The summit of Latterbarrow is an excellent place to view the Coniston fells and much of the south western Lakes. Climbing Latterbarrow from Hawkshead is, in itself, very straightforward on a very good path.
803′. For many years I never realised that there was an excellent short walk near Hawkshead. Climbing Latterbarrow was not on my radar. In fact I had always surmised that anywhere near Esthwaite Water did not make for good walks. However, time came when I was staying nearby and off I went. Latterbarrow was the obvious target. The fell itself may only be 800 foot high but it stands proud and isolated from any other high ground. The isolation makes for a great viewpoint in all directions. In addition there is a striking cairn on its summit.
Rather than return directly to Hawkshead from the summit I headed into the forest behind and into Beatrix Potter Country The forestry makes for a confusing myriad of paths for the first time visitor, My initial attempt to find Claife Heights ended in failure. Exiting the forest on my return I was pleased to find good and unusual views of Esthwaite Water and, beyond, the Coniston Fells. The track landed me back at pretty Colthouse. It is a short walk back to Hawkshead from there. Latterbarrow is another of Wainwright’s Outlying Fells which geographically should be included in his main guide books. Despite its rather meagre height.
Spend time on the summit of Latterbarrow and start counting the number of summits that you can see, if not recognise. The Fairfield Horseshoe is well viewed from here to the east. So too are the Coniston fells to the west.
Climbing Latterbarrow from Hawkshead is very straightforward. However head east in to the woods and it is a real test of navigation skills. It is very easy to get confused on the forest tracks as they mostly are very similar. The key is to make sure your map is correctly orientated.
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