Hartside Top

The A686 climbs steeply towards Hartside Top, and you'll know when you've arrived because the landscape suddenly opens up. At 580 metres, this is one of the highest points on a B-road in England, and the views across the Pennines proper catch you off guard - rolling ridges stretching toward Scotland, the Eden Valley dropping away below. On clear days you can see right across to the Lake District fells. There's a windswept cafe at the top (closes at dusk, opens mid-morning) serving decent hot drinks and bacon butties to cyclists and motorcyclists who use this road like it's a hobby. Walkers come here too, though they're often cyclists dismounting rather than serious hikers.

It's genuinely brilliant if you like big skies and views that make you feel small. But don't come expecting a gentle afternoon stroll - the wind can be relentless, and the cafe is really the only facility up here. Allow an hour, maybe two if you're stopping for food and spending time with the vistas. The road itself is the thing. Cyclists do the run from Carlisle as a serious climb, and it shows - those tight hairpins are properly steep.

If you're camping at High Hall Farm, just five miles down the road, this makes a cracking morning drive-out or evening visit. The light's particularly good late afternoon when the ridges get long shadows. Free to visit, obviously. Worth the detour if you're in the area, though not worth driving from Carlisle specifically unless you're into hills and scenery.