Cat Bells & Cat Bells Terrace Loop

This hike/run followed a relatively straightforward loop from the base of Cat Bells (also known as Catbells) straight up to the top, then down at Hause Gate and back along Cat Bells Terrace above the road taking in fantastic scenery along the way. The difference today was that we've had snow over the weekend so it was a proper winter wonderland!

Rather than the large numbers of people you usually see up Cat Bells on a sunny day, today was a lot quieter - not a great surprise as it's a weekday, but quieter still as the temperature at the start was reading -4°c. There were just a few other walkers scattered along the route who, like me, wanted to get out and enjoy the views.

The normal path surface which was mostly clear of snow and ice further down

I started at a parking spot along the east side of Cat Bells itself - there are quite a few spaces dotted along the road further south too and some on the bend to the north (mind you don't park on the yellow lines - they're quick to give out parking tickets here). I chose to head up from the path at the northernmost point working my way south for a more gradual ascent.

At this time of year there's a lot of water running off the fells, so the road was icy in places, but I had my microspikes on and I could see they'd come in handy again just a short way up. The path is usually well-worn and started off on grippy rock underfoot but gave way to compacted snow at around 120 metres. I'd decided to carry all the gear today just in case so had a mid-size rucksack on which is a bit of a pain when running, but I knew there wasn't much of that happening anyway.

The first few rocky bits on the way up to Skelgill Bank were fine - the snow that had fallen and filled in a lot of the gaps in the stones  and been compacted by walkers venturing out over the last few days in the snow and frozen over the last few days into a crunchy layer that offered some additional grip for the most part.

And not much further up the path was covered with compacted snow with an icy crust

Once you get to Skelgill Bank, the first "hump" of Cat Bells' side profile which involves a small scramble up a rocky section, you get amazing view across Derwentwater to the east as well as Skiddaw and Blencathra to the north.

Once up to Skelgill Bank you can admire the views - this one towards the Skiddaw range to the north with Blencathra off to the right of shot

But looking south towards the summit of Cat Bells and the Derwent Fells curving round to the southeast and surrounding the southern end of the Newlands Valley is particularly awe-inspiring on a day like today.

Panoramic views of Cat Bells and the Derwent Fells to the right

As you head down a little way towards Cat Bells summit, the last, steeper scramble starts to loom above you. In normal weather this is just a case of picking your path through the rocks carefully with only a few short sections where you might use your hands, but today - even with the snow helping even it out a bit - I was using hands and feet just for a bit of reassurance.

Then it's on up the steeper scramble to the top of Cat Bells

The nice thing is that once you get past this relatively short section, you're at the top and can enjoy the 360° views!

Stunning views across Derwentwater to the east

And there's also a good-looking trig point where I got a bit arty-farty with my phone camera looking towards Bassenthwaite lake.

Arty photo from the trig point looking towards Bassenthwaite Lake

The route north off the summit can be steep in places on a normal day, however I quickly realised that this was where most of the snow had been drifting so sometimes I was shin-deep picking my way through others' footsteps. The one occasion I did think I'd found a better line to follow I was soon knee deep so gave up on that idea pretty quickly.

The snowdrifts were deeper south of the summit

You come to a crossroads when the ground levels out called Hause Gate on the map. I decided (or rather my knees did because I'm not that fit at the moment) to descend down the stepped path to the east and run back along the Cat Bells Terrace path above the road. The steps looked a bit slippy at the start but once I'd lost some height it quickly gave way to firmer stone.

The steps just about visible through the snow at Hause Gate

And once down, the terrace path takes you back north to the start - again with fantastic views along the lake. There are a few small streams that run off Cat Bells along this path that made it interesting over the icy bits but other than that it's just a nice undulating path to enjoy.

Back on the Cat Bells terrace path, out of the snow and on easier ground

I had originally planned a longer route around the Derwent Fells but when I saw how much snow there was higher up and also a large block that had slid down the side of another hill further north so I decided not to chance it. That seemed a reasonable choice given that I've only really done a few snow run/hikes before anyway back on a mountain I'm much more familiar with and I've made a mental note to get an ice axe - along with more experience - before doing anything higher up in conditions like this.