Abraham's Tea Round

The route

Abraham's Tea Round, also known as the George Fisher Tea Round, is a 50km circuit that starts and finishes at the doors of George Fisher in Keswick. The challenge is simple: touch the tops you can see from the cafe window on the top floor of the shop. The line follows the Cumbria Way to gain Catbells, then heads into Newlands and over Robinson before dropping to Buttermere. It picks up High Stile, then crosses to Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head above Coledale, and returns over Eel Crag, Sail, Causey Pike, Rowling End and Barrow on one of Lakeland's finest ridges back into Keswick. This GPX measures around 2236m of ascent, with the route commonly cited at around 3300m by other reckonings.

The Wainwrights and the reward

Every top on the round is a North Western Fells Wainwright: Catbells, Robinson, High Stile, Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Eel Crag (Crag Hill), Sail, Causey Pike, Rowling End and Barrow. The round was devised in 2017 by former George Fisher staffer Jacob Tonkin, and the prize for completion is a free cup of tea from Abraham's Cafe, named for the pioneering Keswick mountain photographers the Abraham brothers. It is a tough, varied tour over some technical and occasionally pathless ground.

Why it works

At 50km with ten summits this is a serious all-day outing that links the quiet Newlands and Buttermere fells with the dramatic Coledale horseshoe, and the final ridge over Sail and Causey Pike is fast, joyful running to finish. The ground is rough and route-finding matters between the groups, especially in cloud, so carry map and compass and know your descents. Pace the early Robinson and High Stile climbs; the Coledale tops bite back when you are tired. There is a logbook at George Fisher to record your time, and the round has become a local benchmark for North Western Fells fitness rather than a formal event. Pick a long, dry summer day, fuel well at the halfway point in Buttermere, and you finish on the airy Causey Pike ridge with Keswick and Derwentwater laid out below and a free brew waiting at the top of the shop.