Height: 657m Height: 2155 feet Bible Position: Place Fell Conditions: Cloudy and windy at the top but warm for November Viewranger Stats: Map of our routeStatisticsTimingsSpeeds
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: The Far Eastern Fells Position: Lowest in The Far Eastern Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk: None
It’s been a while! So long in fact, I forgot how to update a blog article so it has taken me a few days to remind myself. With lockdown and everything going on the past couple of years, we have not had much opportunity to get out, so it was great to be back on the fells. Place Fell was a top we did almost 15 years ago on a very cold crisp morning. This time we have had a very mild spell so it wasn’t going to be the -6 temperatures we had last time.
Start of the walk
We were parked up and ready to walk by 9 am opposite the Patterdale Hotel. We set off with Dicksons steak pies in hand back along the road, past the school and turned right at the George Starkey hut.
Goldrill Beck
The path took us over the beck and along to Side farm campsite. Here we turned right and began the gentle climb to Place Fell.
Looking towards Place Fell
The start of the climb took us to the right towards Boredale Hause, moving away from the summit direction, to later bend back towards the summit.
Looking back across the valley towards the Patterdale Hotel
At Boredale Hause we turned left and we were now heading directly for the summit. It was a very steady climb today and about an hour later the summit was just ahead.
Place Fell summit just ahead
Place Fell summit
Just after 10.30 we reached the summit. A well built cairn sitting on top of the rocks. We were in cloud now and the wind had picked up so it was the coldest part of the walk, up to now it had been quite warm for November.
Second time back here
We saw another couple of walkers at the top and then dropped over the other side to get out of the wind and time for a cuppa. We dropped a little and then walked away from the path only about 5 yards to the right but that took us out of the wind. The way we were going to go down was walking away from the car, back down to the lakeside further round the lake and then walk back to the car.
Looking back down towards Ullswater
The Descent
Once we started again we were heading for the next valley down in the picture above, right in the centre towards the lake. Just like the ascent, the descent was fairly gentle and in no time we were at the sheepfold, a little shelter created by Dalemain Estates, West Martindale Commoners and Natural England to give us walkers some shelter from the cold, wet weather out on the Fells.
Low Moss SheepfoldLow Moss Sheepfold looking back down to Ullswater
We kept walking down towards the lake and about 10 minutes after Low Moss sheepfold we came across this old quarry building.
Derelict Quarry buildingThe Quarry building from the other side, looking back up the path, we had come from the right of picture.
Next to the building was a very strange water feature where the water was tumbling down the rock but we couldn’t see the source of the water above and we couldn’t see where it was going below, it just disappeared underground.
Water tumbling down the black rock but then disappeared
Another 20 minutes or so and we were almost back down to lake level.
Ullswater and ground level right aheadLooking back up the path from lake level
The last 50 yards or so was the steepest and slippiest part of the descent but we were back at the lake by 12.30. Just over 5 miles covered so far but almost another 4 miles to walk back to the car around the lake.
It was a very warm, bright day at lake level so we had a good walk around Ullswater with the opportunity for more photos along the way.
Scalehow Beck tumbling down the hillsideUllswater SteamerGood views and baitstop until the crowds arrived!A tribute to 3 artists who were inspired by the landscapeWaterfall back at Side Farm and almost the end of the walk
So we were now back at Side Farm and only a half mile walk along the path back to the car. We were back at the car just after 2.30. One of the lowest tops on our walks today but a long walk none the less. A very different perspective today than 15 years ago from a weather point of view.
Height: 964m Height: 3163 feet Bible Position: The Scafel Group Conditions: Cloudy and windy but warm Viewranger Stats: First stage of walk to Lords Rake
First stage statsSecond stage – Lords rake to summit and back downSecond Stage stats
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: The Southern Fells Position: Second highest in Southern Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk: None
So, at last, I reach the final fell, Scafel. This is the last of this quest of walking all 71 fells over 2000 feet in the Lake District. It has taken some time but there never was any hurry. We just get out when we can and get a walk in.
We had planned to stay over in the Lakes after the walk so we didn’t need such an early start. Peter picked me up at 7 am prompt, ready to head over to Wasdale. The forecast was for fairly heavy rain and potential thunder until around 10am, easing off a little and a reasonably bright afternoon.
We arrived in Wasdale around 9.45 and parked on the village green near the Wasdale Head Inn. Boots on and ready to walk just before 10 am.
Start of the walk
Today marked the return of two old friends. The first one we were about to tuck in to, home made scotch eggs, a very filling start to the day!
Looking back to the Wasdale Head InnWast Water
Our path took us directly across the path we took to Lingmell last year and down towards Lingmell Gill and on towards Brown Tongue.
Heading towards Brown Tongue
We reached Lingmell Gill and walked up the left of it for a short distance and eventually crossed to the other side.
