[07th JULY 2025]
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I had to be cautious with the planning of this trip. On my previous Ruck my car kept breaking down on hills or when I needed it to perform. Obviously garages are all stumped with what the cause of the issues could be and I was due to head back out into the wild once more. With that in mind I needed an adventure that wasn't challenging for the car to get to and an area caught my eye... Haweswater Reservoir. It's really close to the M6 and looks level to drive into... PERFECT! I packed up my gear, got the car loaded and set off for Cumbria. Everything was running smoothly until I reached Shap where the road I needed was of course closed. The diversion looked to only cater for people wanting the A6, not a middle aged man wanting to voluntarily sleep on the floor of a mountain so after I found an alternate route around the closure I was surely not going to encounter any further issues was I? This is me, of course I ran into an issue and it was a biggie!
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The single track road I was about to drive down had a sign put up by United Utilities saying "DANGER - Road Subsidence". Had I not seen one of their vehicles driving out of the area I probably wouldn't have attempted it but as I have, down it I went. The bridges were full of deep pot holes which needed either carefully driving around or very slowly driving through. It was touch and go but I finally reached the road I needed and was soon at the reservoir. What a beauty she is! Surrounded by the eastern fells and dense coniferous forest everything looked so vibrant, fresh and alive. It truly is a stunning area and so picturesque. I reached the car park at the end of the road and there was a nice space waiting for my shambles of a car to fall apart some more in. While there I met a Polish bloke called Michael. We spoke for a while and the guy seemed like an absolute nutter given he'd almost broken his ribs hiking in the dark after misjudging the depth of a hole and was now about to climb a dry waterfall. He asked me if I would change my planned route and go with him as he was scared but I politely declined. Don't get me wrong, he was one of the nicest people i've met and has a true thrill for adventure. I admire his bravery heading on routes like that as it takes some rocks to do that... I just had my chilled tarn wild camp I was looking forward to PLUS it's probably not wise to scale vertically with the weight I was carrying. I wished him well and we went our separate ways. If you look closely at the second drone shot in the video you'll see him walking along the track. Anyway, I crossed a bridge with a beautiful fast flowing river and began my journey east up towards Blea Water and the summit of High Street.
One thing that is apparent in this area is how much water there is here. Waterfall after Waterfall, i've never seen so many in one place before! It's a delight for the eyes and ears as it's so relaxing. It made it possible to ignore the gusting winds and the forecast 40mph winds we would be met with on the summit. Another great distraction was the boggy ground where my foot disappeared and I almost had a foot full of mud. Luckily the old military boots are high sided and saved my delicate little tootsies! It was shortly after this I almost ended up with another pet, that being a young sheep that didn't seem afraid of me and looked so sweet. I'd want to take it home but this area is truly breathtaking. Why would I want to take it away from this paradise. I reluctantly left it grazing, continued dodging bog after bog until there it was, Blea Water. It was massive! Crystal clear water that tasted so refreshing and was a nice spot to cool off in the now 20 degree heat. I stayed here for a while taking it all in before grabbing the pack and heading off up towards the summit... and to a challenging ascent.
Riggindale Crag was steep enough to tackle but then Long Stile trumped that with it's ridgeline scramble. Me being me I couldn't resist recording some footage and you can see just how challenging it is. It would be easier without the branch of Tesco and a Premier Inn on my back but somehow my legs managed to meet the challenge and soon the scramble came to an end where I found a nice track leading the final 50 or so meters up to the summit. Once there I was shocked at just how large the plateau is up here. It's incredibly flat and I can see why the Romans used it as one of their roads, hence High Street having it's name. They also raced horses up here which would be incredible to see in this landscape. To my left I could see the trig, standing proud as the highest eastern summit. You can see all around and what felt like the entire catalogue of summits the lakes has to offer. I was tempted to pitch up here as I found a spot behind the wall that would shelter me from the strong winds BUT Small Water was calling me. I had one last pat of the trig before I began pacing to my next key point and my final descent into the valley and to the shore of the tarn... it was this point where I was completely gobsmacked.
