Our kind of High Street

Most folks think of the High Street as an avenue of shops – a feast for your eyes (and wallet). But for us, this High Street offers much more tempting views and priceless experiences.

The last time Lay and I ventured up High Street I was heavily pregnant with Megan and so it was fitting that we tackle it again just before her tenth birthday. Previously we ascended this peak from Hartsop in the west but this time, inspired by Julia Bradbury’s Wainwright walks, we decided to attempt it from Haweswater in the east.

We were lucky to grab one of the last parking spots at the Mardale Head and sheltered from the wind in our campervan for a spot of lunch before venturing out. Our ascent, ‘the connoisseur’s route’ according to AW, takes the ridge of Rough Crag and Long Stile.

The ridge gave us some good scrambling opportunities, whilst being careful not to venture too close to the steep sides.

As we continued to ascend we had the rare sight of seeing two tarns from the same spot – Blea Water and Small Water. It wasn’t long after this that we became engulfed by the cloud – probably no bad thing given the number of false summits on this route!!!

From the ridge we emerged onto the rounded summit plateau of High Street and headed into the wind until we reached the trig point which stands at 828m.

Whilst enjoying the easy walking along the summit plateau the cloud lifted to reveal breathtaking views of our route. We even spotted a couple of wild campers tucked away on the hillside.

The route back to Mardale Head was varied, with some steep rocky sections interspersed by shallow gradient paths – the latter being appreciated by our tired legs.

The car park had cleared out by the time we returned so we moved location to take full advantage of the view. From here we enjoyed a lovely pasta supper before hitting the sack as we had a big day ahead of us…….