Lingmell Gill in full flow
At this point we were making really good time, we were about half way in distance although only about a third of the height. So, plenty of walking ahead. Walking up Brown Tongue, the path forked left and right. The left takes you to Scafel Pike, so the right was our route towards Mickledore. This path was much quieter as the main traffic was heading towards the Pike.
Shortly after the junction we stopped for a cuppa and something to eat.
Looking towards LingmellCloudy up ahead
We had been chasing the cloud up the mountain to this point, the rain had stopped and it was getting a little brighter.
Looking across to the zig zag path to Scafel Pike
Now it gets harder!
Everything had been fairly easy up to this point, we were making good time, steadily climbing, already well over 2000 feet. The weather was getting brighter. All good we thought! Now the hard work started as we set foot on the loose scree towards Mickledore. This is about a 300 or 400 foot stretch where you take a step forward and slide back. It took some effort to get to the top.
The top of Mickledore. A col between Scafel Pike and ScafelThe path towards Scafel
The Lords Rake
At this point you could turn left to go to Scafel Pike. There were four people walking the Pike for charity who were doing exactly that. We turned right towards the Lords Rake. We were still climbing up to about 2800 feet in height, only another 300 feet to climb! Then to my horror I realised that to get to to the Lords Rake, you had to drop considerable height, not once but 2 or 3 times! If you scroll forward to around 2.5 miles into the 3D view of the walk here you will see the drops we had to take.
Not only were there drops in height the climbs were difficult too, on loose stones. It was quite a challenge but strangely we didn’t see anyone else on this part of the walk. Whilst it was hard work it was safe as there was nowhere to fall really.
Fallen Chockstone at the top of the first section of the Lords Rake
There used to be a chockstone which rested side to side at the top of the first section of the Lords Rake but it was now fallen. We had to climb over the fallen stone.
Looking back to the top of the first section
We stopped for another cuppa after the first section. As you can see in the photo above which looks back to the top of the first section, we dropped height as soon as we came out of this part.
We continued to climb and fall until we eventually got out of the Lords Rake. We were now in thick cloud, unfortunately the sunshine did not overtake the cloud. It was also quite windy now. Also for some reason my Viewranger app had stopped recording the walk so I had to restart (that’s why there are 2 separate sections of the Viewranger stats.) It was so cloudy we couldn’t see which way to go, left or right! A mixture of getting the app working again and good old fashioned map reading from Peter got us back on track. It was a right turn!
Summit of Scafel
Fortunately we were only minutes away from the summit although we couldn’t see it! We reached the top at 2.15pm. At long last number 71 of 71 was chalked off.
The joy and exhaustion of reaching Scafel summitAlready thinking about the descent!
It was very windy at the top, so only time for a couple of quick photos and for Peter to present me my medal. It was difficult to see past 50 yards but the views up here would be fantastic on a good day. We could see there were a couple of shelters and obviously the main cairn.
My medalMy Medal
The Descent
We dropped back down to the col between Scafel and Symonds Knott and noticed this stone cross in the ground.
Stone cross
We found the path back to the top of the Lords Rake and had to make a decision whether to go back down (and up) the rake or to find a different route. I didn’t much fancy the rake the other way round so Peter found a route via Rakehead Crag back down towards Wast Water.
At first this was a steady descent and we were making good time again. However at some point we had to lose height more quickly.
At least we were back in sun again now and got some nice final photos of the surrounding fells.
Kirkfell in sunPanorama from left Wast Water, Yewbarrow, Scoat Fell, Pillar, Kirkfell, Great Gable and Lingmell
The final drop was very steep via scree and finishing off on grass. Most of this I spent on my backside. Some of it intentional, some not so intentional!
We finally got back to the campsite and had to walk back to the Wasdale Head In. This seemed straight forward until we reached a fast running stream. Just enough to cover our boots and get our feet wet! Then a similar depth pond, then the stream again, and again! So a nice wet finish to the walk!
Some thanks
I mentioned earlier that today marked the return of two old friends. The Scotch Eggs first but more importantly Steve Carragher joined us for the evening at the pub. Steve and Peter got me involved in this some twenty years ago, maybe more. I did several walks without even recording them. The first official walk I recorded with them was Bowfell back in 2007, although I had walked the Old Man of Coniston in 2004 so that was my first real walk on this journey. Since then I have done 12 walks some years but as few as 3 walks in other years. It has taken some time but I want to thank Peter for getting me through each one and especially for the many extra hours he has spent on the fells waiting for me to sloooooowwwwly descend!
Thanks also to Steve for more than 20 walks for the same reasons as above. Thanks to our wives Julie and Sara and families for allowing us to get up at stupid o’clock and leave for a day over lots and lots of weekends.
Fortunately we have never needed Mountain Rescue but thanks to them for the work they do to rescue people like us who may get into trouble.
