( Previous trip report is a winter route to Scafell Pike from Seathwaite )

My plan was to start at Mardale Head, climbing High Street via the classic Riggindale route, then making a circuit around Mardale Ill Bell, Harter Fell, Branstree and Selside Pike. I think it would have been a really nice route, had it not been for an unexpected road closure conspiring against me; but more of that later! It was the 21st March, 2012, and a very pleasant spring day.

The classic "Mardale Horseshoe" appears to ascend via the Riggindale ridge and descends the Gatescarth Pass. My route today was a intended as a natural extension of this, to avoid leaving a couple of stranded, un-bagged Wainwrights on the south-eastern shore of Haweswater. I think it's well worth considering, and it's pretty easy once the initial climb to High Street is behind you. With hindsight, a better alternative for me might have been to park at Burnbanks and ascend via High Raise, descending via Hare Shaw - I'd say this is just under 30km - but the downside would have been to omit the classic ridge route above Riggindale.

View from Rough Crag, below High Street

"...[High Street's] eastern flank falls precipitously from the flat top to enclose the splendid tarn of Blea Water in craggy arms [...] a striking study in grandeur and wildness; on this side a straight narrow ridge running down to Mardale is particularly fine."

Refer to Waiwright Book 2: The Far Eastern Fells for more details. This walk took me to five "Wainwrights", including three new ones. The count is now 74 - finally passing the 1/3rd checkpoint!

Route Summary:

Under any normal circumstances, I would have parked at the western end of Haweswater. Unfortunately, before setting out on this particular morning, I had neglected to make my routine phone-call to North West Water to see if they had decided to close off the road so that someone could bury a pipe underneath it. Makes perfect sense to me - it's not as if there might be any grass or open spaces in Cumbria. It stands to reason any sensible person would decide to dig up a road instead of trying to find space in the countless millions of acres of grass verge!! So anyway, on this occasion, I parked at Wallow Crag, about 6km from where I wanted to be.

But, if possible, park at Mardale Head. The car park is free, but there's a mountain rescue donation box next to the gate, so I put a couple of pounds into that; much better than feeding a parking meter! Follow the shoreline around to The Rigg and turn west up the long ridge to High Street. The path is straightforward, although rocky in places. In those first three km, you gain a lot of height, and the path levels off considerably when you reach the summit of High Street. Descend via Mardale Ill Bell and cross the Nan Bield Pass, before climbing the ridge to the summit of Harter Fell. Again the path levels out, before the drop across the Gatesgarth Pass and subsequent climb to the summit of Branstree.

Follow the natural line of the gentle grassy ridge, across Selside Pike, and join the Old Corpse Road, heading for the eastern shores of Hawsewater. Hopefully, you will be parked in the Mardale Head carpark, but if not, trudge back along the road to whatever ridiculously distant layby you've been forced to park in!

Map:

Click here to view OS map on Social Hiking (or download the GPX File)

Long walk-in due to road closure:

Having had a really good journey as far as Burnbanks, even the ridiculous convoys of 40mph limited HGVs along the A69 were not too bad today, I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw the "road closed" signs. An additional sign did say there was still access to the hotel, so I carried on. Unfortunately, honesty got the better of me and, on telling the foreman of the works that I wanted to park at the end of Haweswater, he said there's no access. Clearly that's not entirely true and with hindsight, my advice to any future travellers would be to lie to them and say you're on your way to the hotel. They have to keep this access open and once you're past the hotel, the road is totally clear anyway.

The east ridge of High Street, reached via Rough Crag and Long Stile

As it turned out, apart from the fact it's mostly on tarmac, the walk around Haweswater is really very pleasant with excellent views to the head of Mardale and up towards High Street. If this is your 'thing', I'd be prepared to say that a circuit of Haweswater, on roads to the east and footpaths along the western shore, would make for a very nice walk in its own right; it would be about 20km.

High Street via Rough Crag, Riggindale Crag and Long Stile:

My previous ascent of High Street was something of an afterthought when I was climbing Thornthwaite Crag and found myself well ahead of schedule. However, an ascent from the west is really not doing justice to the summit and I had always planned to return and climb it again from the east; along the Rough Crag ridge, which I'd seen in a re-run of Julia Bradbury's Wainwright Walks - Season 2. Without a doubt, this is the best approach.

