The Newlands horseshoe is a circular walk in the Lake District, incorporating the main peaks surrounding the Newlands Valley.
The Newlands Valley is in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is regarded as one of the most picturesque and quiet valleys in the national park, even though it is situated very close to the popular tourist town of Keswick and the busy A66 road.
The regular horseshoe covers six peaks, and approximately 9.4 miles or 15.1 kilometers of walking. [1] It includes the fells Catbells, Maiden Moor,(1687 ft), High Spy (2143 ft), Dale Head (2473 ft), Hindscarth (2385 ft), [2] and Robinson. The walk may be extended by another five or so miles, and by four more peaks, by including an extra traverse from Knott Rigg to Causey Pike; [3] but the Horseshoe proper - culminating in what Wainwright called “the deep trench confined by Maiden Moor and Hindscarth” [4] - surrounds and encloses Upper Newlands itself.
Maiden Moor is a fell in the English Lake District, it stands 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the town of Keswick and is part of the high ground that separates the Newlands Valley and Borrowdale, it has a modest height of 576 m (1,890 ft) and so fails to be mentioned on many UK mountain lists but it does have a separate chapter in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells.
High Spy is a fell in the English Lake District it is situated on the ridge that separates the Newlands Valley from Borrowdale, eight kilometres south of Keswick.
Dale Head is a fell in the north-western sector of the Lake District, in northern England. It is 753 metres or 2,470 feet above sea level and stands immediately north of Honister Pass, the road between Borrowdale and Buttermere.
Wainwright himself favoured a slightly reduced round, beginning at Cat’s Bells but omitting Robinson in favour of a descent via Hindscarth and Scope End. [5] Apart from the beauty of the track itself, the latter descent (in his opinion) “earns full marks because of the lovely views of Newlands directly ahead”. [6]
Alfred Wainwright ("A.W.") MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the English Lake District. Among his 40-odd other books is the first guide to the Coast to Coast Walk, a 192-mile long-distance footpath devised by Wainwright which remains popular today.
The Coast to Coast Walk is a 182-mile (293 km) unofficial and mostly unsignposted long-distance footpath in Northern England. Devised by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.
Robinson is a fell in the English Lake District, its southern slopes descending to Buttermere, while its northern side is set in the Newlands Valley. Paths lead to the summit from the village of Buttermere, from the nearby summit Dale Head and from various locations in the valleys to the north.
Cat Bells is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It has a modest height of 451 metres (1,480 ft) but despite this it is one of the most popular fells in the area. It is situated on the western shore of Derwent Water within 3 miles (5 km) of the busy tourist town of Keswick. Its distinctive shape catches the attention of many visitors to the Lakes who feel compelled to climb to the summit after seeing it from the viewpoint of Friars Crag on the opposite side of Derwent Water. Renowned Lake District writer and walker Alfred Wainwright acknowledges the popularity of Cat Bells among fellwalkers of all abilities by saying:
It is one of the great favourites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved. Its popularity is well deserved: its shapely topknott attracts the eye offering a steep but obviously simple scramble.
Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 km south-west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres (2,090 ft) it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its distinguishing summit "knobble" which catches the eye. The fell is one of 214 fells described by Alfred Wainwright in his series of Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells: Causey Pike features in Book Six, The North Western Fells.
Fairfield Horseshoe is a classic circular hillwalking ridge walk route starting from Rydal or Ambleside in the English Lake District that takes in all the fells that surround the valley of the Rydal Beck.
Castle Crag is a hill in the North Western Fells of the English Lake District. It is the smallest hill included in Alfred Wainwright's influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, the only Wainwright below 1,000 feet (300 m).
Hindscarth is a mountain between the valleys of Buttermere and Newlands, in the north-western part of the English Lake District. The fell's name is derived from two words from the Old Norse language, Hind and Skarth, and means the pass used by the red deer.
Shipman Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria, England. It reaches a height of 587 metres (1,926 ft) and is situated in one of the quieter areas of the national park, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north-east of Kentmere village. Although not one of the best-known Lake District fells and strictly speaking it is just the southern shoulder of Kentmere Pike it earned a separate chapter in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells due to “Its characteristic roughness…rocky outcrops are everywhere on its steep slopes”.
Steel Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District, near to Ullswater in the Far Eastern Fells. It stands between the valleys of Fusedale and Martindale on a ridge running north-south.
Slight Side is a fell in the English Lake District it stands 25 kilometers east southeast of the town of Whitehaven and reaches a height of 762 m (2,499 ft). Slight Side lies at the south western edge of the Scafell Massif, a four kilometre long crescent of high ground which includes the highest ground in England. The fells names derives from the Old Norse language and means "The mountain shieling with the level pastures", it is a combination of the Norse words "sletta" and "saetr". With a shieling meaning a shepherds hut or a mountain pasture used in the summer.
The Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Centred on Helvellyn they primarily comprise a north–south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley.
The Far Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Street they occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass. Much quieter than the central areas of Lakeland they offer in general easier but less exciting walking as the fells merge mainly into the surrounding moorlands. Exceptions however are the fine rock scenery to be seen on Harter Fell, Mardale Ill Bell and High Street surrounding the head of Haweswater
The North Western Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Including such favourites as Catbells and Grisedale Pike, they occupy an oval area beneath the Buttermere and Borrowdale valley systems. The North Western Fells are characterised by soaring east-west ridges and an absence of mountain tarns.
Moss Force is a waterfall situated within the Lake District National Park in the English county of Cumbria. It is located 10 km SW of the town of Keswick at Newlands Hause, the pass between the Newlands Valley and the Buttermere Valley. It is part of Alfred Wainwright's famous "Wainwright Memorial Walk," and its beauty was celebrated by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
The Coledale horseshoe, or Coledale Round, is a semi-circle of fells surrounding Coledale in the Lake District.