If you have read this blog and found it useful then thank you to you too. If nothing else you can be assured that if I can do it, you certainly can, so get out on the fells and enjoy them.
Now time for beer and food to celebrate.
We will be back!
Click here to see phase 1 of the walk in 3d and here to see phase 2.
Phase 1 of the walkPhase 2 of the walkViewranger Stats Phase 1Viewranger Stats 2
Height: 892m Height: 2927 feet Bible Position: The Scafel Group Conditions: Mostly dry and bright Viewranger Stats:
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: The Western Fells Position: Second highest in Western Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk: None
Only two tops left to do, Pillar and Scafel. We haven’t had an “official” walk since August, so today, at last was the long awaited Pillar walk. Pillar was another walk I had been dreading since our Yewbarrow walk back in 2013. As we sat at the great bait stop at the back of Yewbarrow we could see what difficult walks both Kirk Fell and Pillar were going to be, because of the sheer size of them.
Wasdale is a long drive so I picked Peter up at 6.00 am and headed for the Western Fells. We arrived in Wasdale about 8.30, already busy with three peakers. Boots on, scotch eggs eaten and started walking at 8.40.
Start of the walk
Our target was in view right from the car park.
First view of Pillar from the car park at Wasdale Head
The walk started at the campsite next to the Wasdale Head Inn. We walked through the Inn car park and crossed over the Packhorse bridge.
Crossing the Packhorse Bridge behind the Wasdale Head Inn
After crossing the bridge, we followed Mosedale beck into the valley. We needed to cross over to the other side of the beck so found a good crossing point.
Looking for a crossing of Mosedale Beck, Pillar right aheadThis point looks as good as any
Black Sail Pass
The path we wanted was just this side of the wall in the above photo. We followed that path for about a mile eventually bearing right following Black Sail Pass.
The Scafels just appearing over Lingmell
Looking back we could see the Scafels just making an appearance over Lingmell with the slopes of Kirkfell on our right all the way up Black Sail Pass.
The back of Yewbarrow and Dore Head where we had our Baitstop looking at todays walk back in 2013.
The weather forecast suggested a very cold day but so far it was fairly mild, so we took a bait stop at Gatherstone Head.
Baitstop on Gatherstone Beck around Gatherstone Head
A welcome intake of fluids and food and we carried on up the pass. We were approaching the top of the pass thinking most of the hard work was done. Although I must admit it hadn’t been a bad walk up to this point.
At the top of Black Sail Pass
Looking back down Black Sail Pass you can see Yewbarrow on the left and Red Pike on the right. Pillar is further round to the right of this photo.
Pillar from the top of Black Sail Pass
Now we could see the full might of Pillar and there were three summits to cross to reach the top. The first of these was the hardest with some hard scrambling over rocks.
Kirk Fell from the top of Black Sail PassKirk Fell on the left, Yewbarrow right in the middle and that first summit on the way to Pillar on the rightGreat Gable poking its head over Kirk FellApproaching the second summit on the way to Pillar
Pillar summit
It had been a long pull up from the top of Black Sail pass and at last the summit was close.
Looking back down the path towards the top of the pass
Finally we reached the summit at 12.15, with great views all round.
Pillar summit with Gable and the Scafels behind
The summit was quite big with three separate shelters. We sat in one for about half an hour and had some bait. We had seen quite a few people on the walk but there were not many at the top. The threatened freezing temperatures had still not arrived.
Setting off on the descent
The Descent
After a good bait stop we began descending the same route about 1.00pm.
Looking back to the summit
We found a slightly easier way over the first summit we had ascended. A path to the right was a less strenuous descent. The last summit was still hard though. However once we were back on Black Sail pass we moved fairly quickly. The steps were very well positioned allowing a quick descent. We were down as far as Gatherstone Head when I could just start to feel the knees.
The path was exactly the same as the ascent with only a couple of minor changes.
Back at the Packhorse Bridge
For the final half mile or so we kept to the other side of the beck we had ascended. A very pleasing descent got us back to the car just before 4.00pm. A great day on the fells and number 70 of 71 chalked off. Only one to go now and that’s Scafel.
Book: The Western Fells Position: Sixteenth highest in Western Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk: None
Fleetwith Pike is the first top that I have officially done twice. Ten years ago I did Fleetwith Pike with Steve and Peter but it was a very wet day, too wet for photos. I always intended coming back to take some photos and to write a little more about the views, so here we are.
The intention today was Pillar, another top in Wasdale. On the best of days, Wasdale is a three hour drive each way. On the drive today the A66 was closed around Penrith with a diversion. This was not too bad at 7.30 am but we thought it would be a nightmare at 4pm. Add the diversion to a three hour drive, we decided to opt for a shorter walk.
We were now heading up Honister Pass to park at the mine. Arriving at the mine around 8.30 am we had the scotch eggs from Homer Hill Farm and started walking.
