Hartsop above How

From above, the ridge has the curved shape of a billhook, running about three miles from the road near Brothers Water up to Hart Crag. Strictly it is the north-east ridge of Hart Crag, though Wainwright gave it a chapter. The name comes from a 19th-century township.

The ridge is the only sensible way up. You can start at Deepdale Bridge on the Patterdale road, at the far north-east end, and walk the whole length. Alternatively, start at the Brothers Water car park by Cow Bridge (NY 402 133), which takes about 20 cars on either side of the bridge, and climb the grassy slopes to join the ridge. The ground is mainly grass, with plenty of rock outcrops on the Deepdale side.

The summit is Gill Crag, with a small cairn on grass. It feels airy for the height, with views across Deepdale to Saint Sunday Crag and Fairfield, and close looks at the craggy heads of Deepdale and Dovedale. Beyond it, a path continues over peaty ground to the rocky top of Hart Crag.

Hartsop above How makes a good first leg of the Dovedale Round from Cow Bridge, which goes on over Hart Crag, Dove Crag, Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd. That round is about 12 km with over 800 m of climbing and has steep and pathless sections, so it is not one for wet or frozen days.

Below the ridge, in Low Wood, Hartsop Hall lead mine worked from at least the 17th century until 1942. Near Hartsop Hall, stones mark the site of an ancient settlement.