"The ridge of Rough Crag and the rocky stairway of Long Stile together form the connoisseur's route up High Street, the only route that discloses the finer characteristics of the fell."

High Street seen from top of Rough Crag

The going is mostly very easy, but there are some occasional steep and rocky sections - maybe an occasional hand on the rock for support, but no actual scrambling - walking poles can remain unstowed all the way.

Mardale Ill Bell and Harter Fell:

The climb to High Street, the descent, and the views from the edges are undeniably excellent, but the summit itself is a bit of an anti-climax. It looked like there was some sort of bus trip further along the ridge, probably planning on assembling for sandwiches near the trig-point so I promptly diverted south-east and decided I'd stop for a rest on Mardale Ill Bell. This is a great viewpoint, overlooking Blea Water and the surrounding crags.

Haweswater seen from ascent of Harter Fell

It's a fairly steep descent to the Nan Bield pass (with a nice seated shelter at the col) and then a nice rocky ascent along the broad ridge towards Harter Fell. It's a gentle scramble, and never exposed. Like High Street itself, Harter Fell excels in the ascent and views, but presents a flat grassy summit. The best views are to be had from below the summit to the north-east.

"Beyond the [Nan Bield] pass, an interesting ridge rises in rocky steps to the flat top of Harter Fell."

Looking back over Small Water and Blea Water towards High Street

It's worth keeping in mind that whilst Harter Fell feels like a gentle grassy hill, there are steep crags to the north, dropping down to Mardale Head. The wire fence makes for a good point of reference. Follow the path around the edge, eventually heading south-east over Little Harter Fell and across the Gatesgarth Pass.

Branstree and Selside to the Old Corpse Road:

Branstree and Selside feel very different to the preceding hills, being far more rolling and grassy in character. The views into the upper reaches of Swindale were particularly impressive, and it looks like that would be a nice valley to explore. It seems somewhat secluded and apparently offers some good rock climbing - which might be another reason to return!

"Branstree occupies a fine position at the head of three valleys, Mardale, Swindale and Longsleddale, and a fourth, Mosedale, runs along it's southern base."

Walking between Banstree and Selside Pike (top left)

There are some very distinctive cairns between Branstree and Selside, including this Survey Post. If your legs are at all tired, feel rest assured, it's pretty much all downhill from here to Haweswater!

Ruined buildings on the Old Corpse Road

"Once upon a time, the Old Corpse Road was the route by which Mardale's dead were taken, by horseback, for burial at Shap; the last such journey was made in 1736."

Return to car:

The Old Corpse Road descends from the col between Selside Pike and Hare Shaw, directly opposite the distinctive shape of The Rigg. The clearing skies and the low sun above High Street made for some spectacular views as I made my way back to the road.

Looking across Haweswater to High Street, from Old Corpse Road

It's a fairly steep descent as you approach Haweswater (I wouldn't have fancied carrying a coffin up it) but the path is clear and the going is easy.

Summary:

Whilst this route made for a fairly easy day-walk, the walk back along the tarmac road at the end of the day was not welcome! If I'd been parked in the carpark at the head of Haweswater, it would have been a far better circuit. Assuming you do park at the head of Mardale, I also think it's a very flexible route; crossing the Nan Bield Pass and the Gatesgarth Pass, both of which would provide two early-exits directly back to the carpark.

A beautiful summer evening over Haweswater

Having accepted the inconvenience of the road closure along the eastern shore of Haweswater, and thus a long walk-in/walk-out, this remained an enjoyable day walk. It started out a little chilly, and ended up a lovely summer evening with great views and mostly blue skies. Haweswater itself proved to be an easy drive from the north, good roads all the way, albeit with some potential to be stuck behind slower traffic once I joined the minor roads at Yanwath, south of Penrith. It's a great area to explore and I can certainly recommend it.

For some local accommodation (perhaps a little on the posh side!) with some reputedly very nice dining, see The Haweswater Hotel.

