Kentmere Horseshoe

Difficulty: Moderate-Difficult (depending on fitness)

Wainwright Guide: Book Two – The Far-Eastern Fells

Fells: Yoke, Ill Bell, Froswick, Thornthwaite Crag, High Street, Mardale Ill Bell, Harter Fell, Kentmere Pike, Shipman Knotts

The Kentmere Horseshoe is one of the most challenging routes in the Lake District that you can undertake. At around 14-15 miles long encompassing 8-9 Wainwrights, it has some of the most incredible views around. Although the path is for the most part well trodden the continual steep ascent and descent between summits is a true test of fitness and resilience. If you are unfit or inexperienced this is not the trail to start with!

You will be out on this walk for at least 4 hours, with many completing it in 5-6. Make sure you have checked the weather thoroughly and packed accordingly, including enough water and food to keep you going, as well as appropriate clothing.

Jonny and I took on the Kentmere Horseshoe on one of the hottest days of the year, which did make for some incredible views, however we were pretty exhausted by the time we finally finished!

Where to Start?

The tiny village of Kentmere does have a couple of options for parking but you need to get there early. We chose to park in a small spot near St Cuthberts Church shown below. We donated some money into an honesty box on the wall before setting off.

The hike can be done in either direction from this point as it is a circular route. We chose to tackle it clockwise, starting with Yoke. From your parking spot you need to head uphill and follow the road, keeping the Kentmere Institute building on your left.

Follow the lane as it starts with a gentle incline and turns to the left past residents houses.

The road will end abruptly and turn right into a stony track that heads up onto the fells. It is still big enough for off road vehicles and is well signposted.

Yoke

Otherwise known as the Garburn Pass, the track connects Kentmere to Troutbeck. It is a popular running and mountain biking route so keep your eyes out for groups of cycling enthusiasts. Although well marked and maintained the terrain is not easy in the heat. There is very little shelter from the baking sun and although in some parts the incline is gentle, in others it is quite steep.

Looking to the left during your ascent will provide some great views of the Kentmere Valley though to keep you enthused about what’s to come.

At the summit of the pass the track continues beyond a wooden gate.

You can also access Sallows and Sour Howes from this point by taking a path to the left, or drop down into Troutbeck by following the main track. For the Kentmere Horseshoe, however, you need to turn to the right on a much less obvious grassy track.

This grassy path will eventually join up to a more obvious track again. It essentially cuts off a small corner.

The track is again, easy to follow. The steepness does vary, however this is one of the more gentle ascents of the hike. Pausing to look back every now and again will give you excellent views of Windermere, and Wansfell.

The summit of Yoke is marked by a small cairn to the left of a fence. It’s the perfect time to stop for a quick break and snack. Having bagged the first summit on the Kentmere Horseshoe you can look ahead to the next fell on the list!

Ill Bell

With less than a mile between Yoke and Ill Bell the route between the two is a simple straight line on a well marked track. Initially the path is flat as you approach a small wooden gate.

Once through the wooden gate there is a small decline and you get your first glimpses of Kentmere Reservoir down to your right. Easy to see why the Kentmere Horseshoe is named as such. The rest of the route surrounds this reservoir.

The incline up to the summit of Ill Bell is a little steep, especially in the sun but is fairly manageable. Again, when looking backwards you get great views of Windermere and the path you’ve just come along from Yoke. It gives a great sense of achievement.

The summit of Ill Bell is marked by multiple large cairns with the middle most marking the true summit.

You get a great view ahead to the rest of the fells on the Western ridge that make up the first half of the horseshoe. The next summit being that of Froswick, leading on to Thornthwaite Crag. It also becomes clear how much of a decline there is between the summits, perfectly illustrating how much of a challenge there is ahead of you.

Froswick

Heading North along the still well marked path will take you directly to the summit of Froswick in less than a mile. There is a small decline coming off of the larger Ill Bell, followed by a fairly easy ascent.

The summit is marked by a small cairn and gives lovely views of the walk to come. You can also see Troutbeck Tongue down to the West and get more lovely views of Kentmere Reservoir to the East.

Jonny and I had a good rest here admiring the surroundings before tackling the next section of the hike.

Thornthwaite Crag

Thornthwaite Crag has a clearly marked summit with a large cairn easily seen from a distance. This makes it a brilliant target to aim for. The path from Froswick is approximately a mile with a good descent and ascent to contend with.

It feels like the ascent goes on for a while but it is fairly gentle compared to some of those up to previous summits on this route. A grassy route diverges part way along the ascending path. This is the one to follow to get directly to the summit.

Heading right will take you directly to Mardale Ill Bell, completely skipping Thornthwaite Crag.

The large, 14 foot, summit cairn can be seen clearly as you follow this more grassy path to the left.

The cairn itself is well constructed and provided us with a welcome bit of shade in the heat. There is a stone wall attached that I imagine will also provide a fantastic wind break in more adverse weather.

