Haystacks from Buttermere

Haystacks is a small fell by Lakeland standards, barely 600m high, but Alfred Wainwright named it as his favourite of the 214 he catalogued, and asked for his ashes to be scattered near the shore of Innominate Tarn just below the summit. His wife did so after his death. The circuit from Buttermere village follows the lakeshore before climbing to Scarth Gap Pass, which Wainwright called one of the pleasantest of Lakeland’s foot-passes, then turns steeply uphill onto Haystacks itself.

The ground gets rougher as height is gained. The path onto the summit plateau involves short sections of scrambling over rock, nothing technical but enough to need hands as well as feet, and the terrain among the many small tarns and knolls on top is uneven and easy to wander off-route in mist. The descent usually continues past Innominate Tarn and down through the old slate and stone quarry workings above Warnscale Beck, where loose scree and spoil make for slow, careful going before the path rejoins the lakeshore back to the village.

National Trust land takes in the Buttermere valley, all three of its lakes and much of the fell ground above them, Haystacks included. At around 13.7km and 671m of ascent for the full circuit, this is a half-day-plus commitment rather than a short outing, and the scrambling sections rule it out for anyone unsteady on rock. It suits walkers who want a proper mountain day without needing one of the bigger neighbouring fells, and it is squarely dog-friendly, though a dog needs to be fit, sure-footed, and, on one short scramble known as the Chimney, sometimes lifted between people rather than left to find its own way.