"to those who travel alone, the solitary wanderers on the fells,
who find contentment in the companionship of the mountains"
A. Wainwright

( Previous trip report is Great Gable, via Base Brown )

February 8th 2012 was undoubtedly a perfect Lakeland winter day. Beautiful sunshine, but plenty of snow and ice above about 400m, and the forecast for a temperature inversion at around 750m. I wanted to be high, and so I headed for Scafell Pike, setting off from Seathwaite Farm. I emerged onto the plateau above Sprinkling Tarn, in the shadow of Great End, into a winter wonderland, and the beginning of what I am confidently declaring to be my favourite walk so far!

Below Broad Crag, looking towards the Crinkles.

"Of the many routes of approach to Scafell Pike, this, from Borrowdale via Esk Hause, is the finest. The transition from the quiet beauty of the valley pastures and woods to the rugged wilderness of the mountain top is complete, but comes gradually as height is gained..."

Refer to Wainwright Book 4: The Southern Fells. This route added one more Wainwright to my count, which is now 71.

Route Summary:

Park for free along the road to Seathwaite Farm. Follow the path through the farm and at Stockley Bridge, take the path that branches up Grains Gill, and at the head of Ruddy Gill, take the path for Esk Hause. Head for the distinctive X shaped shelter in Calf Cove and follow the ridge of Ill Crag, Broad Crag and Scafell Pike. Under a smooth cover of frozen snow, I presume this is somewhat different to the usual conditions; lots of rocky boulder hopping by the sounds of it! However, it looked pretty easy, and the only steep section is the drop into Broad Crag col and the subsequent short climb up to Scafell Pike.

Some care needs to be taken in your navigation down from the summit, and the easiest option in these conditions seemed to be returning to Broad Crag col and following the gully down to the north-west, joining the Corridor Route east of Piers Gill. This was a fairly steep descent in mostly 30-40cm of snow - I guess might be a bit of a scree slope in summer. I'd definitely not appreciated how good the Corridor Route actually is. It's easy going, contouring around the flanks of Broad Crag and Great End, and offers fantastic views in every direction. I think it might also be the easiest route back to Sty Head.

In these conditions, crampons (or Pogu Spikes which proved fine for my purposes) were extremely helpful from around Ruddy Gill, and I did not remove them until about 1km from Sty Head on the descent.

Map:

Click here to view OS map on Social Hiking (or download the GPX File)

Seathwaite Farm to Ruddy Gill:

For such fantastic conditions, the road to Seathwaite Farm was almost empty, with only about a dozen cars parked. Not being a natural early riser, this is probably the closest parking spot I'll ever find at this location. Great End seems to be a popular destination for winter climbing, it's northern face holding the ice, but keep in mind this virtue also applies to some of the approach routes, and you may encounter icy conditions on the path along Grains Gill; see photo below. Remember the scouting motto, and "be prepared".

Might also be worth a note that the toilets at Seathwaite Farm close for the winter.

Great End seen from Ruddy Gill.

"The towering precipice of Great End increasingly dominates this section of the walk and, by the time Ruddy Gill is reached, assumes awe-inspiring proportions."

This section of the walk, along Grains Gill before emerging into the sunshine was surprisingly cold. I don't think it was much below zero, so I attribute it purely to the effect of wind-chill. I caught up with a couple of climbers struggling with a jammed crampon bar, and found that I could barely speak to them due to my face being frozen. (Only a slight exaggeration!)

It was around Ruddy Gill that the ice became more extensive. Up until that point boots were fine and it was easy to navigate around any icy sections. Even at this fairly low level, probably due to the shady aspect, the path was not safe without spikes or crampons.

Esk Hause to Broad Crag:

The Grains Gill path joins the main Esk Hause to Sty Head route on a fairly level plateau below the north-face of Great End. Here the snow became deeper and more powdery on the surface. It made for some slow going most of the way to Ill Crag. I'd originally contemplated a detour up to Esk Pike, but wisely decided to head directly along the Scafell ridge.

View from the entrance to Calf Cove.