Start of the walk
We walked through the mine car park and took the path on the left up towards Drum House. We have taken this path many times, most recently on our walk to Kirk Fell. The path is the old tramway and Drum House is where the winding gear was housed to pull the trains up the line. At Drum House we turned right towards the slate mine.
Slate mine
The landscape up here had changed quite a bit since the last time we were here.
View from the mine towards Pillar
Great Gable just poking its head above Brandreth
We took the road out of the mine climbing towards Honister Crag and on to Fleetwith Pike.
Fleetwith Pike summit
It was only 9.30 am and we had reached the summit of Fleetwith Pike. It seemed like it took much longer last time but I remember you couldn’t see a hand in front of you then.
Fleetwith Pike summit
View to Buttermere with Crummock Water beyond
Haystacks in the foreground with High Crag to the right and Pillar behind
We stayed at the top for some time having a little bait and enjoying the views. There were great views all round including Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Robinson, Hindscarth and todays original plan Pillar dominating them all.
The descent
It was still very early and we had a few options, drop back down then up to Haystacks or Brandreth. We descended to Dubs Hut in the valley between Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks.
Dubs Hut
Dubs Hut front door
Addition of a fire since we were last here
View from Dubs Hut window
Looking back towards Fleetwith Pike
The path to Haystacks with Pillar behind
The path away from Dubs Hut and the very straight track back to the car
The route back to the car was very straight from here as can be seen from the Viewranger stats below. We arrived back at Honister Slate mine around 11.30, had a quick look around the mine shop then back to the car.
So, the first top I have done twice, Fleetwith Pike I am sure I will see you again.
Oh yes, you are wondering whether we chose Haystacks or Brandreth above? Well option 3 was head back to a pub in Keswick to watch the lunchtime match. I will leave you to decide which option we picked!
Height: 841m Height: 2759 feet Bible Position: The Mosedale Round Conditions: Warm and sunny Viewranger Stats:
Viewranger Stats
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: The Western Fells Position: Third highest in Western Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk: None
With only 3 tops left to do, it is now the business end of the journey. Hopefully, Scoat Fell or top number 69 of 71 would be completed today. Scoat Fell is the third highest mountain in the Western Fells behind Gable and Pillar. The forecast earlier in the week was not good but had improved as the week went on. Peter picked me up at 6.00 am for the long journey to the west coast and my favourite part of the Lake District, Wasdale.
We arrived at the car park at Overbeck, the same one we started the walk to Yewbarrow, booted up and had our scotch eggs from Homer Hill Farmshop.
Start of the walk
We were off and walking just after 8.45. We were going to follow Overbeck all the way up to Dore Head then turn left towards Red Pike and on to Scoat Fell.
Yewbarrow from the start of the walk
Bridge over Overbeck although we were not crossing that today
Overbeck
Looking up towards our destination
It was still early but already quite warm and sunny. Right from the start we were climbing steadily on this walk and in no time at all had gained some height.
Looking back down the beck with the Screes in the background
It was now 10.30 so time for a break and a cuppa. The views were already great even at this relatively low height, we were still only about half way in height.
Pillar, our next walk
Kirkfell with Great Gable behind
The Scafels with the North top of Yewbarrow in the foreground
The route we will follow on our next walk to Pillar, up Black Sail pass
We sat for about half an hour and then set off for Dore Head where we would turn left and finish the climb.
Wast Water with the Screes behind
This was a walk where we were climbing all the way with very few flat parts. However none of the climbs were too strenuous, just enough to keep the heart pumping. From Dore Head the walk did get steeper until we could see Red Pike.
First sight of Scoat Fell, right ahead with Red Pike on the right.
At this point we could now see Scoat Fell right ahead with a small drop in height as we passed Red Pike and a final push to the summit.
Scoat Fell summit
Final push to the summit
We arrived at the summit just before 1pm, almost 4 hour climb (with a couple of stops).
Scoat Fell Summit
There are 2 cairns at the summit, one on the wall, centre of the picture above and one in the distance on the right of picture. The one on the wall is recognised as the summit but we visited both just in case.
Scoat Fell summit with the Scafels behind
The summit with Great Gable on my right shoulder and the Scafels on my left shoulder
We sat for a while to admire the views and have a little bait.
Great views today. Shot of Pillar, our next walk
Steeple
Panorama from the summit with Red Pike, Grasmoor and Pillar to name a few.
The descent
We had options for the way down, one of which was to head to Pillar but with a big drop and climb at Wind Gap it was just too far. It would have been great to get two in today but we would save that one for the next walk. Another option was to descend the way we had come up or to drop towards Haycock and then follow Netherbeck back to the car. The last option was the one we chose to make the walk a nice circular one.
You could almost see Steve McQueen jumping this wall. The Great Escape route back towards Haycock?
