Route: leaving the car at the Bowness Knott car park (free; 1hr 40mins from Kendal) and taking the obvious track along the valley, past the lake, to reach a concrete bridge over the river Liza and then bending left on the far side to cross another bridge over a stream. Heading uphill in a widening gap in the trees, the path weaving left to right but always steep. Once onto the fellside, bending left to cross the flank of the Lingmell, ford Low Beck and then ascend the narrowing ridge of Steeple. Then onto the main ridge of Scoat Fell and along to the rocky summit of Black Crag before climbing onto the Pillar plateau. Descending by heading north west down an initially very rocky and then faint grassy path on the White Pike ridge, fording a stream at the bottom to find a marshy track more steeply down hill, then a forestry track to the west and then another steep path down by the ravine of Low Beck and then back by forestry track to the bridges and a long trek back to the car park.
Conditions: early sun giving way to cloud but still strangely hot and humid.
Pub: Middle Ruddings, Braithwaite, for Fell Brewery AAA and Kirkby Lonsdale Singletrack.
