Bessyboot

from Bessyboot cairn looking onto Tarn at Leaves

after crossing Coombe Gill looking back to Borrowdale

There is a route in Borrowdale from Bessyboot, along to Glaramara and on to Allen Crags.  I've tried before to take this route and, like today, turned back due to low cloud.  I really wanted to practice some map reading today and did pretty well, starting from Seatoller car park, along the road to the farm track opposit Mountain View towards Thorneywaite Farm.  I took the track up to the left after the first wall.  This follows the wall and then runs alongside Coombe Gill which I had to cross to carry on up towards Bessyboot.

Rosthwaite Cam through the cloud 

I followed the gill up to where the land levelled out slightly before crossing a few undulating bits to pick out the summit.  The cloud, which I had hoped would burn off, was still sat heavily over Glaramara.  From Bessyboot summit, I picked an easy path down to the wonderfully named Tarn at Leaves and then, followed a track which took me to Rosthwaite Cam, which is higher than the top of Bessyboot which Wainwright chose as his summit.

top of Rosthwaite Cam

just me and a lot of cloud up here

From the top of Rosthwaite Cam, I had a look around and saw nothing but cloud.  I know Glaramara to be a confusing to navigate Fell in fair weather and didn't much fancy heading over and getting lost in the boggy top so I headed back the same way, enjoying an easy descent back to the farm track.  I had a run along to Seathwaite and back along the road and noted a track to check out the next time I head this way which seems to avoid the road and might go past the famous Borrowdale Yews, thought to be 2000 years old.