Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head & Whiteside - Tuesday 18 February 2025
Route
Braithwaite - Kinn - Sleet How - Grisedale Pike - Hobcarton Crag - Hopegill Head - Whiteside East Top - Whiteside - Whiteside East Top - Hopegill Head - Sand Hill - Coledale Hause - Force Crag Mine Road - Braithwaite
Parking
Plenty of options for parking in Braithwaite. We parked overnight to the left of Braithwaite Chapel (Grid Ref NY 229236, nearest postcode CA12 5TL) just a few hundred yards from The Coledale Inn. Please park sensibly in the parking area to the left of the church in the designated section and not on grass verges.
Mileage
10.3 miles
Terrain
Good mountain paths throughout
Weather
Dull & overcast for the majority of the day although we did have the odd sunny spell
Time Taken
6hrs
Total Ascent
3243ft (988m)
Wainwrights
3
Map
OL4 - The English Lakes (North Western Area)
Walkers
Dave, Rob Newby & Rufus
Braithwaite - Kinn - Sleet How - Grisedale Pike - Hobcarton Crag - Hopegill Head - Whiteside East Top - Whiteside - Whiteside East Top - Hopegill Head - Sand Hill - Coledale Hause - Force Crag Mine Road - Braithwaite
Parking
Plenty of options for parking in Braithwaite. We parked overnight to the left of Braithwaite Chapel (Grid Ref NY 229236, nearest postcode CA12 5TL) just a few hundred yards from The Coledale Inn. Please park sensibly in the parking area to the left of the church in the designated section and not on grass verges.
Mileage
10.3 miles
Terrain
Good mountain paths throughout
Weather
Dull & overcast for the majority of the day although we did have the odd sunny spell
Time Taken
6hrs
Total Ascent
3243ft (988m)
Wainwrights
3
Map
OL4 - The English Lakes (North Western Area)
Walkers
Dave, Rob Newby & Rufus
GPX Files
From 1 March 2025 GPX files will not be available directly from the walk page as there is difficulty in using a downloadable version from the website. To that end, if you require a GPX File please get in touch via the Contact Form below and we will gladly forward it to you - thank you.
From 1 March 2025 GPX files will not be available directly from the walk page as there is difficulty in using a downloadable version from the website. To that end, if you require a GPX File please get in touch via the Contact Form below and we will gladly forward it to you - thank you.
Route Map
The walk today started from the small parking area next to the Old Methodist Chapel in Braithwaite. In 2017 the Orthodox Church of St Bega, St Mungo and St Herbert purchased the chapel. The parking area is to the left where there is room for about 8 considerately parked cars.
From the bridge over Coledale Beck the path leads to the B5292 and heads uphill along the road. Just before leaving the B5292 on the right hand side of the road is the Hope Memorial Camp, a residential centre used throughout the year by youth groups from all over the country. The camp was the brain-child of Mr A H Hope, Headmaster of The Roan School, Greenwich (now The John Roan School) from 1916 to 1930. In 1923, with his own money, Hope bought forty acres of land to the north-west of the village and built four huts on it, to provide his South London grammar school boys with 'an opportunity of seeing mountains and lakes and of having the valuable experience of camping and living at close quarters with others.' With the aid of The Roan Foundation, the original green and white painted wooden structures were replaced in 1989 by more substantial ones using modern building materials.
Just past the Hope Memorial Camp a path on the left heads steeply uphill into woodland
Looking to the Skiddaw group as the route exits the woodland
Looking over Braithwaite to Clough Head, The Dodds & Bleaberry Fell
The start of the ascent over Kinn with Causey Pike now in view to the left
Looking down into Coledale and the Force Crag Mine Road
With Kinn negotiated it was now time to make the long climb up Sleet How to Grisedale Pike
Looking back down to Kinn with Skiddaw, Blencathra, Great Mell Fell & Clough Head to the rear
Causey Pike, Outerside & Scar Crags from Sleet How
The head of Coledale with Force Crag Mine below - l-r Sail, The Scar, Crag Hill, Eel Crag, Coledale Hause & Grasmoor
The final pull up to the summit of Grisedale Pike and Rufus mocking our progress
The ridge of Sleet How from the ascent of Grisedale Pike
A moody looking Skiddaw over Hospital Plantation
About half way up the final ascent Rob realised he had dropped Rufus's lead on Sleet How - Rufus rolls his eyes at me as his breathless owner catches us up after thankfully retrieving it
Approaching the summit of Grisedale Pike, Rufus has a good old sniff about
Looking down to Hobcarton End & Whinlatter with the Solway Firth & Scotland distant
The summit of Grisedale Pike
Sand Hill, Hopegill Head, Whiteside & Ladyside Pike from Grisedale Pike
From Grisedale Pike we would drop down to the south west and then sweep along the ridge to the right to reach Hopegill Head via Hobcarton Crag
At Grid Reference NY 19521 22151 the path splits - we would be continuing straight on however if you wanted to cut the walk short then the path to the left leads to Coledale Hause
The summit of Hobcarton Crag with Grasmoor left & Hopegill Head to the right
Looking back to our descent from Grisedale Pike from Hobcarton Crag
Coledale Hause now in view below Crag Hill, Eel Crag & Grasmoor
From Hobcarton Crag the route drops down into a col then rises steeply to reach Hopegill Head
At Grid Reference NY 19300 21998 the path splits once more - the path to the left joins up with the previous fork and drops down to Coledale Hause
Dropping into the col with Sand Hill & Hopegill Head now in full view
Hopegill Head and the steep face of Hobcarton Crag
Looking down Hobcarton to Ladyside Pike & Hobcarton End
Grisedale Pike & Hobcarton Crag from the approach to Hopegill Head
From the summit of Hopegill Head there is a wonderful ridge walk over to Ladyside Pike & Swinside - a link to a walk we completed in 2021 encompassing these two fells is here
The summit of Hopegill Head looking along the ridge to Whiteside. This walk, in my humble opinion is one of the best ridge transits in the Lake District - we would be doing an out & back today.
