The Fairfield Horseshoe

After a few short(ish) walks over the past few days it was time to test ourselves with longer and challenging.  We selected what’s called ‘The Fairfield Horseshoe’ which is a demanding 11 mile walk that eventually reaches a height of 2,800 feet when you reach Fairfield peak.

The walk started off from Ambleside with a steady climb for a couple of miles before we got to the ridge at Sweden Crag.  Looking back over to Ambleside and Lake Windermere the views were spectacular.  From Sweden Crag it’s a steady slog to Low Pike and High Pike but the walk is made a little easier by the fact that we’re able to follow a wall that runs up the centre of the ridge.

At High Pike the weather started to change with an increase in the winds from the West at which point we climbed over a hole in the wall to the East side protecting us from the winds.

One thing I’ve learnt from having walked in the Lakes when I was a teenager is to treat them with respect and be prepared for the weather to suddenly change.  This was certainly the case as we neared Hart Crag when the weather turned to winter and the hill fog descended very quickly.  We were fortunate that the path was well marked, we had a map and compass, and waterproofs with us.  We’d seen some people walking in wellies and tracksuit bottoms!!

From Dove Crag it’s a steady walk to Hart Crag where it becomes a climb over large uneven boulders to reach various summits until there’s a reasonably flat walk to Fairfield peak (2,800 feet).  The weather was nasty at the top with high winds, rain, hill fog and capped off with it being cold.  I’d even carried sun lotion with me just in case we needed it, after all it is August!!

After navigating ourselves through the hill fog we managed to find our way back on to the path allowing us to descend to Great Rigg.  The remainder of the walk then gets easier and see’s us crossing a number of minor (in comparison to the previous peaks) rises until we reached Nab Scar.  The descent from Nab Scar isn’t very far but the steepness of the hill and the slippy paved path of stones was without doubt a challenge on the knees.  On one of our Kili training walks I’d hurt my left knee so came to the Lakes prepared with a knee brace and this is where it came into its own.  By the time we’d got the bottom there was no knee pain just serious tiredness.

In summary the walk was definitely testing and not only did we get through it but our boots gave us no problems, our rucksacks didn’t cause any pain and our waterproofs kept us not only dry but also warm.  On a walk like today’s seeing the car is a great sight!

Photos of today’s walk can be found here – Fairfield Horseshoe

In total we’ve walked 26.5 miles over 4 days with many more miles to come.

Tip for the day: Be prepared for bad weather even if it’s sunny.  It doesn’t take much effort to carry a rucksack with waterproofs, map and compass so whether you’re walking on the Moors or in the Lakes make sure you always have them with you.  I guarantee you won’t regret having them with you when bad weather descends on you quickly.

SUBSCRIBE TO DAVID'S DIARY