I often try to decide which is my favourite walk, and I think this must be it.
Parking at the top of Honister Pass (NY 226 135) may be considered cheating, but it saves several hundred feet of not very exciting ascent. I did once do the walk from Seatoller with my son and mother-in-law. It was the hottest day of the Summer, and the slog up Honister was very unpleasant; unfortunately I didn't know then about the 'old road' which is a much nicer alternative. We had been shopping in Keswick first, and I had a pound of cheese in the glove compartment of my Alfa Sud. When we got back to the car via Styhead and Seathwaite, the cheese had melted. I never did get rid of it completely!
Anyway, back to Honister. The worst part of the walk is the first, which is as it should be. The Old Tramway seems to go on forever. I always try to do it without looking up, but the temptation is usually too great, and the sight of the Old Drum House in the distance is very discouraging.
The Old Drum House (NY 215 134) (once the winching place for the sleds of slate from Honister quarries, but now a pile of stones) marks the beginning of what I consider to be some of the best few miles in the Lakes. Turn left off the Old Tramway and head for the slopes of Grey Knotts and Brandreth across a flat, rather boggy area. The path begins to climb and then swings right to follow the contour lines. From here you get beautiful views of Buttermere and Ennerdale with the High Stile and Pillar ranges.
A track to the left (NY 212 122) takes you to the summit of Brandreth, which you should visit if you haven't yet done so, but I usually prefer to skirt Brandreth, contouring left without losing height, until you reach the open ground below Green Gable. The best reason I ever had to ascend Brandreth was one misty day when I was doing the walk with my mother-in-law and brother-in-law, Terry. A solitary walker had caught up with us just after the Old Drum house, and despite us stopping frequently to let him get ahead, insisted on staying with us until this point. The problem was that he just wouldn't stop talking! Fair enough, he had just spent two weeks doing the Coast to Coast, and was abviously starved of human company, but everyone I walk with prefers to keep conversation to a minimum. He was heading for the Black Sail Youth Hostel in Ennerdale, and I'm afraid I told him his best bet was to carry straight on while we turned left. Stop here and have a breather, because the next part of the walk is the most strenuous.
The path is now quite obvious, climbing to the rocky summit of Green Gable before descending to the narrow col of windy Gap. You can almost feel the tremendous bulk of Great Gable looming over you. There follows a scramble up boulder field before the ground levels out and you have an easy walk across yet more boulders to the summit of Great Gable. The summit cairn is usually too crowded for a long stay, so instead walk South to find a quieter place for lunch, and magnificent views of Wasdale from near the Westmorland Cairn.
Eventually you will have to drag yourself away; it's getting late, and a pint of Theakstons beckons in Keswick. Walk back to the summit cairn and take the cairned path which heads North West. Before long it descends the steep boulder field of Gable's western slopes. When you reach the small tarn(NY 206 106) at Beck Head, bear sharp right to take the path which crosses beneath Gable Crag and joins your outward journey.
You are now walking straight towards Haystacks, and instead of bearing right along the slopes of Brandreth, carry on, finding your own way across a boggy hollow before ascending the slopes of Haystacks. It's a really delightful place, with lots of little paths winding round rocky outcrops and small pools before eventually arriving at Blackbeck Tarn. If you have time carry on past Innominate Tarn to the summit of Haystacks. In any case, your way back to Honister descends to Dubs Quarry before rejoining the Old Tramway.
If you're feeling really energetic, a diversion to the left at the Old Drum House will allow you to reach the summit of Fleetwith Pike without too much effort. As with the ascent, the final descent to the car park at Honister seems to take ages, but at last you can relax and take your boots off, and drive home with the memories of a glorious day still fresh in your mind.
Some years ago, we met up with a solitary lady walker and her black labrador called Henry. She stayed with us all the way back to Honister, only to discover that she couldn't find her car keys. Eventually she found she had left them in the ignition of her nearly new BMW all day! Somewhat lucky, I think.