Coledale horseshoe facts for kids

The Coledale horseshoe, or Coledale Round, is a semi-circle of fells surrounding Coledale in the Lake District.

It provides excellent ridge-walking over the fells in at least two forms, one shorter and one longer.

Fell structure

A horseshoe of high summits surrounds Coledale, from Grisedale Pike in the north, round through Hopegill Head, Eel Crag, Sail and Scar Crags, to Causey Pike in the south.

The south side of the horseshoe also features what Wainwright called “a lower and parallel ridge like an inner balcony”, consisting of Outerside and Barrow.

The Rounds

The short version of the Horseshoe involves the ascent of Grisedale Pike, the traverse to Eel Crag, and a return via Outerside and Barrow – for a nine mile walk of some 4-5 hours. The full round continues from Eel Crag to Causey Pike, a stretch considered by Wainwright as “a grand ridge walk...an excellent ridge-walk”, which figured among his top ten ridge walks.