Trail Running > Routes > Lake District Routes > Harter Fell (Eskdale)
A short, sharp 13 km trail run along the Eskdale Valley and up Harter Fell – one of the Western Lake District’s most handsome peaks.
Why run this trail?
The legendary fell walker Alfred Wainwright clearly had a soft spot for Harter Fell in Eskdale. He ranks it among the ’Top Six Summits’ in his Guide to the Lakeland Fells series, wherein he offers a description that simmers with double entendre:
“Not many fells can be described as beautiful but the word fits Harter Fell… [it is] not only good to look at, but good to climb, interest being well sustained throughout and reaching a climax in the last few feet, an upthrust of naked rock where the walker must turn cragsman if he is to enjoy the magnificent panorama from the uttermost point.”
Crikey. While I can’t hope to evoke the same stirrings with my own humble hackery, I will try to describe my experience of trail running Harter Fell on a beautiful late May afternoon in 2024.
The tiny village of Boot sits in the heart of the Eskdale Valley, nestled among a panorama of mountains in the Western Lake District. This is the quieter side of the national park – a haven for outdoor pursuits and those looking for some solitude away from the visitor attractions, ice cream vans and boat trips of the South Eastern Lakes. It’s a trail running paradise, featuring lots of notable peaks within striking distance, including Scafell and Scafell Pike.
Setting out on a Saturday afternoon from the excellent Boot Inn, I headed south, passing straight over at the crossroads by Brook House Inn onto the small lane down to St Catherine’s Church on the bank of the River Esk.
Turning left on the north side of the river bank, I followed the path for 1.5 km to Doctor Bridge – a 17th century stone bridge which was widened in 1734 for pioneering surgeon Edward Tyson. There’s a lovely clear pool by the bridge – an ideal bathing spot if you choose to head back this way on your return leg.
Turning right to cross Doctor Bridge, I followed the lane towards Penny Hill Farm – once owned by Beatrix Potter who was a local aficionado of Herdwick sheep and regular exhibitor at the Eskdale Show.
Continuing past the farm buildings and through sheep fields, I enjoyed rugged views of the crags to my right before the track entered woodland and bracken after about 1 km. Following this occasionally boggy trail for a further kilometre of easy running, I emerged at the foot of the Hardknott Pass by Jubilee Bridge.
At this point in the proceedings, and with my Garmin navigation taking a short leave of its senses, I found myself caught in a subroutine of running up and down the first 100 m of the Hardknott Pass to locate the start of the path for Harter Fell.
Loath to give in and consult a map, I was cheered by the sight of another runner puffing into view. No doubt this local mountain goat would help a hapless tourist and send me on my way? Maybe not… she had “never heard of Harter Fell” but suggested I accompany her to the top of the Hardknott Pass instead, with a “no racing!” proviso.
Politely declining, I admitted defeat and checked OS Maps. I’d actually just missed my right hand turn about 300 m back up the trail. Retracing my steps, I finally began my ascent of Harter Fell.
The track climbs steadily and diagonally across the lower face of Birker Fell for about a kilometre. It’s an easy, compacted surface with bracken either side. As I climbed, the views of Eskdale really opened up – west down the valley towards Dalegarth and northeast towards the higher peaks of the Scafells, Bow Fell and the surrounding crags.
Rounding the side of the fell and bearing south, I took the fairly obvious track through a gap in the thinning bracken and set off on the last leg – a final 1.6 km run up to the summit at 653 m (2,142 ft).
This climb quickly turned the screw, becoming very steep as I constantly adjusted my course around the rough outcrops and boulders. Track markings almost completely fragment here – there’s a multitude of possibilities and only the occasional subtle cairn to guide the way. My strategy rapidly became one that simply avoided the largest crags and any direct clambering.
[Update – August 2025: After retreading this route on a hike recently, I realised that I strayed from my GPS route wildly on this particular run and so this account reflects that. The GPX route download (and OS Maps link) provided above offer a much simpler ascent on a clear trail with less clambering!]
Towards the summit, the gradient ramped up again and the towering rocky pillars of the summit loomed overhead. The final push – up a broad grassy track – deposited me directly on the top between the crags on the summit.
It’s crushingly obvious to me as I write this that Wainwright described the ascent of this fell with far more brevity and beauty. His prose was certainly more risqué. All I can really add are some rather chaste statistics: the second half of this climb is 1.6 km long with an average gradient of 25%, so it’s fairly significant but mercifully not too long.
The views from the top are stunning – the gaps between the crags acting as picture windows with a very different aspect through each one. The cairn doesn’t mark the actual true summit, so if you’re a purist you can shin up the tallest crag and have your way. I elected to take some photos instead and have a little wander round. I’m not much of a trophy hunter, but consequently always carry a little regret. I will have to go back and bag it again some time.
A good climb is nothing without a good descent and this one was certainly up to the challenge! I roughly followed my marked OS Maps track in a southwesterly direction from the summit, heading towards the boggy lower ground of Ulpha Fell.
I say ‘roughly followed’ because when I looked at my gps route afterwards it resembled the flight path of a dying insect. In summary: the track was vague and the ground was rough, rocky and very steep, with hidden hollows waiting to snag an ankle. Like the ascent, it was a case of ‘follow your nose’ and I found myself (still upright and with nose intact) turning right onto the main track at the foot of the fell in super quick time, already thinking about dinner.
From the foot of Harter Fell it was an easy kilometre of very gradual descending over some occasionally boggy but well trod ground that navigated me back to the north-facing slope of Birker Fell. Crossing a stile into a large rough area of bracken I then hugged Spothow Gill for a further kilometre of downhill running to Whahouse Bridge over the Esk and joined the lane back through Eskdale. I had elected to run the final 3 km back to Boot on the road to enjoy a bit of fast flat, but a nice off-road alternative would be the south bank of the River Esk back to St Catherine’s Church.
I wrapped up with a superb lamb curry and a well deserved pint at The Boot Inn. I’ll be back this summer for round two!
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All routes and GPX files are provided as a guide only. Conditions, rights of way, and landmarks may change. Always carry an up‑to‑date map and use your own judgement. See the Trail Run Disclaimer page for details.