"...wishful thinkers will assume [Ill Crag] to be the summit - until the pike itself is finally revealed, indisputably higher and still farther distant across a waste of stones."

Once onto the ridge, the going was considerably easier, with snow deep enough to completely smooth out the usually rocky terrain and, despite the lack of any companions on the mountain, the path appeared to be fairly well trodden. Having reached Ill Crag, the Scafell Pike summit is obvious and the hard work is over. It became an easy walk to the summit, with only a short climb following the drop down into the Broad Crag col.

At this point I was finding that snow cover within patches of almost black rock creates a bit of an optical illusion. From Broad Crag the climb on the Scafell Pike side looked almost impossibly steep, but is actually not very steep once you're onto it.

Scafell Pike:

I'm delighted to have visited Scafell Pike on such a perfect day and in relative solitude. There were a couple of people at the summit, and later a man on skis (with dog) arrived, looking rather warm.

Scafell Pike summit trig point.

"This is it: the Mecca of all weary pilgrims in Lakeland..."

The summit photo above was taken by Richard from the Keswick YHA, who it transpired was also planning a descent via the Corridor Route. It's not a route I was at all familiar with, in any conditions, and we ended up walking back to Seathwaite together - his extensive knowledge of the area and willingness to do a bit of impromptu guiding was much appreciated.

The Corridor Route:

I'd highly recommend this route. I don't know why, but for some reason I had the impression it was just a convenient and easy alternative route over to Lingmell Col. I'm happy to say this is altogether wrong - it's an excellent route through some great mountain scenery. Personally I think better for descent than if I had reversed this route, but either way is probably good.

Looking towards Stand Crag on the Corridor Route. VIEW TOPO

"The Corridor Route links grassy shelves on the very rough western flanks of Great End and Broad Crag and is, in fact, the one and only easy passage along this flank, which is deeply cut by ravines."

The path is secure, but becomes narrow as you traverse around and over Stand Crag - due to the ravines below. So whilst it's not difficult, it might not be an ideal route if you dislike the sensation of having a steep drop-off to one side.

Styhead Tarn to Seathwaite Farm:

I've used this same descent on two previous routes: Great Gable and Great End. There's little to add, but it's worth noting that the path became very icy as you progress down Styhead Gill, and the reputed more "interesting" path on the west side of the gill, via Taylorgill Force, looked treacherous in these conditions.

Great End seen across a part frozen Styhead Tarn.

"The ascent [of Scafell Pike] from Borrowdale is pre-eminent, because not only is the scenery excellent throughout, but there is the advantage of two interesting and well contrasted routes, so that one may be used in ascent and the alternative in descent, the whole round, in settled weather, being perhaps the finest mountain walk in the district."

Summary:

A little snow transforms the mountain landscape, and in these ideal conditions, my message - get out and enjoy it, but be equipped to deal with icy paths and choose a sensible route. Even on this short and easy route, you still get to feel like an Alpiniste for the day!

I was very pleased with the kit I was wearing, including a new pair of bamboo leggings under my Montane Terra trousers. Fantastic combination in the cold wind, and extremely comfortable. I was wearing a merino top, a Montane Fury fleece, and kept my Montane Lightspeed on for most of the day until it got a bit warmer, down near Sty Head col.

Judging by the change in the weather now, as we approach the end of February, I suspect this is going to be my only winter walk of the season, so I'm delighted it was a good one! Great fun, and I can highly recommend this route.

"to those who travel alone, the solitary wanderers on the fells,
who find contentment in the companionship of the mountains"
A. Wainwright

( Previous trip report is Great End, via Seathwaite Fell )

It was Thursday 29th September 2011, unseasonably warm, and happily I was able to swap a day off from the following week to get out in the fresh air, instead of boiling to death in a Middlesbrough office-block with broken air conditioning units! I had a route planned, but had to make some last minute modifications due to a late start. The original route, which was still fairly short, would have descended Great Gable to the north-west, climbing Kirk Fell, and returning to Seathwaite via Brandreth and Grey Knotts. Sadly, me and early starts are not natural bedfellows! So instead, I came off Great Gable to Styhead Tarn, and followed the path down Styhead Gill, back to Seathwaite Farm.

