High Street

The great north-south ridge of High Street is one of Lakeland’s most interesting places: 10km of pretty level ridge (once you are there), often narrow with dramatic slopes falling away each side. A Roman road previously ran along the ridge. There isn’t a whole heap of remains of the Roman road to be seen, but imagining the legionaries and other travellers trudging this high, lonely ridge is intensely romantic.

The High street ridge separates Ullswater/Patterdale and the rest of the Lakes from the lower country (and M6 motorway) to the east.

High Street is approachable from Ullswater/Patterdale to the west, and from Shap/Brampton to the east.

We strongly recommend you don’t just ‘bag’ High Street and leave: walk the ridge on the course of the Roman road, creating a circuit while you are at it.

From Patterdale, you wind up the hillside, on the Coast to Coast path, to Boredale Hause and then across the slopes via Angle Tarn to The Knott (or make the shorter alternative from Hartsop and on to High Street itself. It is really wonderful walking with endlessly changing views. Turn south along the narrow ridge with giddy drops on both sides to High Street proper, then heading on south to swing west and then either down the steep hillside into Pasture Bottom or cross Stony Cove Pike to descend Rough Edge to Caudale.

From Martindale [link], to the north-west, you climb by Gowk Hill and either directly up or, better, angling a bit to the south. Once on the ridge, you head south over Red Crag, Raven Howe, and High Raise, then swing west behind Rampsgill Head and below the Knoll, to descend on the Coast to Coast to Angle Tarn. From here you can either swing on round to descend the major path to Boredale. Or, better, treat yourself to the long ridge at the heart of Martindale, across Beda Fell.

There are a number of ways of approaching High Street from the Shap/Bampton side, including the shortest routes of all, from the head of Haweswater Reservoir, up the spectacular sharp ridge across Rough Crag and round to the south to swing round across Mardale Ill Bell and the sharp ridge to Harter Fell. Amazing!  

The top can be featureless in cloud, so take care in bad weather.

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See our Lake District [link] page for further photos and general and practical information.