Haystacks Horseshoe

17/6/23

What can I say about this place! It was such an unbelievable day! From the off everything just seemed to go so well! We started off by seeing Richard Hamond in the town, just on a morning jog…Couldn’t believe it! That set us up for a good day!

We managed to park up for free near the town, there are about 10 spaces in a small layby, we got there around 8am and and was one of the first there which was great!

We walked around Buttermere lake which was a nice simple flat walk to start us off and wake our legs up a little bit. I would recommend heading up to Fleetwith pike first and complete the horseshoe that way round! It is by far the easier way to do it.

We headed up to Fleetwith pike and it definitely got steep quickly! That nice pace you have going on turns into a crawl and a session of complaining lol. Around the first part of the ascent there is a White cross with a small sign on it. After reading into the white cross on the side of Fleetwith pike, it comes with a sad story about a girl names Fanny Mercer who was a young servant girl who worked for a School teacher. She was on holiday with this family on their summer vacation, on their decent down the steep ridge of Fleetwith pike, Fanny who was not an accomplished walker, jumped down from a ledge and lost her balance. They poor girl fell around 20 feet and passed away before help could arrive. Things like this are a very scary thought and just shows that even though something may seem very simple and easy for you, one mistake or one wrong footing can have big repercussions. All this being said….DO NOT let this put you off! One, we did it the opposite way round to Fanny so we were going up where she came down, but you just need to be careful, it isn’t a dangerous walk when you stick to the paths and pay attention to any drops etc.

On our way up we came across 2 guys also completing part of the Haystacks Horseshoe, After chatting for a while, we ended up doing the full hike together until they dropped back down and we carried on. This is what I love about being out hiking, you can speak to everyone, 99% of people are so polite and love a good chat about where they have been and where they are going! While heading up Fleetwith pike, we were getting to know the guys so it takes off some of the pressure of thinking about what you are doing and how hard it is to get up a mountain! The good thing is Fleetwith pike turns into a scramble…and for anyone that knows me well….knows I will fly up a scramble like it’s nothing! So I was in my element by this point and before we knew it we were on top of Fleetwith pike!

Thank you Tom for this photo of me looking out!

We had a bit of a break for photos and water before we carried on over to Haystacks, But before hitting Haystacks you are given some lovely little surprises! On the way down Fleetwith pike we came across a Bothy, for anyone that doesn’t know what this is, it is a basic shelter, left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge, all they ask is you clean up after yourselves and take your rubbish! People even leave things behind for the next person to use. You even have a lovely view when you are staying within the Bothy.

From here, we kept heading over to Haystacks, where before you get there you hit a tarn. This tarn is most likely one of the most special tarns going! Wainwrights ashes are scattered here. While we were sat admiring the tarn and fully understanding why he decided he wanted them scattering there, we had the cutest little duck family come over to us. This tarn is such a surreal experience, it really makes you start to think about things and think about Wainwright himself. First of all one little duckling came over to us instead of following the family to go to someone else for food. Next thing, before we knew it, we had the whole family surrounding us, eating cake and sandwiches from our hands and jumping higher than I thought a duckling could jump! This was by far one of the most precious moments I have ever experienced. At this point we had to remind one of the guys with us not to expect this on every hike lol! He just got very spoilt on his first hike in the lakes!

I mean can these ducklings get any cuter though really?

After enjoying the company of the ducklings for a little bit and one of the lads becoming the duck whisperer, we headed off to Haystacks.

Haystacks is a confusing little Wainwright…It has around 4 parts on the top that could be the actual Wainwright point…So we did what any normal person would do…and touched all four…You know…Just in case.

The views from Haystacks is very beautiful, you can see so many Wainwrights surrounding it, if you haven’t been, it really is worth a visit. Being able to see the whole horseshoe from here is amazing. It makes Red pike look good….But more on this later!

Next you are scrambling down Haystacks and heading over to seat. Normally my moto is if it isn’t a Wainwright, Ethel or Trig I am not going up the pointless hill or mountain….Well I thought this was a Wainwright (Blaming Tom for this), I was gutted to find out it wasn’t at the end of the hike…Not sure if there is a way around it but your choice at this point. Seat is a little steep but worth the walk up after all! The scramble down Haystacks is a nice little scramble, again I am in my element here so I was loving it and can fly up and down a scramble. It is like a child’s playground. Haystacks is the last of your proper scrambles on the horseshoe to make the most of it!

Coming over High Crag, we were walking and the path disappeared but because it is rocky you don’t really notice a path, until you realise you have lost the it and start searching and find an actual path. My mum pointed out that we seemed to have no path and it just turned to rock…Thankfully we turned left and found the path, as when you got to the other side of where we were walking we realised we were about to walk off sheer cliff edge, with a not so nice drop before we took the left turn! So please take care and look for the paths around High Crag and High Stile. After High Crag you walk over to High Stile, this is an extra 200 ft up from High Crag, but definitely one that I didn’t feel as much as the others, I actually walked over High Stile without realising so it isn’t a noticeable up. So not really a fun one to do but the views are amazing from here.

The last up is to Red pike….My god….This is by far the WORST Wainwright or hill or mountain I have EVER done…And that Includes the terrible Ben Nevis Tourist path (For anyone that knows me, they know I HATED the tourist path). Red Pike….What is wrong with it….Well to be honest…It is more like what is right with it! It is terrible, it is horrible, it is not nice to walk on up or down for that matter! I will not be doing it again! I couldn’t even say it would be better doing it the other way round…It just wouldn’t. It doesn’t matter what way you come up or down Red pike, you hit Scree like it or not! Scree is just a mass of small loose stones that cover a slope on a mountain…And does it just that!

It lives up to its name of Red pike as the rich red colouring is by the presence of syenite in the rock and subsoil of the fell. So what is wrong with Red pike? The scree is so bad that you really do struggle on it. Every moment and every movement you feel like you are going to loose your footing, it is really worrying and we honestly, didn’t think we would be able to do. We managed to find some grassy parts going up that had less stones so that helped us, so look out for these bits! When you do get to the top, it is a nice walk over the top with stunning views! Your problems restart when you want to go down the other side. You hit the scree all over again, the good thing is for a lot of this though there is grass you can aim for that really stops you from slipping on anything! Just be careful here as you do have to hit the scree some times. It is a steep and very slow decent down to the tarn, not one I will be repeating any time soon. The good thing about this path is…It leads to the tarn! Now the tarn is beautiful, at the bottom of the Wainwrights you have just walked! Getting in there after the hiking you have just completed is a very good feeling! This was my first dip too!

Once I had had a cool down in the tarn and got changed out of my wet clothes, we headed back down to the lake. Well this was just a boring slog of a walk! Just steps all the way down and they are not fun steps either! This eventually takes you right back to the lake, so bear with it, the end is in sight! We not quite but you’ll see the bottom soon enough! It isn’t a far walk back to the car from here, I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see that car at the end of the day! Although it is a small up hill walk back to the car and my god…that small hill feels like a mountain and hurts a lot!

Overall this is one of my best hikes ever! I would tell everyone to go and do it, and I have so many important memories that came from there that I could never forget them or that place! Haystacks lived up to its reputation one of my friends had been giving it for months! 100% worth a visit! It will always have a big space in my heart!

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