View from Great Gable summit

Refer to Wainwright Book 7: The Western Fells. This route added three more Wainwrights to the count, bringing the total up to 70, and tantalizingly close to 1/3 of the way there!

Route Summary:

Park along the Seathwaite road, which leads from the B5289 a couple of hundred metres south-east of Seatoller. Take the track that leads under an arch at Seathwaite Farm, and follow the track up Sourmilk Gill. (I assumed the path went around the side of the building, which is also a path, but takes a longer detour round a field, before rejoining the actually path - so look for the archway opening to the path.) Follow Sourmilk Gill until you come to a plateau; great views of Raven Crag - so pencil that in for a future bit of climbing! Leave the main path and head south-east for Hanging Stone. After a huge boulder, you pick up a proper path again, and follow it around the southern side of the Hanging Stone and to the summit of Base Brown. From here, you quickly meet up with the main Green Gable path, and follow this across Windy Gap to Great Gable. The route here is easy, but takes you across some loose rocks and scree, so be aware of anyone above or below you.

Take care with your direction off Great Gable, there are some sides you probably don't want to casually walk off. The path to Styhead Tarn leaves the summit due east, then turns south-east after about 200 metres. Paths are unclear at the summit as it's predominantly covered in rocks, but I presume this path to Sty Head is one of the most popular routes, and it's well maintained and unmissable once you get to it. From the tarn, follow Styhead Gill back to Stockley Bridge and then turn north on the farm track back to Seathwaite.

View towards Seathwaite from the ascent of Base Brown

"Great Gable is a favourite of all fell walkers, and first favourite with many."

Map:

Click here to view OS Map on Social Hiking

Car-park to Base Brown:

Leave the B2589 from Keswick at the Seatoller Bridge and follow the road down to Seathwaite Farm; there is ample free parking along the roadside.

View of Raven Crag from Sourmilk Gill

A good tip if following this route is to note the path to Sourmilk Gill starts in the middle of the farm buildings, under a small arch. The more obvious assumption, that the path goes around the outside, does get you back onto the same path eventually, but forms a bit of a pointless detour around a field.

There is less than 1km of steep ascent before you arrive at Gillercomb, a level area, which from O-Level geography I guess would probably be termed a hanging valley. Appropriately enough, leave the main path here and head for Hanging Stone, on the ascent to Base Brown via its north-east ridge. There is no clear path at first, just grass initially, and then a rocky area to cross.

"Base Brown marks the end of roads and farmsteads, of woods and green pastures, as one proceeds into the upper recesses of Borrowdale. It marks the beginning of wilderness and desolation."

The "Hanging Stone" on ascent to Base Brown

There's a huge boulder below the crags, which is a good landmark, as I found there's a clear path shortly after; seen in photo below-left. It's a good path, but remember there are steep crags to your left, so stay on the path and follow it around. Standing on the aforementioned boulder is also a good viewpoint back towards Seathwaite.

    
Approaching summit of Base Brown (left) and path to Green Gable (right)

Once you're at the summit of Base Brown, the path becomes considerably easier across the col known as Blackmoor Pols and it's an easy walk up to the summit of Green Gable.

Green Gable and Great Gable:

"It might be thought that the summit [of Green Gable] had been expressly constructed for observing the northern crags of Great Gable, so convenient s platform it is for this purpose."

I don't think I was seeing Green Gable on one of it's better days. The photo below shows a brief glimpse through the cloud, but for most of the time there was nothing to be seen in any direction, and I'm sure it would normally command some superb views.

Great Gable, with cloud lifting, seen from Green Gable

Windy Gap is appropriately named, being both a gap, and windy. It's fairly steep on both sides, and seemed particularly loose underfoot on the Great Gable side, so care should be taken not to dislodge rocks onto anyone who might be below. The gaps in the cloud appeared to be getting more frequent as I began the climb up from Windy Gap, and it was definitely feeling brighter.

    
From Green Gable into Windy Gap (left) and from path to Great Gable (right)

Gable Crag, shown in the photo above-right is a popular climbing area. Saw some jackets and gear at the base of the cliff, although couldn't actually see where they were climbing. Didn't venture around to have a look - but the route Wainwright describes as the "Gable Girdle" sounds like something well worth returning to.

