NY4562704086 Start by the church. Start walking down the lane, back towards Staveley, crossing the River Kent.

NY4582203983 Turn left up Hellewell Lane by a coniferous hedge, signposted to Maggs Howe. Note the parking field opposite this junction, as an alternative start point.

NY4595304078 Carry on up Hellewell Lane, turn right on a footpath up from the unfortunately named Kill Gill.

NY4608404087 At the top, turn left on tarmac, heading updale.The views up the valley are beautifulAfter a few minutes, by a green grit bin, a bridleway sign on your left will direct you towards Nan Bield Pass and Mardale. Stick to the bridleway, heading to Overend Farm.

NY4613204388 At the farm, two tracks leave northwards. Take the one on the right. This is the bridleway.Keep following it to where it crosses Ullstone Gill at a footbridge.

NY4639605758 From the footbridge, rise up onto a peaty moor. The bridleway can get sketchy in a couple of places where people have taken different routes to avoid squidginess. But the general trend is NNW. You'll soon attain a lovely high-level trod traversing the western slopes of Harter Fell, before the last stony zigzags up to the pass.

NY4562207035 Nan Bield is one of the most distinctive of Lakeland cols, with its stony crest and wind-shelter. Turn left and head up the good path to Mardale Ill Bell.

NY4523909589 Double back from the summit, but trend right (south) away from the path you've just come up. Gain the charming rounded shoulder of Lingmell End jutting out into upper Kentmere.

NY4473510149 From Lingmell End, there's a gnarly descent into the upper valley. Unlubricated knees might grumble but it's unlikely to be dangerous unless there's hard packed snow about. I always enjoy this steep, pathless drop into the dalehead because it feels like parachuting into a remote mountain fastness. Listen for the first bubbling in the grass of the Kent headwaters.Keep your eyes peeled, too: you've got a very good chance of surprising deer up here.

NY4420408635 Follow the infant river downstream to the reservoir and follow the western bank down to the dam. (Alternatively, there is also a thin trod down the eastern bank, allowing you to cross by the dam itself. From the western end of the dam, follow the good access track, past Reservoir Cottage and Hartrigg farm, all the way back to St Cuthbert's Church.