor and High Spy provides even better views and a more substantial hike for those more experienced walkers.

On a personal note, I can’t believe this was my first time climbing Catbells. How have I waited this long?! The hype is well worth it. It is easy to see why it is hailed as a good introductory hike to the Lake District.

Jonny and I undertook this hike with Emi and a small group of our friends during a bank holiday weekend in the Lakes. The weather was incredible and just perfect for summiting Wainwrights. This being said we made sure to pack for all weather conditions and included packing for Emi. Being a little bigger since our last trip to the Lakes she finally fitted into her hiking backpack!

Where to Start?

There is a car park right at the northern base of Catbells where you can leave your car all day for a small fee. Alternatively, we parked a little further along the road near to the Swinside Inn.

At the top end of the car park, as the road snakes round the fellside, there is a cattle grid with a gate to the left. Pass through the gate and take the path to the left.

This will quickly bring you back to the road which you must cross again with the path continuing directly opposite.

Shortly you will need to take a sharp right, followed by a left that heads up the nose of the fell.

Catbells

The ascent to the summit is fairly straightforward. The path gently zig zags up the fell and it doesn’t take long before you are rewarded with stunning views of Derwent, Keswick and the fells beyond. There are parts of the ascent that become more of a scramble but these sections are fairly simple to traverse with multiple ways up or around for various ages and abilities of hiker.

The summit itself is a flat plateau of rock with no cairn, however a new trig point indicates that you have reached your destination. We were fairly lucky that we didn’t run into the vast crowds that often adorn this fell, however the summit is by far where the most people seem to collect. We stopped shortly to feed Emi and take in the views but headed on quickly to the next check point on the list, Maiden Moor.

Maiden Moor

Looking South from the summit of Catbells the path to the summit of Maiden Moor makes itself fairly obvious. A short descent to Hause Gate is followed by a small steeper ascent, then a long shallow slope to the top of the fell. If you’re feeling tired at this point you can descend in Hause Gate by taking the left hand path back towards Derwent Water.

Half way up you pass a number of small pools that make for fantastic swim spots for dogs, and brilliant places to stop and feed little ones. Jonny and I were getting quite used to feeding Emi on the fells now!

Continuing on you reach a small cairn with fantastic views back towards Catbells and beyond. Most deceivingly, this is not quite the summit.

The summit itself is hard to distinguish, however it lies atop of a grassy plateau which makes for a very comfortable sitting spot. The views are not quite as incredible from here as they are from the rest of the ridge. Many mistake the fabulous view point mentioned above for the highest point of Maiden Moor, however to truly say you have reached its peak you must head up to the grassy spot. Somebody has started their own cairn here to make the spot easier to find!

High Spy

As the final summit on the ridge, High Spy boasts some of the finest views. It is an easy walk from the summit of Maiden Moor that passes a few distinguished cairns along the way, the first of which being on top of Blea Crag. This cairn provides some of the most incredible views of Derwent Water you’ll find. We were so lucky that paragliders were floating about below us, adding to the stunning Lakeland scenery.

From Blea Crag the summit is a short flat walk away, marked by a significant cairn. Again this summit does not boast as fantastic a view as previous spots on the ridge during the ascent, however the sense of achievement felt in reaching it is unrivaled.

Extra Fells

If you’re still feeling fresh it is easy to make this walk into a horseshoe and bag a couple of extra Wainwrights along the way. The Newlands Horseshoe comprises of this ridge, as well as Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson. Descending from Robinson you can arrive back at your starting point via Newlands Valley. Many walkers join the two ridges together for a long day of fell walking.

Descent

There are many choices for descent. On this occasion we chose to descend via Rigghead towards Grange and walk along the Western shores of Derwent.

We headed directly towards Dalehead Tarn which again marked a fantastic spot to feed Emi. From here we took a left and headed towards Rigghead Quarries, however this is where you can instead choose to continue towards Dale Head and finish the Newlands Horseshoe.

Passing the quarry there were many caverns to quickly poke our heads into where we even saw an old cart! The descent itself was like something straight out of middle earth with a steep slate staircase zig zagging the mountain side.

This eventually leveled out and became more of a marked path as we passed between High Spy itself and Castle Crag. More incredible scenery!

Again you can choose to extend your hike here by heading up a very steep path to the summit of Castle Crag. We made the decision to carry on past!

Getting Back to the Car

Once you pass Castle Crag and meet up with the River Derwent you can choose to head back to the car by either walking along the road or walking alongside the lake.

If it’s views you’re after then walking alongside the lake is the preferred choice. Because we had Emi in the backpack we were opting for speed and headed back along the road. The views from this route still aren’t bad though! Follow the road straight back to the car park at the foot of Catbells.

A hike in the Lake District would not be complete without a celebratory pint at the end. If you parked near the Swinside Inn then pop in for some refreshment to finish off your day!

Have you completed Catbells yet? Have you done the entire ridge? Or have you done the whole of the Newlands Horseshoe? Let me know in the comments below!