Bonscale Pike

From the lake, what you notice are the two stone beacons on the rim of the crags above Howtown. The lower one is known as Bonscale Tower. The actual summit is a small cairn on a grassy mound a little way behind them. From the edge you look across Ullswater to the Helvellyn fells, while Loadpot Hill blocks the view south.

The fell is the end of a spur that runs north from Loadpot Hill over Swarth Fell and narrows towards the top. Its western face is craggy, with Fusedale Beck on one side. On the other, the ravine of Swarthbeck Gill divides it from Arthur's Pike.

From Howtown a path slants up across the front of the fell. One line goes round the north end of the crags past the beacons; a more direct line to the south is not clearly marked. Either way the ground is steep grass. Walk Lakes urges caution on this slope.

Parking near Howtown is scarce. There are a few informal spaces on the zigzags up to Martindale Hause and a couple more at the top. The Ullswater steamer stops at Howtown pier, which saves the drive, as long as you are back for the last boat.

Few people climb Bonscale Pike on its own. The Walk Lakes Fusedale round starts at Martindale Hause, goes over Steel Knotts, Wether Hill and Loadpot Hill, and returns by Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike, about 14 km in all. Between the two pikes you cross the head of Swarthbeck Gill near a sheepfold. Heading the other way, the ridge path to Loadpot Hill crosses the High Street Roman road, where old boundary stones lie scattered about.