High Tove

The bridleway from Watendlath to Armboth goes straight over the top of High Tove. The old track keeps to the highest ground on purpose, because the land on either side is so wet.

The shortest climb starts at Armboth, by the United Utilities car park on the west side of Thirlmere, and follows the bridleway up through the forest onto the open fell. On the Borrowdale side, set off from Watendlath and climb steadily east out of the hamlet on the same bridleway.

Along the ridge, a wire fence follows the watershed and helps you thread a way through the worst of the bog. North of the summit the ground drops into the Pewits, the hollow before High Seat, which has a name as one of the soggiest places in the district. Armboth Fell lies a short way to the south east over more heather and soft ground. There is nothing to scramble anywhere. Keeping your feet dry is the hard part.

The summit has a large cairn, and Wainwright joked that it gives walkers somewhere to sit while they empty the water out of their boots. The Helvellyn range fills the view to the east, and a long line of big fells stands across Borrowdale to the west, but higher neighbours block the view north and south.

Watendlath Tarn, below the western slope, is privately fished for trout and has water lilies. High Tove shares the same wet central ridge as Armboth Fell and High Seat, and walkers often add it to one or the other.