High Street and Riggindale from Harter Fell

High Street

Height828m (2,717ft)

Prominence373m (1,224ft)

RegionFar Eastern Fells

Climbed4 Times

High Street reigns as the highest point in the Far Eastern Fells, drawing its name directly from the ancient Roman road that once traced across its broad summit plateau. This historic path served as a vital thoroughfare linking the Roman forts at Brougham (Brocavum) and Ambleside (Galava). Characterised by gentle, sweeping slopes and a sprawling, flat crest, the range provided the perfect canvas for Roman surveyors, who chose to construct their highway across the open fell tops rather than navigate the valleys below, which during that era were densely forested and marshy.

"Most high places in Lakeland have no mention in history books, and, until comparatively recent times, it was fashionable to regard them as objects of awe and terror, their summits rarely visited. Not so High Street, which has been known and trodden, down through the ages, by a miscellany of travellers on an odd variety of missions." — Wainwright

This remarkably flat top later found a completely different lease on life during the 18th and 19th centuries, serving as a regular gathering ground for lively summer fairs. Local horse races were frequently held right up on the crest—a legacy that earned the summit its alternative geographic title: Racecourse Hill. Even today, native fell ponies can still occasionally be found quietly grazing across the open pastures.

The summit pillar overlooking the Eastern Fells

A historic stone wall follows the spine of the ridge directly over the flat plateau, where the true summit high point is cleanly marked by an Ordnance Survey trig pillar. From this lofty vantage point, the panoramic view unfolds dramatically, sweeping across the open Pennine chains to the east and opening out onto a great, jagged arc of Lakeland hills that fills the entire western horizon—with the immense profiles of the Helvellyn range and the Southern Fells standing out as particularly striking landmarks.