Plan the walk backwards from the fire

Most hill days are built around a summit. This one starts at the other end: choose the inn first, then find a route that drops you at its door with mud on your boots and the light going soft behind the fells. It sounds indulgent, but it is genuinely practical. Knowing exactly where you finish gives you a fixed point to navigate towards, a reason to keep the pace up on the final descent, and something to look forward to when the cloud comes down and the wind bites on the tops.

A good fire walk is usually between 6 and 12 km, with enough climbing to earn the first drink but not so much that you arrive wrecked. Aim for two to four hours of walking. Any longer and you will be watching the clock rather than the view.

Build a proper circuit, not an out-and-back

Retracing your steps is the enemy of a satisfying day. Design a loop that sends you out on one path and brings you home by another — ideally climbing one way and descending on a gentler line.

A few reliable shapes to look for on the map:

• The valley head circuit: a low approach along the valley floor, a climb up the shoulder on one side, a traverse across the head wall, then a return on the opposite bank. Big views for relatively little effort.
• The ridge and old track: up onto a ridge line, along it to a high point, then down by a packhorse track or old miners' path running straight back to the road.
• The tarn and shoulder: a short climb to a small tarn, a wander across a plateau, then a descent over a shoulder that lands you in the village from an unexpected direction.
• The edge and riverside: a moorland edge with a trig point, dropping to a river and following it downstream on a good path back to the bridge.

Work out distance and total ascent before you go. On fell ground, allow roughly an hour for every 5 km, plus an extra hour for every 600 m of climbing, then add a third for stops, photographs, bad ground and the inevitable debate about which way the path actually goes.

Pick the inn as carefully as the route

Not every pub with a fire in the guidebook has one lit on a wet Tuesday in February. Check before you commit.

• Opening hours: many rural inns close on Mondays and Tuesdays out of season, and some shut between lunch and evening service. Ring ahead and ask.
• Food times: kitchens often stop serving well before the bar closes. Know the last orders time and build it into your descent.
• Boots and dogs: ask whether muddy boots are welcome, whether there is a flagged floor or drying room, and whether dogs are allowed in the bar.
• The fire itself: a real open fire or wood-burning stove, not a gas effect. Ask if it will be lit.
• Access: a short walk from a car park or a bus stop nearby saves a road walk in the dark at the end of the day.

Pack for the fire as well as the fell

The classic mistake is arriving at the inn soaked, steaming and miserable. A small dry bag at the bottom of your rucksack solves it.

• A spare base layer and socks in a waterproof bag — changing into a dry top before you go in makes an enormous difference.
• A light insulated jacket that lives in the pack all year. You will want it the moment you stop moving.
• A headtorch with fresh batteries. Winter afternoons end early, and the last kilometre on a lane is properly dark.
• A small towel for wet legs and muddy hands.
• Cash and a card. Rural signal is patchy and not every card machine works in a stone-walled bar.
• Water and a snack for the walk itself — do not set off relying on the pub to feed you at three o'clock.

Time it around the light

In midwinter in the fells the sun can be gone by half past three. Plan to be off the high ground an hour before sunset and at the inn as the light fails. That usually means starting by ten, which means an early breakfast and a firm grip on the group.

Summer flips the problem: you have light until ten at night, but a car park may close, the kitchen may shut at nine, and midges on the lower path can be ferocious at dusk. Carry a midge net on western and Highland routes, and do not linger on damp ground when the wind drops.

Weather decides everything. If the cloud is down to the valley and the wind is gusting on the tops, drop the summit, keep the loop low and make the day a gentler one. The fire will still be there.

Good manners around the hearth

Arrive with boots as clean as you can manage, ask where to leave wet kit, and keep wet dogs off the upholstery. Do not drip over the fire irons or hog the best seats for hours if the pub is filling up. Order food if you are staying, thank the staff, and do not be the group that arrives ten minutes before closing expecting the full menu.

And remember the walk back. If you have had a drink, that last mile on a country lane in the dark needs care: take a torch, walk facing the traffic where there is no pavement, and keep the group together. The best fire walk is the one you can repeat next weekend.