Ennerdale
We dropped fairly quickly, in about an hour we were back down to around 1000 feet. It was a very long walk back to the car however once we did get relatively flat.
Still some way to go
Final view back to Scoat Fell
When we arrived back at Netherbeck Bridge, we had a 10 minute walk back along the road to the car park. We arrived at the car just after 4pm so another long day but very satisfying that I only have two left to do now. Pillar and Scafel will hopefully be completed this year as planned.
Height: 640m Height: 2100 feet Bible Position: Copeland Forest Conditions: Overcast but warm, a little rain at the start Viewranger Stats:
Viewranger Stats
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: None Position: Not in the Wainwright books Other Wainwrights on this walk:
Todays challenge was going to be a little known top called Iron Crag. The only top in our 71 which even the great Wainwright didn’t tackle. It is tucked away between Wasdale and Ennerdale. It was my turn to drive so I picked Peter up at 6.00 am and we headed for the Western Lakes. We had three options
Approach from Wasdale from the same place we tackled Seatallan. This would be a long, boggy slog.
Approach from Ennerdale from the same place we tackled Haycock. Not amongst our favourite walks!
Approach from a different part of Ennerdale Water. A walk into the unknown as we had not been in this area before.
None of the options were particularly attractive but option 3 only just got our vote. In this case a walk into the unknown seemed better than what we knew of the other 2 options! The weather lately has been outstanding, today was overcast but still very warm.
Start of the Walk
We arrived at Bleach Green car park near Crag Farm a little after 8.00 am. Our breakfast was our old favourite Angus the butcher of Seaham steak pies. We left the car park and walked towards Crag Farm. The path took us in front of the farm to the right, through a gate. Our direction was to turn left at the gate and double back behind the farm. We walked for about 10 or 15 minutes in that direction and decided that it was not gaining us any height. So we doubled back to the gate and walked a little way past it. There was a path on the left that began to climb immediately into the woods.
Ennerdale Water from start of the climb
As you can see from the photo above, it was very overcast. The car was parked just to the left of the construction site below in the middle of the picture. I had mapped the route on Viewranger and we were now sticking to the path. The route took us towards Crag Fell and it was a good job we had the Viewranger app today as the path was unclear in places. We passed in between Crag Fell on our left and Grike on our right. We then dropped slightly towards Black Pots, an old forest that had been felled.
Time for a Baitstop
When we reached Black Pots we stopped for a cuppa and something to eat whilst looking up towards Iron Crag which was in mist.
Looking back towards Black Pots
Peter knew Iron Crag was on the left of the wall in front of us. He also knew the wall was quite high near the summit so we decided to pass through the gate above. We didn’t want to reach the top but not reach the top because of a big wall did we?
The climb towards Iron Crag, just follow the wall.
Iron Crag summit
As it turned out there were two more gates through the wall higher up. The wall did get higher the more we climbed. The above photo shows us walking up to Boathow Crag in very wet grass! The summit was only another 30 minutes or so.
We reached the summit just before noon.
Iron Crag summit with the wall behind
Iron Crag summit, no great views today
We were delighted to get this one chalked off the list and also delighted that we chose option 3 above as this was a decent route.
The Descent
It was still quite early so we had plenty of time to get back down the same way. We crossed back over the wall through one of the gates as the path on that side was a little better. We dropped back down to Black Pots arriving back at our bait stop about 1pm. As we were approaching this point we could see Ennerdale Water to our right and there seemed to be a good path heading towards it. I suggested we took that path and walked back around the lake to the car. Seemed reasonable I thought! If we had followed the same route back down that we had ascended, it would have took about 90 minutes, certainly no more than 2 hours.
Ennerdale Water and the alleged short cut back to the car
Fairly quickly the path was no longer a path but was a walk through the heather towards the wall in the distance. Still no problem, right?
We crossed the wall and now the heather was gone but we had ferns in front of us. We had gone too far now to turn back and the lake was getting closer. Ferns were no big deal, right? As we got lower the ferns got higher and more dense. At some times the ferns were taller than us. Eventually the ferns gave way to woods and we could now hear voices from the lakeside path below.
The only photo I got of the ferns. Just as we got to the woods
Nearly there
We were nearly there. After the woods we had maybe 50 yards of more ferns and we were on the lakeside path. That was exhausting, so we sat for 10 minutes for a drink. Only about 2 more miles to walk back to the car!
So we got back to the car just after 4.00pm. The short cut had added about 90 minutes to our day. However the delight in chalking Iron Crag off far outweighed the extended walk.
