High House Tarn Top [High House - Allen Crags]

About High House Tarn Top [High House - Allen Crags]

Located on the rugged ridge between Glaramara and Allen Crags, this rocky Nuttall offers a wild, undulating landscape typical of the Southern Fells. It overlooks the secluded High House Tarn, providing a quieter vantage point than its famous neighbours, with a summit characterised by scattered crags and hummocky volcanic ground.

Key Statistics

Find It

Did You Know?

• •The fell takes its name from High House Tarn, which sits in a hollow just north of the summit; the 'High House' refers to the 19th-century farmhouse in Seathwaite, historically used as a base for sheep farming and climbing.
• •Though omitted from Alfred Wainwright’s primary list of 214 fells, it is recognised as a Nuttall and a Birkett, with Bill Birkett praising the surrounding area for its 'rock and water' aesthetic.
• •The summit is a key waypoint on the high-level traverse between Borrowdale and Great Langdale, sitting on the elevated spine that connects the Glaramara massif to the Scafell range.
• •The view to the south offers a particularly formidable perspective of Great End’s massive north face, while the unmistakable profiles of Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle are visible across the deep trough of Langstrath.
• •Navigating this section of the ridge in thick mist provides an excellent test of focus; the terrain is so consistently lumpy and repetitive that many walkers have 'bagged' the same nameless rocky outcrop several times before finding the actual top.