Cat Bells & High Spy

Cat Bells, Maiden Moor, High Spy & Castle Crag

Length: 9.05 miles
Ascent: 2476 ft

Cat bells is a very enjoyable peak with fantastic views over Keswick, Derwent Water and along to Bassenthwaite Lake. From car park to summit in just over half an hour (1 mile) it is a short but consistently steep ascent with some false summits thrown in for good measure. Though possible to then head back down the same way or down onto the terrace path, we opted for a longer loop to take in Maiden Moor and High Spy on the top, and Castle Crag on the way back. Whilst it was busy on the path from the car park to the summit of Cat Bells (and indeed crowded on the summit) we found that most headed down rather than continued on, so the rest of the walk was fairly quiet considering how nice of a day it was.

We started at a car park (field where the owner was taking £3 to park all day) at the north end of Cat Bells, walking south up the steep path, which was signposted to the summit. Resting briefly to look back yielded some fantastic views.

Derwent Water towards Keswick from Cat Bells ascent

Crowded summit of Cat Bells

We then continued south off the summit and, in another mile of fairly level ground, reached the top of Maiden Moor, with fantastic views back northward.

Path from Cat Bells to Maiden Moor

View from Maiden Moor summit back to Cat Bells

Continuing south for a further 1.5 miles, again with very little difference in height, the top of High Spy was reached. 

Summit of High Spy, and lunch!

We descended south off the summit and then turned east onto quite boggy terrain before heading down Tongue Gill and past some disused quarries, which brought us to the foot of Castle Crag.

 Looking down Tongue Gill

 At the quarries

Castle Crag, a small rocky outcrop overlooking the lake to the north

Castle Crag was dispatched in minutes, but with rewarding views from the top.

 

 Quarries at the top...

 ...and a war memorial with a view

From Castle Crag it was a descent back to the path and then a 4 mile walk back along the terrace path to the east of the peaks we had just done, back to the car. All in all a very enjoyable walk with the weather on our side!