Height: 800m Height: 2624 feet Bible Position: The Scafell Group Conditions: Hot, sunny and dry, slight breeze Viewranger Stats:
Viewranger Stats
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: The Southern Fells Position: 7th highest in Southern Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk:
At last we are down to the final handful of fells to conquer. The final five are all in Wasdale and today we were planning on Lingmell. It was my turn to drive and as it was a long drive I intended picking Peter up at 6 am. I was only 5 minutes away from home and realised I had forgotten my walking socks, so had to turn back. It would have been a painful walk with just lining socks in my boots! So it was about 6.15 am when I got to Peters.
Early morning view of Wasdale. Todays target, Lingmell middle of picture.
We arrived at Wasdale Head just after 9 am. As we drove towards the little bridge entering the National Trust car park, we are sure we saw Chris Bonnington driving out of the car park. The car park was busy with Three Peakers but still plenty of spaces. We parked up, booted up, Scotch Egged up and began walking at 9.25 am.
Leaving the National Trust car park over the footbridge
Start of the walk
The path lead us up Lingmell Gill initially until we reached a gate. At the gate we could follow the path up towards Brown Tongue or veer left up a steep grassy slope.
The busy path up Brown Tongue towards Scafel Pike. The grassy slope to the left heading direct to Lingmell.
The grassy slope looked very steep and from this viewpoint the path looked the easier option. We decided on the grassy slope though to get the steep climbing out of the way. Also this route would avoid the traffic from the Three Peakers on the way to Scafel Pike.
In the distance we could see a stile and this was our first target.
Stile in the distance which looked like two thirds of the way up
Looking back to Wast Water and the gate below where we turned left
It was a fantastic day in Wasdale, tee-shirt and shorts all the way. The views were also amazing. We were right in the heart of the biggest mountains in the lake District and we had a ringside seat.
Yewbarrow with the Great Door on the left of the ridge
A close up of the Great Door on Yewbarrow
This is a very busy area at this time of the year as people attempt the Three Peaks challenge with maximum daylight. The area is littered with camp sites and car parks to deal with the seasonal traffic.
Looking down to the Wasdale Head Inn and campsite. Scoat Fell and Pillar behind. Yewbarrow left front and Kirk Fell right front.
We were now approaching the stile that had seemed so far in the distance.
The stile was our way marker all the way up
It was a very solid, well built stile
The Scafels
Most of the time when we are walking around here, the Scafels are in cloud, but not today. We could see them in all their glory. So a good opportunity to take some photos.
The Scafels in all their glory
The Scafels
Scafel on its own. A tiny bit of snow left in the shade
Strangely, Scafel always looks bigger than Scafel Pike!
Scafel Pike on the left, Scafel on the right
View from a little higher up
The Summit of Lingmell
Onwards and upwards toward the summit and the views got even better.
Great view of Wast Water from a height
Great Gable coming into view
The grassy slope was now more rocky over the final kilometre to the summit.
Lingmell summit only 400m ahead
We reached the summit just after 11.30 and only a little over 2 hours climbing.
Lingmell summit with Scafel behind
Lingmell summit with Scafel Pike behind
Looking down to Styhead Tarn. The Corridor Route is by my left arm
It was such a nice day with just a little breeze, and it was still early so time for a long bait stop.
Looking across to the Western Fells. Haycock, Scoat Fell, Pillar and Kirk Fell to name a few
The Descent
One was all we could realistically do today, Pillar and Scoat Fell were some distance. Whilst Scafel was possibly within reach it was a tough ask for me especially. We descended in the direction of the route to Scafel Pike, heading towards Hollow Stones and then down Brown Tongue. We had passed about three people so far today, that was about to change as we hit the M1 of the Lakes in May, June and July.
Looking back to Lingmell on the Descent
Mickledore, between Scafel Pike and Scafel
Mickledore was the route we took up to Scafel Pike when we did that, to avoid the crowds. Brown Tongue was very busy with some weird and wonderful sights. People wearing very basic trainers, one person dressed for the Arctic and one bloke with a wedding dress! I suppose it was a Royal Wedding day.
Busy day on the way to Scafel Pike
We must have seen hundreds of people today, all heading for Scafel Pike
Almost at the car
We got back to the car just after 2pm. The car park still very busy, we started the drive home. We just had time to stop at the Sportsmans Inn on the A66. Only 4 left to do now, so a very satisfying drive home.
Height:890 m Height: 2920 feet Bible Position: The Grisedale Fells Conditions:Sunny and warm with snow higher up Viewranger Stats:
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: Book One – The Eastern Fells Position: Third highest in Eastern Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk: Birkhouse Moor
First walk of 2018 although we have been keeping busy over the winter, walking around the Cleveland hills. Catstycam was the only top left outside of Wasdale so this was next on the list. It was my turn to drive and I picked Peter up just after 6.30 am. There has been some heavy snow over the past few weeks but the forecast today was good. We arrived in Glenridding just after 8 am but decided to drive a little further to Patterdale to park just outside the Scout Hut on the main road. We had plenty of layers for cold weather although even at this early hour it was looking like we wouldn’t need them.
