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Lovely Seat from top of Buttertubs Pass

Start/Finish

Top of Buttertubs Pass which links Hawes in Wensleydale to Thwaite/Muker in Swaledale. It is a high pass, reaching 528 m, so may be impassable in winter conditions. There is a cattle grid at the highest point with parking on both sides which may fill up quickly during busy times such as summer weekends.

Distance/Time

3 km. Just over an hour.

Peaks

Lovely Seat, 675 m, SD 879 950.

OL30 Yorkshire Dales: Northern & Central Areas

Introduction

The route to the summit is almost idiot proof as it follows a fence most of the way. The lower section can be quite mossy and boggy and there are two short steep sections higher up. The fence is crossed high up on a broken stile supported by a pile of stones on 15/3/22! In clear weather, there are good views to Great Shunner Fell (across the pass) and to Rogan's Seat to the north.

Route

(1) Follow the path by the fence going roughly soth east from the top of the pass. Pick a way across the wet, mossy and boggy ground near the start then just follow the path and fence uphill. After the second steeper section, cross the fence at a simple stile and follow the path to the large cairn which marks the summit of Lovely Seat, 675 m. The ground just before the cairn may be slightly higher than the base of the cairn. There is a smaller and lower cairn a little further on.

(2) Retrace the outward route.

Notes

(a) This walk took place on 15^th April, 2022.