Buttermere, Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike

It was an overcast morning, but the pressure was rising. It was the opportunity I had been waiting for, and despite not having forgotten the deluge that drenched me on the previous evening's ramble, I was going to take the walk I had mapped out a month earlier. A mix of work obligations and bad weather had delayed me until now, but there was to be delay no longer.

I travelled up the M6 from Manchester to the Lakes—an unusual route for me—and while doing so watched the thick cloud disperse. The weather continued to improve as I drove over Honister Hause to Gatesgarth, arriving to bright sunshine. Omens were good!

Changing into my walking gear at Gatesgarth Farm Car Park, I set off. The view ahead spurred me onward with Warnscale and Buttermere Fell luring me across the flat stretch from the farm to Peggy's Bridge. Pausing before crossing the footbridge to admire Warnscale Beck flowing into Buttermere, my impatient legs soon urged me onto the fell.

Walking past a small wood, I turned due south toward Scarth Gap. Looking back, Buttermere and its neighboring fells—including High Snockrigg displaying rugged crags—looked glorious.

As I climbed, clouds streamed across Fleetwith Pike from the south-east. Though high pressure was building, it wasn't clearing the heights above 500 metres quite as quickly as hoped, and Haystacks remained hidden in mist.

Reaching a series of large boulders above the woodland—which Wainwright described as "a test of iron discipline to pass without halting several large comfortable boulders"—I took a 20-minute break overlooking the Warnscale valley in hopes the cloud would lift. When it didn't clear above 500 metres, I resumed my climb.

Reaching Scarth Gap, I climbed to my right through interesting crag paths toward Haystacks summit. The cloud hanging overhead hindered navigation slightly, requiring a couple of minor retracements, but I eventually reached the summit, marked by its tarn and humble cairn.

Though views were hidden, Wainwright's tribute rang true: "This is in fact the best fell-top of all – a place of great charm and fairyland attractiveness."

Lingering at the intermediate tarns and Innominate Tarn, the swirling mist created a spectral, magical feel. It felt as if Wainwright's spirit still lingered here.

After a 30-minute rest, I descended toward Blackbeck Tarn and Green Crag, spotting the slate piles of Dubs Quarry across Warnscale Beck.

After climbing up from Warnscale Beck to Dubs Quarry, I drew a smiley face on a conveniently shaped piece of slate and left it by the path to cheer fellow walkers. Meeting a friendly fellow hiker along the Honister Dismantled Tramway, we chatted about our passion for the hills before I climbed Fleetwith Pike via Black Star.

Reaching Fleetwith Pike's summit briefly touched by wispy cloud, I began the descent down Fleetwith Edge. While Wainwright rated it a great climb, I will always rate it as one of the greatest descents in the Lake District due to the thrilling path and the stunning north-westerly prospect of the Buttermere and Crummock Water gap flanked by High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike.