|
|
| Illgill Head |
The start of the path |
| The weather was great all the way up, the forecast was slightly
ambiguous and I had told everyone to be prepared for rain as well as darkness!
When we eventually arrived at Wasdale Head it was still quite nice. As
we got ready in the green I pointed out to Sarah that we still hadn't visited
the loos, so a rather farcical event of us all doning walking boots, getting
back into the car and driving up to the Wasdale Head Inn, going to the
loo, jumping back into the car and driving back to the green happened!
Now with bladders emptied, boots and rucksacks on, we set off. I will let
you into a little secret here, last time I walked up Scafell Pike from
Wasdale I went wrong right at the start! Instead of taking the path to
the footbridge I took the path that lead through the campsite at Brackenclose
and had to ford Lingmell Beck before finding the path up to Brown Tounge,
wet feet before the climb, argh! |
|
|
| The bridge over Lingmell Beck |
The path starts to climb above Brackenclose |
| This time I made no mistake and followed the
path through the fields to the footbridge. Just after the footbridge there
was a notice about the rock fall in Lords Rake, I read it but tried to
get John and Sarah past it without them reading it, it would have been
such a giveaway and they would have known where we were going. My plan
was to get them to the top of Scafell Pike and then say to them "oh, by
the way, congratulations on being on top of England!" I know it was daft
of me!, but simple things for simple minds! |
|
|
| Looking over Wastwater |
And over Wasdale Head with Pillar behind |
Now we started to climb across the fields
I started to tell them about the new web pages (still
under construction!) about the accidents, extreme sports and recepies that we have had on
our venture. This was met by laughter as I explained the scoring system
for "accidents"! ie, marks out of ten for humour both during the accident
and after in the pub as we looked back on them! I had to remind Sarah
of the time that she walked into a tree branch, that was a 6/10 at the
time but a 10/10 later in the pub! We made good time up this path. Looking
back to Wasdale Head brought back good memories (ish!) of our last visit
here when we did the Mosedale Horeshoe. John and Mike kept looking over
their shoulders and asking where the Dore Head screes were! |
|
|
| Looking up Brown Tounge to Pikes Crag |
Lingmell Gill |
| As we rounded the corner of the shoulder of
Lingmell's south west ridge we had our first glimpse of Pikes Crag. The
path we were on then kept along the same level until it joined the path
that follows Lingmell Gill up from Brackenclose. After the last half hour
or so this came as a welcome change, it was to be the last level walking
for quite some time! John noticed something overhead and as we all looked
upwards a glider appeared! What a way to enjoy the views of the Lake District!
It turned out to be a powered glider but it was the thought that counts! |
|
|
| The path up towards Brown Tounge |
John decides to make his own way |
| As we joined the other path and passed through a wall I
thought it was time for a well deserved break! The last time I came here
I was "in training" for the Three Peaks. I seem to remember that from here
onwards (upwards!) was pure turmoil! So a break for a drink was in order.
Up until this point I had felt really good, I had not lagged behind the
others, in fact I had lead the whole way! This was unusual so it got me
to thinking what was different! I had actually been on a diet of sorts
and cut out the beer, well OK I just didn't eat as much, and drank less
beer! (is that a diet?) I had even had some porridge for breakfast (before
the bacon and egg barm when we met at Preston!) and pointed out to Sarah
that the multi grain must be helping! She looked at me with that questioning
look and I explained that I had drunk a few pints of Batemans "Multi grain" bitter
the night before instead of the usual Stella! Well that is not strictly
true as I had a few Stella's after the Multi grain Bitter as well! Whatever
the reason (it might have been the new pills!) I was feeling full of energy
today! As we sat there and had a drink John got out his home made Flapjacks,
Sarah was surprised about how nice they were and if John can ever be bothered
to tell me the recipe I will share it with you on the new web pages! I
even had one of those yellow bendy things that John is so fond of, Banana's
I believe they are called! I soon reverted to type though, and indulged
myself with a smoke and a full caffeine coffee (one step at a time!) |
|
|
| The remade path |
Looking back over Wastwater |
| Just before we set off again I apologized to everyone for
what was coming next, the dreaded path repairers had visited Brown Tounge!
As I have said all I can remember about this part of the walk from my last
visit is the agony of walking up this remade path, it is one of the things
that has given me worry's about coming up here again! The thing about Scafell
Pike is that you have a choice, you can take the long way up from Borrowdale,
Eskdale or Langdale, or you can take the short sharp way up from Wasdale.
After a previous walk up to Esk Hause when we did Allen Crags and Glaramara
there was no way I was going to go to Scafell Pike again from that direction!
I was left with this way up from Wasdale, even though it brought back unhappy
memories! |
|
|
| Along the remade path up Brown Tounge |
Pikes Crag |
| I had made my mind up that I was just going to put one foot
in front of the other and keep going. This seemed to work for me as I led
most of the way! One look at Sarah's face told me that she was suffering
as much as I remember myself suffering up this path! She was not enjoying
this path at all, John and Mike seemed to be bearing it but my heart went
out to Sarah, I knew what she was going through! We had been able to see
the crags of Scafell and Scafell Pike ever since we rounded the corner
of the Lingmell ridge, they seemed so close, the fact is they are so big
that the distance to them is very misleading, they are a lot further away
than you think! We stopped once or twice for a bit of a rest. I was amazed
at myself, I was nearly enjoying this walk up Brown Tounge, it was nowhere
near as bad as I remembered! |
|
|
| Nearing Hollow Stones |
A wreath left in memory of a School Master |
| Because Sarah was feeling the pain of the path I stayed
back with her whilst John and Mike carried on up to Hollow Stones. I tried
my best to give Sarah some support because I can remember how it was for
me. Sarah was feeling really under the weather but she carried on regardless,
what a woman! When we caught up with them they were just past the big boulder
in Hollow Stones. They were looking at a wreath that had been laid there
with a letter headed note covered in plastic. The writing had already begun
to smear as the paper got damp, but as near as I could tell it was to commemorate
an old school master who died near here in September 1903, the letter headed
paper being from the school. We took note of this but did not really grasp
the significance of it at the time. ( I later E-Mailed a member of the
Wasdale MRT and he replied that there had been a service of remembrance
held here on the 21st of September, but he did not know any details about
the reasons why) |
|
|
| Looking over Hollow Stones |
Looking up the scree run to the start of Lords Rake |
| Once at Hollow Stones it was time for another
break. I, as always, provide the others with a copy of the map courtesy
of Anquet, of the area we will be walking. At first no notice was taken
of these maps that I provided but now everyone seemed interested in where
we were and where we were going to! Sarah wanted to put an end to her suffering,
John seemed to be taking an interest and started to question me. Sarah
looked at the map, figured out where we were and pronounced that Scafell
Pike and Lingmell would do for her! I still wanted to do Scafell and Scafell
Pike at least! I told everyone that we would make a decision soon, hopefully
once I had seen the lay of the land up Lords Rake. As I look back now I
realize that this was very silly of me, putting my own wishes before that
of the group, sorry! On the journey up I had shown Sarah some pictures
of Lords Rake, the fallen boulder and the West Wall Traverse, she sort
of new what I was planning if not where I was planning it! When we arrived
at the screes below Lords Rake there was another warning notice about the
fallen boulder. We seemed to spend an eternity deciding what to do. I suggested
that we go up the scree to the start of Lords Rake and then decide, if
we felt Lords Rake and Scafell was too much we could traverse Rakes Progress
to Mickledoor and then do Scafell Pike. They had sort of guessed what I
had in mind now! I set off up the scree towards Lords Rake, John and Mike
soon followed but Sarah lagged behind. The ascent of the scree was no fun
at all, any misplaced step could have sent loose rocks down below, it was
a case of test every step before you made it, slow and awkward progress!
I made a beeline towards the right as there seemed to be an easier way
up under the great crags, John and Mike took a more direct route followed
by Sarah. |
|
|
| The 1903 memorial cross |
Looking up Lords Rake to the fallen boulder |
| At last!, somehow without causing a huge avalanche of loose
rock, we found ourselves at the start of Lords Rake. I was well chuffed
as I had totally missed this on my last visit! John and Mike, who had got
there before me shouted down that they could see the fallen boulder, seemed
exited by what they saw! Sarah, when she arrived was just glad to be there!
I now had to tell everyone about my plans. We could ascend Lords Rake,
the West Wall Traverse and do Scafell, descend via the full length of Lords
Rake and then continue on to Scafell Pike, Great End and return to Wasdale
via Lingmell (am I am optimist or what!) , or we could give Scafell a miss
and just carry on to Scafell Pike etc. I pointed out that we could sometime
in the future do Scafell and Slight Side from Eskdale, so not leaving a
solitary peak on its own to do, so to speak!. I gave John AW's book and
pointed out the relevant pages to read, hopefully he would have some better
idea of what lay ahead if he read them, whilst I went to join Mike and
Sarah who had ventured along Rakes Progress for a closer look at Mickledoor.
When I returned John commented on AW's notes on things to look out for
on the ascent of Lords Rake (bottom of page Scafell 4), this was something
that I was not aware of. He read to me about a cross carved in the rock
wall, 8 yards short of the start of Lords Rake. At the time I was leaning
against the rock wall with my left hand, as I looked at the rock wall to
try and find this cross I realized that my hand was resting bang in the
center of it! This cross marks the spot of an accident in 1903 that killed
4 climbers, now we realized what the wreath that we had seen before was
all about! September 1903 was the date mentioned on the letter headed paper,
and September 2003 was about now! 100 years nearly to the day since that
fateful accident! Sarah commented on how spooky that was, and looking up
to the fallen boulder she decided there and then that we would not be going
up Lords Rake! |
|
|
| The start of Rakes Progress |
Mickledoor from Rakes Progress |
| With the decision made we still just sat there
and gazed in awe at the rock around us, when we had first glimpsed the
crags from the shoulder of Lingmell we thought "very nice". When we were
actually stood directly below them they just towered above us into the
heavens, wow! Three young student types had followed us up the scree and
started to ascend Lords Rake, they soon disappeared up Deep Gill. I told
the others that there was no way up there and soon the three returned back
to the rake! Not to be out done they then proceeded to empty out their
rucksacks and don full climbing harnesses, hats and got the rope out! OK
so they knew more than me! |
|
|
| Looking up Lords Rake to the fallen boulder |
Rakes Progress |
| With one last photo of Lords Rake we set of
towards Mickledoor along Rakes Progress, the path that links the foot of
Lords Rake with Mickledoor. Rakes Progress makes its way along the foot
of Scafell Crag giving a great view of the scree below Mickledoor and upwards
to the crags of Scafell. Across the scree leading up to Mickledoor, Pulpit
Rock, the largest of the Pikes Crags was also seen to be very large indeed. |
|
|
| Looking over the shoulder of Lingmell to Mosedale |
Looking back along Rakes Progress to Lords Rake |
| Walking along here was quite reminiscent of
the High Level Route of Pillar. The path probably started out life being
made by climbers, tracing the route to the start of rock climbs. Later
the feet of walkers making the traverse from Mickledoor to Scafell via
Lords Rake must have had the largest impression. Either way it was a delight
to walk upon! Looking over Lingmell towards Mosedale gave you a sense of
height, the mountains around there actually seemed to be below you as you
looked out, then again Mickledoor is at an altitude of 2700'! |
|
|
| Pikes Crag from Rakes Progress |
Rakes Progress from Mickledoor |
| On my last visit here I remember the scree leading up to
Mickledoor to be even worse than the path up Brown Tounge! Then the visibility
was down to just a few feet and we could see nothing but this loose horrible
scree in front of us. Today I had the chance to look down onto this scene
from Rakes Progress, I felt much happier being up here than down there!
Although I must admit that the way we took up the scree run towards Lords
Rake was not exactly easy, I think I preferred this way. As we made our
way along we noticed some walkers coming down the scree from Mickledoor,
one was lagging behind the others obviously finding it hard work. I had
seen these walkers at Mickledoor and was very surprised to see them head
off for Lords Rake after descending down quite a way! If I could see them,
they should be able to see me along Rakes Progress, so why didn't they
come this way if they were heading for Lords Rake? Why do it the hard way! |
|
|
| Looking across Mickledoor towards Scafell Pike |
Hollow Stones from Mickledoor |
| I came out onto Mickledoor directly under Broad Stand. I
seemed to have left the others behind me, most unusual! I think that they
must have stopped at every spot that offered the start of a climb up Scafell
Crag and discussed whether or not to try a bit of climbing! No doubt John
would be telling them that he could get his mountain bike up here! (only
joking, but then again, you never know with John!) I took the time to take
a few photos and wonder why AW placed Mickledoor amongst his favorite 6
places to be (other than summits) that is. |
|
|
| Waiting for the other three coming up Rakes Progress from Mickledoor,
that's a first! |
Looking down to the Great Moss from Mickledoor |
| For me the other 5 best places to be I can
understand. Places like Striding Edge, Sharp Edge, The Shamrock Traverse
on Pillar, The South Traverse of Great Gable, and now that I have been
up close and personal with Lords Rake I can understand, but why put Mickledoor
before Jack's Rake on Pavey Ark or The Climbers Traverse on Bowfell? Looking
back I can understand that it is a fine place to be, with intimate views
of some of the Lake Districts finest crags, admittedly there is a fair
drop in height on either side of Mickledoor and you do get great views
over Hollow Stones on one side and the Great Moss on the other but......All
the other places give a great sense of exhilaration, some exposure and
a sense of impending doom if something went wrong. For me Mickledoor does
not give that sense of .....whatever it is! Still it does rank up there
as a great place to be (in my humble opinion!) Just not in the top 6. |
|
|
| Broad Stand |
Another view down to Hollow Stones |
| Once at Mickledoor the wind made its presence felt and it
soon got chilly! When the others joined me we decided that it was time
for dinner so we made our way up towards the stretcher box and then back
down slightly to get out of the wind. As we sat there enjoying some food
and drink we noticed a sheep high up in the crags above Broad Stand. It
was well and truly stuck, or so it seemed, you can never tell with sheep!
We could see it peer down the crags looking for a way down, then turn back
and wander along the crag for a short distance before returning. Whenever
it got to the point that it couldn't go any further it let out a rather
plaintiff "Baaaaaa!" John decided that it had made its way down looking
for that last tasty blade of grass, the one just out of reach and when
there couldn't get back up to safety, it would do eventually though, as
sheep can jump "this high!" John stood with his hands in the air to show
us! (Yeah, I know you had to be there to see it, but it was funny!) |
|
|
| The clouds come racing over Mickledoor.... |
and quickly leave! |
| You know how people say that the weather on the tops can
suddenly change, well it did! The clouds came pouring up from the Great
Moss and carried on following the contours of the last rise up to Mickledoor,
it looked very surreal at the time! Very quickly the clouds also descend
down over Scafell Crag and we lost all the views that we had been enjoying!
Just as quickly the clouds and mist disappeared, very spooky! As we sat
at our lunch spot we heard and then saw a large boulder come crashing down
Lords Rake! The people that we had seen descend from Mickledoor and then
head up Lords Rake had managed to dislodge a boulder and send it at an
ever increasing speed down the rake to where we had been not long before!
As I had watched them descend down Mickledoor I questioned there wisdom,
now I knew that I was right! If there had been anyone below them, well
it doesn't bear thinking about, just plain clumsy and stupid! Maybe John
will realize why I try and restrain him at times now! |
|
|
| The stretcher box at Mickledoor |
Two people in "fat man's agony" and one at the crux |
| With lunch over and us all thinking sobering thoughts about
rock falls in Lords Rake we set off for Scafell Pike. As we reached the
stretcher box a crowd had gathered to watch three men try to ascend Broad
Stand. As we had lunch I could hear this group discussing the way (or
lack of it!) up Broad Stand. Someone pointed out Fat Mans Agony and the point
above that that defeats most people who try to get to Scafell from this
way. Now I have recently being chatting with my Uncle David about Broad
Stand. He was of the opinion that it was easy "even your Aunty Barbara
has been up!" he said. But then again this is a man who has done over 120
Munros, climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas and done god alone knows
what else! I prefer to take the advice of AW and the Wasdale Mountain Rescue
Team, leave well alone! (for the time being) Anyway we joined this group
for a while and watched the progress of the three trying to get up Broad
Stand. Fat Mans Agony was no problem but past that one member seemed to
be thinking about things seriously! |
|
|
| Leaving Mickledoor for Scafell Pike |
Looking back over Mickledoor to Broad Stand |
| We soon got bored with this and left for Scafell Pike, we
soon got a view down towards Fox's Tarn, the other recognized way to Scafell
from Mickledoor. With Broad Stand being beyond most peoples ability's and
the fallen boulder in Lords Rake, this was a proving a popular route today,
we did see a large group head off down there on the way to Scafell. Meanwhile
back at Broad Stand the solitary member was soon joined by his companions
and did not seem to make any further progress! |
|
|
| Looking down towards Fox's Tarn |
Can you spot the sheep? |
| Heading for Scafell Pike from Mickledoor is not the best
walk in the district, at first a very distinct path is followed but you
soon find yourselves on a field of boulders and the path becomes very feint!