High Street

Some people choose not to add in High Street and head straight for Mardale Ill Bell. Jonny and I did choose to add it in as it was only just over a mile away. With only 250 feet of ascent and a well marked path, gentle path we found it a fairly easy diversion.

We managed to get a nice glimpse of Hayeswater Reservoir along this route too. Often overlooked for views of the Haweswater Reservoir on the other side of the ridge.

The well marked, obvious path crosses over a flattened stone wall.

It diverges at one point as two grassy paths. Take the one to the right to bring you closer towards the fenceline.

This brings you directly to the summit which is marked by a trig point. At over 2700 feet it is the highest point not only on the walk, but also within the range of the Far-Eastern Fells.

This also marks the middle of the Kentmere Horseshoe hike, with five fells bagged and only four remaining!

Mardale Ill Bell

To get to Mardale Ill Bell we took a gentle descent from High Street. A grassy path diverges from the trig point on the East of the stone wall, heading back towards the Kentmere Reservoir.

It is not immediately obvious but becomes more defined as you get closer towards Mardale Ill Bell. On a misty day it would be safer to stick to the stone wall and then turn left on rejoining the main track. This grassy route however is the more direct of the two.

As you start coming onto Mardale Ill Bell you start to see Haweswater Reservoir glistening in the distance to your left.

The summit of Mardale Ill Bell is marked by a small cairn. Not one of the more impressive cairns on this hike but the summit does have excellent views. We chose this as our lunch break before continuing with arguably the most challenging part of the route.

Harter Fell

At this point I must admit we had hit a bit of a wall. We could see clearly the steep descent and ascent between ourselves and Harter Fell and were absolutely dreading it. Although we thought we were moderately fit, the heat definitely disrupted us and made us more tired than we otherwise would have been, but still we pushed on.

This part of the route had the best views we could have wished for. With Haweswater Resevoir to the North, and the rest of the Kentmere Horseshoe to the South, the scenery is second to none.

At the bottom of the dip there’s a crossroads. To the left you can descend to Haweswater, the right to Kentmere, and continuing ahead takes you to Harter Fell.

After much debate we decided to continue with only three fells left. Although we finished the hike absolutely fine we were properly knackered. I strongly recommend NOT doing this hike on the hottest day of the year!

The ascent up to Harter Fells summit, like the rest of the route, is very well marked, however it is very step and is the longest incline since that at the beginning of the hike.

We took a lot of pauses on this incline to admire the all around views. Looking back on the fells we had already completed it was fairly obvious to see why we knackered. The ascent/descent between each summit is continuous and brutal in the heat. The Fairfield Horseshoe in comparison does not have this level undulation between the summits, making it a much less grueling undertaking.

Harter Fells summit is marked by an obvious cairn. We took a short pause here before continuing on the home stretch. You can tell we are starting to get pretty exhausted.

Kentmere Pike

Although there is a small ascent on the walk between Harter Fell and Kentmere Pike, the majority of the path is a fairly gentle decline. From the summit cairn on Harter Fell we headed south on a grassy path the follows a fence.

This path does eventually become more obvious again as you get closer to the summit.

The summit itself is marked, again by a cairn close to a stone wall. It is not the most exciting of the summits on the route but still well marked. We took a very short rest here before continuing to the last fell of the route.

Shipman Knotts

As the 9th and final summit of the Kentmere Horseshoe you would expect Shipman Knotts to have a bit more about itself. The descent from Kentmere Pike was fairly easy although the path was becoming less and less well put together.

Initially the grassy path follows a stone wall, however this begins to diverge a little away from the wall, which becomes a post and rail fence. A small diversion to Goat Scar, the outcrop to the left in the photo below, allows for great views over Sadgill.

We stuck to the main path in favour of getting to the pub slightly faster.

The summit is again marked by a cairn but i otherwise unremarkable. Jonny and I stopped for one final rest here before the final leg of our journey.

Descent

This is where the hike got truly disheartening. We followed the grassy path for a while with great views of the Kentmere valley ahead of us.

The path became less and less obvious the closer we got to the Stile End-Sadgill Pass. It kept diverging and we just had to use our judgement and keep heading towards the obvious track at the bottom of the slope.

When we did reach the track we turned right and headed through a gate and some farm buildings towards the middle of the valley, still heading downhill.

As you head through the buildings take a look to your right and admire the route you have completed. An amazing sense of achievement.

This track eventually reaches a road, at which point you will turn left, heading towards Kentmere.

We followed the road for a short distance before taking the first road to the right. This took us down into the village to join up to the road on which our car was parked. Here we turned right and back up the hill a short distance to our car.

There isn’t a lot in the small village of Kentmere so we jumped in the car and headed into Staveley for a well deserved pint. We aimed for Staveley Mill Yard where you can find a variety of great places to get some refreshment. Hawkshead Brewery was our chosen spot but I would also highly recommend More Bakery. Either way, it’s a great location to celebrate completing one of the Lake Districts more challenging hikes.

Have you completed the Kentmere Horseshoe? Did you include High Street? Let me know in the comments!