Place Fell from Patterdale

Place Fell is the steep, craggy hill that faces Glenridding and Patterdale across the head of Ullswater, 657m high. WalkLakes, the route guide that describes this circuit, calls it an intimidating jumble of crags and steep rocky scree seen from the valley, and says an old track is what makes it climbable. Wikipedia notes that Wainwright called the lakeshore path below it, from Sandwick to Patterdale, the most beautiful and rewarding walk in Lakeland.

The route leaves Patterdale by the lane to Side Farm, which has a tearoom, and climbs through old slate quarry debris past a cave. A narrow path then bears off the main track and uses rakes and gullies to get round the crags, passing through a stand of juniper before it eases onto the boggy plateau and reaches the tall trig point. The descent crosses Round How and drops by a pitched path down Steel Edge to Boredale Hause, where a ruin marked on Ordnance Survey maps as the Chapel in the Hause stands at the top of the pass.

WalkLakes gives 7.4km with 546m of ascent and a minimum time of 2 hours 24 minutes, rates the terrain as hands on rock and steep or loose scree, and the ground as wet and boggy. Parking in Patterdale is severely limited, largely confined to the overflow car park of the Patterdale Hotel, because the village is also the start for the Helvellyn ridges. The route suits a walker who wants a real summit in half a day. It does not suit anyone without navigation skills, since the plateau is crossed by paths in every direction and WalkLakes says it is not a place to be caught in low visibility. For the lake without the climb, Aira Force is a National Trust waterfall walk of 7.2km.