High Seat

Wet feet come with this fell. High Seat is the high point of the moorland ridge between Derwentwater and Thirlmere, and its upper slopes are peat and bog in most weather. Go after a dry spell if you can.

The most popular start is the National Trust car park near Ashness Bridge, on the narrow road up to Watendlath. The bridge is only a little over seven feet wide, with low parapets, so bigger vehicles struggle. A path climbs through bracken beside Ashness Gill, then an old stone-pitched path takes you up to Dodd. After that it is rough stone and marshy ground to the summit. There is a slightly more direct start from Reecastle Crag further up the Watendlath road, or you can go from Watendlath itself over High Tove.

From the east, leave the A591 at Rough How Bridge and go up the quiet Shoulthwaite valley by Mere Gill. The Thirlmere approaches, including the one past Raven Crag, cross rough, often pathless ground where you need to navigate. A good longer day links Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell and High Seat from Keswick and comes back via Ashness Bridge and the Derwentwater shore. The stretch between Bleaberry Fell and High Seat is the boggiest of the lot.

The summit is a small rock platform with a trig pillar. A fence runs along the ridge, and across it is a rocky knoll called Man. It is a modest top, but no ground within about three miles is higher, so you get an open view of the Helvellyn range from end to end, with Blencathra to the north and Crinkle Crags to the south.