Through the gate and straight over the field was our direction
Start of the walk
The start of the walk was quite easy, gradually climbing out of Patterdale. Our first destination of the day was in view to our left, the Hole in the Wall. The path was clear and gently rising to that point.
Our first destination “The hole in the wall”
For a late March morning and considering the snow line ahead of us, it was already very warm and we were both down to one or two layers very quickly.
It was around this point that my Viewranger app linked to my Apple watch paused and I lost some of the walk stats (apologies that the stats below are not complete) and I didn’t realise until we were at Red Tarn up ahead.
Looking back to the start of the walk with Place Fell behind
We were now approaching the Hole in the Wall and we had already seen quite a few people on this walk. Now that Helvellyn has been voted Britains favourite walk it was clearly even more busy than usual.
First glimpse of Catstycam as we approach the Hole in the Wall
As we climbed the stile at the Hole in the Wall, the full panorama of Striding Edge, Hellvellyn, Swirral Edge and Catstycam opened up to us. There was plenty snow around but no heavy amounts in the direction we were heading.
Left to right Striding Edge, Hellvellyn, Swirral Edge (the deeper snow in the middle) and Catstycam
From this point the path was clear to the summit, towards Red Tarn and take the path to the right towards Swirral Edge, then turn right to the summit.
The stream coming off Red Tarn is under here somewhere and the path towards Swirral Edge can be seen ahead
Red Tarn looking like White Tarn today with Striding Edge behind
The final ascent to the summit
Catstycam Summit
We reached the summit just before noon and it was the calmest, warmest summit we had been to for some time, even though we were surrounded by snow.
Catstycam summit with Hellvellyn behind
Ullswater from the summit
Catstycam summit with Ullswater behind
Looking north towards the Buttermere Fells and Skiddaw with Hellvellyn Lower Man and Raise in the foreground
Looking East towards Ullswater
Swirral Edge in deep snow
The Descent
We sat at the summit for about half an hour as it was so warm and such great views today. We decided to descend the same way we had come up as it was fairly steady. It was actually a really easy descent to Red Tarn as the ground was so soft, it was like a shock absorber.
Red Tarn was absolutely heaving now with what seemed like bus loads of people. Rather than descend the same way we kept to the left of the Hole in the Wall and followed the wall down with it on our right all the way down.
Looking back up the descent from Birkhouse Moor
This did seem like a steeper descent and as we got closer to the car it was taking it’s toll on the knees.
The car is just ahead
We were heading for Lanty’s tarn which is in the trees just left of centre on the photo above. Just time for one last bait stop and finish off our final drinks. From Lanty’s tarn it was only about half an hour back to the car and we arrived back at the car just before 3.15.
Only 22,000 steps but some great views today and really good walk. Just time for a drink at the Brackenrigg Inn.
See you on the next one.
Apologies for having to break the Viewranger stats in two!
Height: 802m Height: 2631 feet Bible Position: The Gable Group Conditions: Cloudy and occasional rain Viewranger Stats:
Stats from Viewranger
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: The Western Fells Position: 7th highest in Western Fells Other Wainwrights on this walk:
It was my turn to drive and we were planning one of the walks I had been dreading since we did Yewbarrow back in August 2013. I remember sitting at a great bait stop on Yewbarrow overlooking Kirk Fell thinking that is going to be a tough walk. As I set off for Peter before 6 am it was pouring with rain although the forecast was for showers and clear spells with heavy rain late in the day.
Start of the walk
We arrived at Honister Slate Mine on the Honister Pass just before 8.30 again in heavy rain. The rain seemed to stop for a minute and then start up again so we sat in the car for maybe half an hour. It seemed to clear enough for us to start walking although we had waterproofs on from the start.
The start of the walk is one we have done many times up the old tramway towards Drum House.
On the track up to Drum House
When we reached Drum House we turned left, heading in the direction of Brandreth to join Moses Trod.
Looking back down the track from Drum House
Our path from Drum House
We were beginning to climb slowly again and whilst it was still cloudy there were signs of some clearer spells too.
Looking back to Haystacks (the dark mountain on the left) and Buttermere and Crummock Water beyond
The path levelled out and we had a long spell of walking on the flat and even slightly descending.
Long, steady path took us to our first bait stop
Baitstop
The path took us to our first bait stop almost 2.5 hours into the walk.
Our first sight of Kirk Fell
Our bait stop gave us our first sight of Kirk Fell although if it had been clearer we would have been able to see if for the past hour. Also immediately behind us was Great Gable. We stopped for 20 minutes, fuelled up ready for the big push to the summit.
View of Wasdale
As we set off from the bait stop descending rapidly towards Beck Head Tarn with Kirk Fell right behind it.