Cloudy views from the summit of Great Gable

It would have been easy to be disappointed by the cloudy conditions, but sitting on the summit, watching the clouds swirling around the Scafells, Lingmell and Great End, it was a remarkable sight - glimpses here and there, before another curtain of white descended to hide the view. Another good reason not to be discouraged by English weather!

"Erected in 1876 by two brothers of the name Westmoreland, [Westmoreland Cairn] marks what they considered to be the finest mountain viewpoint in the district."

Descent via Styhead Tarn:

The path I took down Great Gable I presume must be the most popular route, although it might also be the least interesting. However, it's a good quality path and leads conveniently down to the top of the pass at Sty Head.

Great End, seen from descent of Great Gable

From there, I rejoined the path I'd descended on my previous trip: Great End, via Seathwaite Fell. From Styhead Tarn it follows the path of Styhead Gill, passing Taylorgill Force and rejoining the Seathwaite track near Stockley Bridge. It's a pleasant descent in the shadow of the surrounding fells, with Base Brown to the west, Glaramara to the East, and Seathwaite Fell looking down from the head of the valley.

Summary:

I'd be happy to recommend this route. The ascent of Base Brown via Sourmilk Gill is steep, but rewarded with some excellent views, and within those first 3km you're already up at about 650m. The short ascent between Green Gable and Great Gable probably doesn't really do justice to either - and both deserve more exploration in future. In particular, I'd like to return to the Gable Girdle, described on pages 9 and 10 of Wainwrights western fells. This link to Pace the Peaks features some photos of that route.

In summary, a very enjoyable day out, and a short but worthwhile route.

"to those who travel alone, the solitary wanderers on the fells,
who find contentment in the companionship of the mountains"
A. Wainwright

With everything else that has been going on recently (namely see photo below left) I'd failed to notice I'm now just over one year into my project to walk all 214 "Wainwrights" in the Lake District. So I thought I'd put together this brief summary of routes to date. The count stands at 67, spread over 13 day walks, and 1 wildcamp. I'd probably hoped to be a bit further forward at this stage, but aside from the arrival of Jack, we've also gutted and virtually rebuilt our house from the inside out. So I think progress is pretty good, and in any case, I'm not setting any kind of time limit on it.

   
A slight shift in priority was required, but still averaging more than one route per month!

The table below lists the routes so far. The titles are linked to my trip reports, giving full details of the walk and terrain, and where possible I have uploaded the GPX track-log. All the photos from each walk are available on my Picasa Web albums page, or via bit.ly/jc-214.

I see from Google Analytics that visitors arrive on my website in fairly modest numbers, but most of the trip reports are getting a few hits each week - some more than others, so I hope they are proving to be useful and interesting to someone! Summit bagging is not without it's critics, but I have to say it has suited me very nicely, getting me to areas of Lakeland that I probably wouldn't have got around to visiting otherwise.

If I can match this progress in the next 12 months I'll be more than happy, and by that time should be well over half-way towards the full 214. Next update on my blog here will be the Great End trip report, including a somewhat frustrating #fail up Cust's Gully. On the subject of scrambling and climbing, if you feel so inclined, check out my other blog over at lifeontheledge.com.

Footnotes:

(*¹) GPS battery ran out on Haystacks and at the time I wasn't geo-tagging photos, etc, so I didn't bother to change the battery to get the rest of the track-log saved. I descended to the west of Little Round How, crossed Warnscale Beck and then headed back to the carpark via Warnscale Bottom.

(*²) On this route, I lost my GPS. Reported it to the police, but it's either still up there somewhere, or whoever found it failed to hand it in - thieves!!! So for this walk the GPX is a route plan - I think fairly accurate.

(*3) No track-log was saved for this walk, so again, GPX file is a route plan. It's pretty accurate to the route I walked, but I'd suggest finding a different path up Souther Fell. This ascent was just a long slog through deep bracken, and it ought to be possible to follow a more natural line along the top of the ridge.