Riggindale Crag was steep enough to tackle but then Long Stile trumped that with it's ridgeline scramble. Me being me I couldn't resist recording some footage and you can see just how challenging it is. It would be easier without the branch of Tesco and a Premier Inn on my back but somehow my legs managed to meet the challenge and soon the scramble came to an end where I found a nice track leading the final 50 or so meters up to the summit. Once there I was shocked at just how large the plateau is up here. It's incredibly flat and I can see why the Romans used it as one of their roads, hence High Street having it's name. They also raced horses up here which would be incredible to see in this landscape. To my left I could see the trig, standing proud as the highest eastern summit. You can see all around and what felt like the entire catalogue of summits the lakes has to offer. I was tempted to pitch up here as I found a spot behind the wall that would shelter me from the strong winds BUT Small Water was calling me. I had one last pat of the trig before I began pacing to my next key point and my final descent into the valley and to the shore of the tarn... it was this point where I was completely gobsmacked.
It was phenomenal. The pitch i'd chosen was right next to the water, along side a waterfall and with a nice comfy rock couch I could sit on and watch the stars come out. It felt like a 5 star resort and I felt incredibly privileged to have been able to see it. As the final people left the area I pitched my tent and got my gear inside when the forecast rain began... nice timing! I got set up, made a brew and began cooking my steak. It was so nice to have remembered the gas canister this time and while I do like peanuts and from time to time, some chocolate, I don't necessarily want them for breakfast or cold Irish Stew with congealed fat for tea. No thank you, i'll take my steak medium rare please. One thing I did forget was some oil for the pan so instead I put some water in the pan. Sounds like the worst idea in the world but it actually was my best idea ever. I didn't drown the steak, I just used a shallow amount of water and this captured the fats. After some of it evaporated it thickened and with the salt and pepper it became a very tasty gravy! If you stood outside my tent all you would hear is "Oh my god! Oh MY GOD!". It. Was. Delicious. Food down and the horizontal rain at it's end, I stepped outside and enjoyed a nice few beers chilled by the tarn water beneath the stars with an orange hue that remained present all night.
Morning, 06:30 and the tent it roasting. I can see the sun is out and very strong and as I opened the zip on the door the sky was clear blue. The tarn looked... well... there isn't a strong enough word for just how gorgeous it looked. It truly was one of the most beautiful things i'd seen... sadly the midges and mosquitos felt the same as they were out in abundance. I always carry bug spray with me though so that soon delt with them eating me alive. After some croissants and a nice brew I decided I was going to do something i'd always wanted... a wild swim. The water on my legs didn't feel cold and I thought the ground would've gently lowered giving me time to adjust but NO, the floor simply drops near vertically down so I had to just get in. My legs lied, my upper body was now freezing cold but i'd got this far, I wasn't getting out. I've seen videos of people doing this saying control your breathing which is what I did and shortly I could tolerate the cold, and then embrace it. It felt amazing! Here I am in this beautiful area floating on my back once again thinking how lucky I am to be here. It was one of the best things i've done to date and is definitely something i'll do again. Before I could dry off I had one other thing I wanted to do... lie back in the waterfall which was amazing and so incredibly relaxing.
Sadly our time is only brief and borrowed in these amazing places. With my tent down and my gear packed away I thanked my pitch as usual before heading back to the car. I felt like i'd had a complete normal life detox on this wild camp and it's one I won't ever forget. I think i'll have to come back for another visit and another swim in her beautiful waters once more. Thank you High Street, Blea and Small Water and finally, Haweswater Reservoir. Here's to the next ruck!
Sadly our time is only brief and borrowed in these amazing places. With my tent down and my gear packed away I thanked my pitch as usual before heading back to the car. I felt like i'd had a complete normal life detox on this wild camp and it's one I won't ever forget. I think i'll have to come back for another visit and another swim in her beautiful waters once more. Thank you High Street, Blea and Small Water and finally, Haweswater Reservoir. Here's to the next ruck!
