Kentmere Horseshoe
High-level ridge running with minimal descent until the end. The views across Kentmere Reservoir and to the surrounding fells are some of the best in the eastern Lakes.
Mostly runnable, with some steep sections you'll likely walk.
One of the Lake District's best horseshoe routes, encircling the remote Kentmere valley on a high ridge linking nine Wainwrights including Ill Bell and Harter Fell.
High-level ridge running with minimal descent until the end. The views across Kentmere Reservoir and to the surrounding fells are some of the best in the eastern Lakes.
The route
From the small hamlet of Kentmere, the route climbs south to the Garburn Pass before gaining the ridge at Yoke. A high-level ridge links Ill Bell (757m), Froswick, Thornthwaite Crag, Mardale Ill Bell, Harter Fell, and Kentmere Pike before descending back to the valley.
Parking warning
Kentmere has around nine parking spaces near the Institute. Arrive before 8am at weekends or you won't get in. An overflow field occasionally opens — call ahead to check.
Remote — long way from help if injured. Exposed ridge in bad weather. Very limited parking at Kentmere — no parking means no run.
Summits on this route
Safety on this route
- No signal? Text 999 — pre-register first: text register to 999
- Tell someone your route and expected return time before you head out
Leave No Trace
- Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.
- Please respect the countryside and all its inhabitants.
- Dogs on leads near livestock, and around ground-nesting birds from March to July.
- Gates as you find them — open or closed, leave it that way for the farmer and the next runner.
- Take it all home — wrappers, peel, tissue, the lot. It doesn't count as biodegradable if you can still see it.
- Stick to the path where the ground either side is wet, planted, or nesting habitat.
Common questions
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