Sail, Crag Hill, Grasmoor, Hopegill Head and Grisedale Pike

The "not-so-famous five" who completed the Helvellyn walk yesterday had grown into the "less-than-magnificent seven" overnight as young outriders Greg and Martin joined us for an epic day out. The Coledale Horseshoe was our mission—a route I had wanted to tackle ever since walking the neighbouring Newlands Horseshoe four years earlier.

The weather had calmed into a balmy, sunny summer day, exactly as it had years before. We parked in Braithwaite and set off, ascending steadily along a metalled road toward High Coledale. The climbing quickly coaxed out the lingering effects of the previous night's beers in Penrith, and as we climbed 130 metres in the first kilometre and 160 in the second toward Barrow Door just below Stile End, I wiped the sweat from my brow.

At Barrow Door, something remarkable happened—something my colleagues and I will never forget. As we paused for a rest, a stray dog approached us. We assumed it belonged to a couple sitting nearby by the path. Not so!

After acknowledging our friendly visitor, we continued our climb onto higher ground surrounding Coledale, passing Barrow Door (380m) to High Moss flanking Outerside (500m), and then more steeply past Long Comb to a path junction near Scar Crags where we stopped for refreshments.

Throughout the climb from Barrow Door, the dog had led us precisely—staying about 100 metres ahead and pausing to look back, checking on our progress. During our break, he joined us, sitting quietly in our midst. When we rose to resume the climb toward Sail (our first Wainwright of the day, 500m away and 140m higher), our new companion rose too, leading us directly to the summit.

On cresting Sail, our guide dog led us onward across the Scar (requiring a little easy scrambling) to Crag Hill (also known as Eel Crag). This good Samaritan sheepdog had officially adopted us for the day! We rested on Crag Hill and reviewed the route. With energy high, we decided to include an ascent of nearby Grasmoor across an inviting, lush grass plateau.

The walk to Grasmoor was sublime—an elevated, non-boggy stroll across rolling green turf leading directly to the summit cairn. The western flank revealed magnificent views down to Loweswater, Crummock Water, and Buttermere, while the Scafell range dominated the southern horizon. Appropriately, Wainwright included a rare two-page panoramic sketch of this view in Book 6 (The North Western Fells). We lingered on the summit for quite some time, our canine guide taking a well-earned rest alongside us.

Returning from Grasmoor toward Coledale Hause, we passed close to the dramatic Dove Crags on Grasmoor’s north-east face. Bounding off Grasmoor toward Coledale Hause in high spirits, I led the group up Sand Hill before we stepped onto Hopegill Head (Hobcarton Pike).

At Hopegill Head—a natural crossroads of fell paths—we took another break and made sure our guide dog was rewarded with a sandwich, which vanished instantly. Descending past the precarious edge of Hobcarton Crag, we made our final ascent up the natural ridge to Grisedale Pike, our fifth and final Wainwright of the day.

As we rested on Grisedale Pike, another wonderful surprise occurred: a fellow walker approached and asked, "Are you the Walking Englishman?" He thanked me for the website's route guides, mentioning he hailed from Hull and read all my work. I was deeply flattered!

Following our encounter, our canine guide led us off Grisedale Pike down the ridge past Sleet How, back to the tree line, and down to the Whinlatter Pass road into Braithwaite. Knowing he was safely back home, our super-friendly guide left us without fuss. An absolute classic walk with spectacular highlights and an unforgettable bonus guide!