Off we go - it is really worth taking your time along the arête. The summit of Whiteside is the furthest away with the East Top in the foreground.
Perfect conditions today which made our transit very easy
If icy or after rain then the ridge becomes more precarious therefore take your time
Despite the ridge looking "knife edge" to be honest it really isn't
Approaching Whiteside East Top with the summit beyond
Gasgale Gill below with Grasmoor beyond. The hill to the right over the other side of Crummock Water is Mellbreak.
The summit of Whiteside looking back to Hopegill Head
Looking down the Whin Ben ascent/descent over Crummock Water to Mellbreak
Gasgale Gill with Grasmoor beyond from Whiteside's summit
Gasgale Crags, Gasgale Gill & Coledale Hause
The summit of Whiteside (Click Play to view)
Time to head back from whence we came - and a chance to walk this delightful ridge again
Heading back to Hopegill Head - this time with a bit of blue sky
Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head and Sand Hill from just beyond Whiteside's East Top
Ladyside Pike
Rob & Rufus on the final approach back to Hopegill Head
A last look to Whiteside before we reach the summit of Hopegill Head for the second time today
The final approach to Hopegill Head with Sand Hill to the right - we were off there next
The path to Sand Hill from Hopegill Head
Whiteside and Gasgale Gill from the approach to Sand Hill
Grasmoor, Gasgale Gill & Whiteside from Sand Hill
The summit of Sand Hill looking to Grisedale Pike & Hobcarton Crag
I think it is safe to say Rufus had a very enjoyable day today
The steep descent from Sand Hill to Coledale Hause
Looking to Grisedale Pike from below Sand Hill - the two escape paths I mentioned earlier can clearly be seen
Approaching Coledale Hause looking to Scar Crags, Crag Hill, Eel Crag, Wandope & the slopes of Grasmoor
Looking back to our descent down Sand Hill from Coledale Hause
Descending into Coledale from the Hause with the Force Crag Mine Road visible centre left
From the Hause the route down to Force Crag Mine is on a good path which is steep in places
Eel Crag
Force Crag Mine now in view over to the left with the mine water treatment system centre. The two settling ponds are designed to clean water polluted by metals from the abandoned mine.
Outerside
Force Crag Mine
Force Crag Mine was the last working metal mine in the Lake District, prior to its final abandonment in 1991. The site was mined for lead from 1839 until 1865, and for zinc and barytes from 1867. The job of the mill to the right was to separate these minerals from each other, and from any other minerals and the country rock. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and a geological SSSI (site of special scientific interest). The mine occupies a spectacular location at the head of the Coledale Valley. The mill buildings were built in 1908-9 and redesigned in 1939-40. The mill contains the ore-refining machinery that was in use during the 1980s. It is the only former mineral mining site in the country that has retained its processing equipment in something approaching complete order. The National Trust now owns the site and access to the processing mill buildings and machinery was restored in 2004. Visitors can discover what was mined and follow the processing of the minerals through the mill plant.
Force Crag Mine was the last working metal mine in the Lake District, prior to its final abandonment in 1991. The site was mined for lead from 1839 until 1865, and for zinc and barytes from 1867. The job of the mill to the right was to separate these minerals from each other, and from any other minerals and the country rock. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and a geological SSSI (site of special scientific interest). The mine occupies a spectacular location at the head of the Coledale Valley. The mill buildings were built in 1908-9 and redesigned in 1939-40. The mill contains the ore-refining machinery that was in use during the 1980s. It is the only former mineral mining site in the country that has retained its processing equipment in something approaching complete order. The National Trust now owns the site and access to the processing mill buildings and machinery was restored in 2004. Visitors can discover what was mined and follow the processing of the minerals through the mill plant.
After crossing Coledale Beck it was a simple transit along the mine road back to Braithwaite
Reaching the Car Park near Braithwaite with the Whinlatter Pass below
It would be silly not to I suppose
The Coledale Inn, Braithwaite - a really nice venue for a customary walk debrief
Cheers Rob - a nice pint of Disco Piss to top off the day