A difficult route in Western Fells. Check the GPS track on Outdooractive for full details of the route, waypoints, and terrain.
Terrain: Forest track along northern shore of Ennerdale Water, Coast to Coast path, woodland track, two footbridges, steep woodland path, stile, open fell path, Silver Cove, Caw Fell summit, crags scramble, Little Gowder Crag, Haycock summit, wall path, gate, intermittent path over Tewit How, improving ridge path, Nine Becks Walk, woodland descent, Woundell Beck, bridge, Coast to Coast return IMPORTANT — MOUNTAIN SAFETY: This is a serious Lake District mountain walk with nearly 800m of ascent including a crags scramble between Caw Fell and Haycock. The path over Tewit How is intermittent and requires care in poor visibility. Full mountain kit is essential.
A superb and remote mountain walk in one of the wildest and least visited corners of the Lake District — Wild Ennerdale National Nature Reserve, where the valley is managed to rewild naturally and the sense of true remoteness is unlike almost anywhere else in the Lakes. The approach along the northern shore of Ennerdale Water is a fine opener, with the lake and forest setting the mood before the track turns south into the trees for the steep climb to Silver Cove and the open fell beyond. Caw Fell delivers one of the great western fell viewpoints on a clear day — the view across Wasdale and the potential sighting of the Isle of Man from the far cairns making it a summit well worth lingering on — and the crags scramble east to Little Gowder Crag and on to Haycock adds a welcome technical dimension before the summit plateau of the highest point of the day. The return north via the intermittent path over Tewit How demands some navigation care but the Nine Becks Walk and the wooded descent to Woundell Beck provide a satisfying finish back to the Coast to Coast and the lakeshore return. A walk in fine country that deserves to be done more often.