Cat Bells

Cat Bells is the one everyone does first, and there’s a good reason for that. At 451 metres it’s barely a fell at all by Lakeland standards, but it packs in a proper ridge walk, a scramble that gets your hands dirty, and one of the best views in the whole Lake District for not very much effort. Wainwright called it a fell for everybody, and he wasn’t exaggerating — walk up on a summer Saturday and you’ll see toddlers, dogs, grandads in flat caps and people in completely the wrong footwear all making it to the top.

That’s not to say it’s a total doddle. The path up from Hawse End has a couple of short rocky steps where you’ll want both hands, and they catch people out because the rest of the walk is so gentle. Nothing that needs a rope or any real head for heights, but tell the kids it’s not just a stroll and they’ll enjoy it more for having “climbed” something. Once you’re up on the ridge the views open out properly — Derwentwater laid out below you, Skiddaw across the water, and the path carrying on south towards Maiden Moor if you fancy stretching the legs further.

Grid reference NY244198 if you want to plot it yourself. It sits right above Derwentwater’s western shore, a short hop from Keswick, and honestly the nicest way to start the walk is on the launch from town over to Hawse End — beats sitting in traffic looking for a parking space, because the little car parks at the foot of the fell fill up stupidly early on any half-decent day.

Go early or go outside the school holidays if you can. It’s a short walk so the crowds bunch up between about ten and three, and the summit gets properly busy — lovely atmosphere if you don’t mind company, less lovely if you were hoping for a bit of peace. Wear something with grip for those scrambly bits, and pack the waterproof whatever the forecast says: it rains on the small fells just as hard as the big ones.

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