Lake District Walks
Dale Head & Robinson
Date: 9th August 2014
Distance: 6.5 miles
Ascent: 3074 feet
Time: 5 hours 30 mins
With: Liam
Start Grid Ref: NY225135
Walk Summary:
A superb linear walk from Honister Hause to Buttermere via Dale Head, Hindscarth, Robinson and the less well known High Snockrigg.
Route Summary: Honister Hause - Dale Head - Hindscarth Edge - Hindscarth - Littledale Edge - Robinson - Buttermere Moss - Great Snockrigg - Buttermere
Photos: Click on the photos below to enlarge.
Walk Detail: This was the second walk of a two-day trip to Buttermere with my nine year old nephew Liam - his first walking trip to the Lake District. Taking advantage of the Keswick to Buttermere bus this was a linear walk from Honister Hause back to Buttermere via a succession of tops starting with Dale Head.
The ascent of Dale Head from Honister Hause was direct and uncomplicated. While it lacked the stunning retrospective views we'd enjoyed the previous day climbing Fleetwith Pike this route had the advantage of leaving the best view from Dale Head - along the full length of the Newlands valley - until the last moment when we arrived at the summit cairn.
When we set off there was a bit of drizzle in the air and many of the higher fells still had a covering of cloud. As we arrived at the top of Dale Head the cloud began to break and by the time we had dropped down Hindscarth Edge and made our way on Hindscarth it had turned in to a quite beautiful day. It was also quite windy so I earmarked the shelter situated to the north of Hindscarth's summit as our stopping point for lunch. It was a fantastic place to stop for lunch with the view north-east towards Keswick and the northern fells quite stunning.
Next on the route was Robinson which, like Dale Head and Hindscarth, I had only previously climbed once before. On that occasion, back in 2007, the tops had been covered in hill fog so to be able to enjoy the views on such a beautiful day was a real bonus for me and I must have told Liam several times how lucky he was. It was certainly a real contrast to the weather we'd had the day before whilst crossing over Haystacks!
After the steep drop north from the top of Robinson we encountered some distinctly moist moments underfoot whilst crossing Buttermere Moss. This was Liam's first encounter with a bog and in the space of a few minutes he nearly lost his footwear and ended up on his backside in a particularly squidgy spot. Again to his credit he didn't complain and actually quite enjoyed it.
Rather than heading directly down from Buttermere Moss we first made the short detour on to the summit High Snockrigg. A major part of the Buttermere scene and with a summit about a mile away from Robinson's I've often wondered why Wainwright ommitted High Snockrigg from his list of fells. Although it is not counted as a Wainwright it does appear on the list of Deweys (hills over 500m) and as such was on my 'to-do' list. The top of High Snockrigg, marked by a pitifully small cairn, was certainly worth visiting particularly for the views of the Buttermere valley which were quite superb.
This was a super walk which we both thoroughly enjoyed. In addition to the two fells he'd climbed the previous day Liam had added three more Wainwrights to his starter collection although I'm not sure what he thought when I told him he only had another 209 to go!
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