Kirk Fell in all its glory with Beck Head Tarn in front
From this point it looked a very steep climb to the summit and I said I hope it is easier than it looks. As it turned out it was easier than it looked.
Kirk Fell summit
It was a steep climb and loose under foot in places but an hour after the photo above we were at the summit.
The summit getting closer
and closer
and closer
We arrived at the summit at 12.30 with some great views.
Great Gable from Kirk Fell summit
Panorama of the north western fells including Grasmoor, Skiddaw and Blencathra
The descent
As usual it was windy at the top so we headed back down on the same path. The hardest part of the descent was right ahead with the drop back down to Beck Head Tarn and back up to our bait stop. We stopped at the same bait stop again with a slightly different view. Now that the cloud had cleared, we could see the path we were going to take from right to left.
Our high level path back to the car
We set off on the path and could now see the might of Kirk Fell. To be honest if we had seen this view earlier in the morning it may have been more daunting.
Kirk Fell
Panorama showing Haystacks, High Crag behind, Buttermere, Crummock Water and Fleetwith Pike
We got back to the car at 3.50 pm so a long walk, 30,000 steps according to my Fitbit and just under 7.5 miles as the stats below show.
Stats from Viewranger
Graph from Viewranger showing Speed, distance and altitude
Kirk Fell was a great top to bag out of the final eight and strangely in spite of the long distance, I felt the best I have felt after a walk in a long time. Only the “magnificent” seven left to do now. We are hoping to get Catstycam done this year and that leaves Scafell, Lingmell, Pillar, Scoat Fell, Haycock and Iron Crag.
Height: 762m Height: 2500 feet Bible Position: The Central Ridge Conditions: Cold and Wet, snow on the top Viewranger Stats:
The exact route we took thanks to Viewranger
Wainwright Facts and Figures
Book: Book 3 – The Central Fells Position: Other Wainwrights on this walk: Eagle Crag
So we only have the dirty dozen left to do, 12 more tops to complete the challenge of 71 tops over 2000 feet. Peter picked me up at 6.30 am and we had already decided to do one of the two High Raise mountains left to do. This one is the smaller of the two in the Central Ridge, very close to Ullscarf which we had done back in June this year.
We arrived in the village of Stonethwaite just after 8.30, got the boots on as well as the warm layers and started walking about 8.45am, tucking into scotch eggs from Angus the butcher as we walked.
Start of the walk
We crossed over Stonethwaite Beck and turned right and began walking along a clear path following the stream slowly up hill.
Looking back to Stonethwaite
First Wainwright of the day
As the main stream turned right we continued straight ahead following the path up Greenup Gill towards Eagle Crag and on to Lining Crag. We passed through two or three gates and crossed streams a number of times. As we got through one gate, we saw lots of sheep up on the hillside waiting for their breakfast.
Sheep covering the hillside
A little further up the Gill was this waterfall with what would be a very inviting plunge pool in the summer but not today as it was very wet and cold. It was around this point the snow started to fall as the temperature dropped. We both thought this would be a very nice walk in the summer with plenty to see and some good bait stops.
Waterfall on Greenup Gill
We were heading towards Lining Crag although as were climbed we could not see the full scale of the crag in the poor weather conditions (see below for a photo on the way back down). This was probably the hardest part of the walk, negotiating the path around to the left of the crag, scrambling over wet rocks. Again as we got to the top of the crag we commented what a good bait stop this would be in the summer. Onwards and upwards today however as the snow was falling and we wanted to make sure we could find the path on the way back down. This part of the walk was particularly boggy although partially frozen in places today.
Visibility was very poor as we approached the summit but a handy app I had downloaded kept us on the right track.
Skyline on the Viewranger App showing the nearby mountains by distance
High Raise Summit
We reached the summit at exactly noon, just time for a quick photo, even taking our gloves off for a minute froze our hands so we wanted to get back down as quickly as possible.
A cold, wet and windy summit
The descent
We tried to get back down below the snow line as quickly as possible although with slippery, icy rocks under foot it was a tricky task.
Lining Crag
A closer look at the path around Lining Crag
As we got back down to Lining Crag, the descent was slightly easier because the path was a little clearer. It still took up a little time however, slowing us down as we headed for Greenup Gill.
I had downloaded a new app to my iPhone called Viewranger which was fantastic. You can track your walk as you go. Using Skyline, built into the App you can see what other Mountains are nearby. I forgot to start the app right at the beginning of the walk. Therefore, I missed the first 15 minutes but it is extremely accurate and especially in poor weather very useful.
The exact route we took thanks to Viewranger
We got back to the car about 3.45 so about 3 hours to ascend and just under 4 to descend. Another long walk with Fitbit counting just over 30,000 steps and the accurate Viewranger app recording 6.5 miles. Edging ever closer to the target of 71, this was my 60th top. We are hoping to try to squeeze one more in this year, weather permitting.
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