The Knott

Hartsop is the natural base for The Knott. There is free parking in the village and at Cow Bridge, at the north end of Brothers Water. From the village, follow the bridleway signed for Hayeswater up the valley of Hayeswater Gill below the steep end of Gray Crag. You can cross the gill on the footbridge near the filter house and keep going up to the Hayeswater dam. From the dam a well trodden path zigzags up the fellside to the ridge, and a short climb to the right brings you onto the crest of The Knott. Hartsop to the top is about 3 km.

The Knott stands on the north western ridge of Rampsgill Head, between it and Rest Dodd. That puts it on a lot of longer days. From Patterdale you can come over Boredale Hause and Angle Tarn. From Mardale Head it works as part of a round over High Street, Rampsgill Head and Kidsty Pike.

The ground is grass all the way with clear paths and no scrambling. A wall runs off north east towards Rest Dodd, and the dip between them is a bit boggy.

Westward the view is the best part: the Fairfield and Helvellyn ridges are lined up across the Patterdale valleys. To the north you look down into Martindale, and the Rampsgill and Bannerdale valleys, home to the UK's oldest native red deer herd.