Patterdale Parish Boundary

Full Boundary, Half Boundary & 7 Mile options

In the Footsteps of the boys of Patterdale Parish, who traditionally Beat The Bounds... A glorious journey of Patterdale Parish Boundary, with up to 20 summits - run, hike or jog - 27 Miles, 12 miles, or 7 miles - The actual boundary navigation might not be so straight forward, it's fun and quirky and a magnificent route in all weathers. Participants have some points to hit along the way on the Parish Boundary - a full & detailed route description & GPX route downloads will be available to those who have booked a place on the event by 1st May.

DATE: Saturday 6th July 2024
This event will continue to be held on 1st Saturday in July.

As a 45 year old tradition in the Ullswater Valley, join locals and regulars to the valley to 'Beat The Bounds' of the Patterdale Parish Boundary, following the Parish Bounds as much as possible.

​The Full Parish Boundary, (including the Ullswater lake crossing - which is not part of this event!) is almost 30 miles long, with approximately 10,300 feet of ascent, and covers many famous mountains including Raise, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike, Grisedale Tarn, Fairfield, Red Screes, the Kirkstone Pass, High Street, Angle Tarn, and Place Fell. On a good day there are stupendous views throughout the length of the walk. Think of it as a high-level companion to the Ullswater Way! There is of course, a little twist in the route to follow the ‘actual’ parish boundary on the OS map… so your navigation skills will be put to good use!

A Training plan to set you up ready for your journey to Beat The Bounds is available Free of Charge from SUMMIT ULTRA (click below to head to their website).

The record time to complete the full route is: 6 hours & 41 minutes.

The route will start and finish at Patterdale School, Ullswater, CA11 0NL.

Event options

Full Boundary Event:
27 miles and 10,200ft ascent
Start: 6am - 9am - Strict Kirkstone Pass cut off time 3pm
Checkpoint: Kirkstone Pass with snacks (sweet and savoury), VOOM Nutrition (bars and hydration), hot and cold drinks

Half Boundary Event (top of Kirkstone Pass to Patterdale):
12 miles and 3,700 ft ascent
Start: 11am - 3pm
Transport arrange from Patterdale School to the top fo Kirkstone for your start

Family Walk / Downhill Run:
7 miles via Hartsop Hall, downhill!
Start: 12noon - 3pm

A rolling start means you will be able to start between the 2 set start times at your leisure, for each event.

For the Full and Half Boundary, you will be provided with a tracker, which not only gives us reassurance of your location and safety, but also enables the organisers to ensure you have ticked off a few strategic points along the route, even more reason to make sure your Navigation Skills are spot on... The strategic points will not necessarily be Mountain summits - we will be watching, which is half the fun of this event! After all it's the Parish Boundary, not a route only following the trails...

Family and friends are welcome to Kirkstone Top to cheer you on. Why not suggest they take part in the Down Hill 7 Mile Treasure Hunt for families/friends - £10 per family, individuals £5 (local families walk for free). This route starts from Kirkstone Pass to finish at Patterdale School. This is available to book on line and entries are accepted on the day.

You will be sent participant information by email on the lead up to the event.

As you can see from our photographs... it's not always obvious which way to turn, so we cannot stress enough the importance of Navigation skills in the mountains. July can be glorious, but July can also be interesting weather conditions!

Patterdale Parish Boundary Neck tubes, designed by Patterdale School, will be available for purchase to increase fundraising profits.

This event is being reinvigorated by Nicky Merrett, founder of Hiking Highs, on behalf of Patterdale School and St Patrick's Church, Patterdale. As a resident of the parish and also a family friend of Stephen Gorton, the Parish Boundary Walk has been talked about in her family since she can remember. Who better to turn this around to be a flourishing event once more, in aid of the local community?

We would like to thank VOOM Nutrition for backing this event with a supply of hydration and energy along the way for hikers and runners

Traditionally the event has been a walking event and has been conducted to raise funds for Patterdale Church of England School (the second most remote school in England, and which could not survive financially without generous donations from fund-raising events, they need to raise £17,000 per annum in order to stay open) and the ministry and work of St Patrick's Church, Patterdale. This has become a local tradition, to Beat The Bounds, since founded 45 years ago by Stephen Gorton, a resident of Hartsop and long-standing member of the church and founder member of the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team.

We love our pictures taken along the route. The folk in the pictures are regulars to the Parish Boundary Event. Our favourites being of Philip, a big member of our community who (tirelessly keeps St Patricks Church spick and span on a daily basis and has done done for many years) and his friends on an extremely wet Boundary Walk one year, and Nic and Louise peeping through the Boundary Posts on High Street.

And of course the best pictures of all - Stephen Gorton with his bespoke Parish Boundary Map, and at top of Kirkstone with his godson Peter Merrett and a friend.