The rocky little fell above Buttermere that Alfred Wainwright loved best of all, and chose as his final resting place
Open accesson open access land, where the right to roam applies
Haystacks is proof that a fell does not need to be high to be a favourite. At 597 metres it is dwarfed by the big peaks all around it, but Alfred Wainwright, who wrote the classic pictorial guides to the Lakeland fells, called it his favourite of the lot, and after he died his ashes were scattered up here by Innominate Tarn, the small unnamed pool on the summit plateau. Plenty of walkers make the trip partly for that reason.
What makes it special is the top itself: not a single peak but a knobbly maze of little rocky rises, hollows and tarns, with the big fells of Buttermere and Ennerdale ranged all around and the valley lakes shining below. It is the sort of summit you want to potter about on rather than tick off and leave.
The usual way up climbs from Honister Pass at the top of the road, which gives you a good head start on the height, or more steeply from the valley near the village of Buttermere. Either way it is a shorter day than most Lakeland rounds, though the ground up top is rough and rocky and easy to get muddled in mist, so a map is still worth carrying. Lakeland weather can turn quickly, so take a waterproof even when it starts out fine.
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