Harter Fell from Hardknott Pass

There are two fells called Harter Fell in the Lake District, and this is the one that sits between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley, not the higher, better-known one near Haweswater. It is reached most directly from the top of Hardknott Pass, where roadside parking gives a head start of nearly 400m before the walk even begins. One route guide notes drily that the drive up the pass, one of the steepest roads in England, may be the hardest part of the day.

From the pass, a mountain path climbs around 267m over rough ground to a summit marked by a distinctive rock tor, quite different from the grassy or scree-covered tops of many neighbouring fells. The lower slopes carry forestry plantation, in contrast to the open fellside above: this is Hardknott Forest, 600 hectares of Sitka spruce that Forestry England and the University of Leeds are clear-felling back to oak, birch, heather and peatbog. The view from the top takes in Eskdale below and the Scafell range to the north.

Other approaches exist, from Eskdale itself via Jubilee Bridge, and from the Duddon Valley via Birks Bridge, both longer than the direct line from Hardknott Pass, and Harter Fell is also the final summit on the longer Woolpack round taking in several fells above upper Eskdale.

This route from the pass suits anyone wanting a mountain summit, if a short one, without a long approach walk first. It does not suit anyone nervous about the drive itself, since Hardknott Pass’s hairpins and gradients are an obstacle for an unfamiliar or low-powered vehicle before the walking even starts. Stanley Ghyll Force sits lower in the same valley, reached on ordinary road in a few minutes from Boot, for anyone who wants Eskdale without the pass.