These boulders make for very uncomfortable walking, there are many cairns
about and as you walk between them you look around and see some more cairns
over there! Once we stopped and chatted for a while, realized we had just
done nearly a complete circle around a slight depression (following
the cairns of course!) I suddenly saw a sheep very near to us, it was so well
camouflaged that at first I thought it was a rock! The clouds soon came
in and we were treated to that most annoying companion to walking in the
Lake District, mist! I think it is called mist because if you are in it
you "miss" all of the views! (pun intended!) |
|
|
| Still heading to Scafell Pike |
The summit coming into view, just! |
| The mist came down now and all views were lost
to us. Occasionally we came across walkers heading down from the summit.
Like my memories of walking up Brown Tounge I had nothing but bad ones
about the trudge up from Mickledoor to the summit. Again I just put my
head down and put one foot in front of the other, somehow I managed to
leave the others behind! Looking back I think with all the mental torment
that I had given myself about Scafell Pike and all the problems that I
had been having with my feet I realize that I was pushing myself to see
if if I could still do it! Was it a case of mind over matter or the fact
that what the medicine men had given me was actually working? Had I fixed
myself or had they fixed me? All these sorts of things were running through
my head! I was thinking so hard (always dangerous
for me!) that before
I knew it I had left the others well behind and had reached the top of
England without really noticing! |
|
|
| The summit trig point, S 1357, I checked! |
The summit cairn, the top of England! |
| The top of England! The highest point that
any walker in the Lake District can reach, somewhere that I thought I would
never reach again. And guess what , no view! As far as I can remember (one
of the reasons for this walking diary!) this was my 6th visit to Scafell
Pike summit. The last time I was here was at 6am after walking up from
Seatoller after walking up and down Snowdon doing the three peaks, I couldn't
have cared less about the view then because I still had to get up and down
Ben Nevis! The time before that was during my training for the three peaks
when I had such a bad time of it I couldn't have cared less about the lack
of view! (same weather as today!) The time before that was in 1981 when
I was doing the final expedition of my three weeks at the outward bound
school at Ullswater, mind you that was memorable as we did Helvellyn, Scafell
Pike and Skiddaw in three days with full camping gear on our backs, Scafell
Pike being completed from Mickledon in Langdale as the thought of the scree
run down from Pike O'Stickle was too tempting!, that was my first introduction
to Rosset Pass! Prior to that I had been up Scafell Pike twice when camped
at Seathwaite during the climbing sessions of the outward bound course!
Those three ascents were completed in brilliant clear sky's with sunshine
and warm weather. What a pity I was too young to really enjoy the times
and the views, it was just a case of OK what's next then! |
|
|
| The memorial plaque commemorating the gift of the summit to the nation |
The terrible trio plus one on Scafell Pike |
| With the others joining me I took the usual
photos, as the 360 panorama consisted of a lot of grey stuff I didn't bother
putting it here! I should have made a big thing about everyone reaching
the summit of the highest mountain in England, today I just was not in
the mood though! It did not seem like a big thing for me, I was too busy
trying to figure out this mind over matter thing, or the medicine men!
I was quite happy to stay a while up here but with no views and a cold
wind John was soon for leaving! That was easier said than done as due to
the visibility I had to get the map out and try to figure out the correct
direction down towards Broad Crag Col! I looked at the GPS and its compass
(the first time I have tried to use the compass facility
on the GPS) and
decided that I needed a proper compass! Scafell Pike summit, in mist, is
very, very confusing, everywhere you look seems the same! I have taken
a wrong route off here before and soon found the going very slippy and
dangerous on rocks that have not felt the presence of human feet before!
