Bonscale Fell
1 NY470244 Follow the street towards River Eamont (note that the river bridge may be absent during part of 2019, cutting off the village from the usual parking west of the river). The first part of the walk (to Howtown) follows Ullswater Way daffodil waymarks. Just on the village side of the bridge, turn into the driveway of Eusemere Lodge. In 50m, a gravel track bears right to Ullswater shore. Follow the shoreline path to Waterside campsite then turn up left to the small road that runs towards Howtown. Follow this for 500m. 2 NY459226 Turn left up to Cross Dormont. Follow signs south past Seat Farm to a phone box at Crook-adyke. Follow the track ahead, and at Thwaitehill fork left to pass above the buildings. A path contours to join a track slanting downhill, passing below two cottages. Fork up left through woods and slant up to Swarthbeck house. Turn up left, to a path along the foot of open fell.
3 NY452207 Follow the wide path along the fell foot for 1km. Pass above Howtown Hotel, then above a house just below the path. In another 75m concrete posts marking a buried water pipe are alongside the path.
4 NY445196 Here a small path heads directly and steeply uphill, then slants up leftwards, to the tip of a hill shoulder. The path turns east across the shoulder then slants up to the right, joining a terraced old path. After a short zigzag back left and right again, the slope eases off. Now the path left contours along the top of the steepest slope, to arrive at the insignificant summit of Bonscale Pike. Slant downhill ahead, to two tall, square cairns high above Ullswater. 5 NY453201 Next is to hunt down the remnants of a small stone circle at the head of Swarth Beck. Turn back south, on a path along a broad, shallow ridgeline. Leave it to contour left (southeast) into a shallow hollow, and head up just to left of the tiny beck. The stone circle has just three upright stones remaining, not much more than knee-high among the grassy tussocks – marked on Landranger and Harvey mapping but not Explorer (NY456192). From the stone circle, head directly uphill to join the main ridgeline path not far above. Follow it up to the trig point on
Loadpot Hill. 6 NY456181
Take the wide main ridgeline path back down north, keeping to right of the slight hollow of Swarth Beck. After 1.5km the ridgeline rises slightly. The path then runs down north for 1km, to arrive on another slight rise: Arthur’s Pike. Leave the path and follow hummocky terrain left to the summit cairn, 200m away. Take a small path gently downhill north-west, towards distant Blencathra, to find a larger cairn at the brink of the Ullswater drop. Below it is another, a bit larger still and even more poised. 7 NY458207 From this lower cairn, a small path contours north-east, along the top of the steep slope. It passes White Knott, and runs down to join a stony-surfaced track just above the top wall enclosing Barton Park.
8 NY472219 Turn right, signed as Ullswater Way. The track soon crosses a stream (Aik Beck), then bends slightly right and leads to Cockpit Stone Circle. Just before the stone circle bear left and head north across moorland for 500m to meet a wide, gravel track. Turn down left to a gate and the lane top at Roehead. Follow the lane down into Pooley Bridge.