I did not want to take a chance today! |
|
|
| A useful cairn indicates the way to Broad Crag Col |
Broad Crag appearing out of the cloud |
| So getting a proper map and compass out I took
some time figuring out which way to go! My natural "in built sense of direction" told
me one way whilst the map and compass told me something different! I opted
for the map and compass version, which coincidently pointed the way to
a rather conspicuous cairn! This cairn was very tall and stood on a direct
line towards Broad Crag Col. I don't know who built it but if ever in doubt
on Scafell Pike summit it leads straight towards the col! After a few minutes
walking we started to lose height quickly and out of the mist appeared
Broad Crag Col (I always take map and compass, just
in case!) GPS's are
fine but not always useful unless you have a map as well. Batteries can
run out (as mine did later!) so map and compass and knowing how to use
them are essential! As I was trying to take a few photos I found it hard
work with a map and compass in hand as well so I passed the map and compass
to Sarah. This seemed to really cheer her up as "it makes me feel like
I know what I am doing!" She then let on that maybe one day I will teach
her how to use them, I thought she knew! (Well, that's another challenge
for me then!) |
|
|
| Nearing Broad Crag Col |
The head of Piers Gill |
| As we descended the ever steepening path down
to the col we passed a group of walkers on their way up, they seemed to
be having a row, but then again that's what happens if you have an equal
number of woman in a walking party as men! (now i've
got a world full of women as well as old people against me!) I felt like saying " don't worry,
not far to go now " but I have grown out of that and have started to say
to people who are on the way down "oh boy, have you got a long way to go!" It
makes me feel better! Anyway as we neared the col the cloud started to
disappear and I caught a glimpse of the top of Piers Gill. It is such a
strange sight from up here, just a sort of shadow in the ground, but if
you get close to it it is amazing how big it actually is! |
|
|
| Broad Crag from the Col |
Lingmell appearing out of the clouds |
| Once at Broad Crag Col the way forwards seemed to appear
out of the mist. The summit of Broad Crag lay just of the path. John decided
that this was his sort of walking once up the other side of the col, no
path, wobbly rocks and the odd crag to climb, just what he likes! As we
traced the path up from the col towards Broad Crag the mist seemed to disappear
totally, this was slightly annoying as we had just left Scafell Pike, but
cheered us up somewhat as we could now see down into the head of Eskdale
and down over the corridor route to Lingmell. |
|
|
| Pen |
Looking back to Scafell Pike over Broad Crag Col |
| John raced ahead here but I took it slowly,
taking the time to snap the odd photo or two. Pen intrigued me somewhat,
but I soon had to stop looking around and start to concentrate hard on
what I was doing with my feet! On a few occasions on the way up to Broad
Crag I steeped onto some large boulders that looked solid only to find
that they rocked alarmingly once on them! After a little bit of scrambling
we reached the summit of Broad Crag. This was a little bit of fun as once
off the main path it was sometimes hard work making your way across the
boulders, once on solid rock it was nice and easy! |
|
| Panorama over Lingmell towards the
western fells. |
| Once at the summit all off the remaining clouds
just disappeared! The views were fantastic, we could see for miles. Scafell
Pike was the main thing in view, but the full extent of the western fells
was seen to good effect. In fact we could see over some of these giants
like Pillar and Great Gable and see the Solway Firth and Scotland behind
it! |
|
 |
| Broad Crag summit |
Looking over Lingmell towards Pillar |
| When Sarah and Mike joined us at the summit
she asked if this was a "peak" or not, and if not why where we here! I
had to explain that this was not strictly a Wainwright summit, but it was
one of the "Scafell Pikes" and as such AW did write about it. It was one
of the FRCC peaks thought, so I had to explain this and the reasons for
the difference between 214 Wainwright's and 244 FRCC peaks! When I mentioned
that we were at about 3061 feet high and as such stood on the 6th highest
point in England she seemed a bit more excited! John was taking a good
look around and asked what was that behind Sellafield? When I replied the
Isle Of Man he did not believe me at first! |
|
| Scafell Pike from Broad Crag |
| Scafell Pike dominated the view though, from this direction
it truly looks like a mountain. Even though we were still at over 3000
feet and only a third of a mile away it looked huge! By now I had sort
of decided to do a tour of the Scafell Pikes and carry on to Great End
instead of returning back via Lingmell. I was feeling great, full of energy
and raring to go. I felt like I was on top of the world, well, England
really! |
|
|
| Great Gable from Broad Crag |
And again! |
| We seemed to spend ages up here. I took loads of photos
and have found it quite difficult to choose which ones to show, so I decided
to show lots, especially of Great Gable. As you will see I seem to be developing
a thing about Great Gable! |
|
| 360 degree panorama from Broad Crag |
| It was fun making our way back to the path across all the
loose boulders. Again I led the way, the others seemed to taking their
time today (or was it me being energetic for a change!) With our backs
towards Scafell Pike, Great End began to make its presence felt. From here
it does not look like much at all! |
|
|
| Great End from Broad Crag |
Ill Crag from Broad Crag |
| Once back on the path we started to make easier progress
towards Ill Crag Col. Ill Crag is slightly higher than Broad Crag and makes
up the threesome of the Pikes of Scafell (Scafell
Pike, Ill Crag and Broad Crag). When I was a lad (no,
I am not that old! ) I seem to remember people
talking about the "Scafell Pikes". Now people seem to talk about "Scafell
Pike" The only difference that I can come up with is in the direction that
you walk in, if you ascend directly from Wasdale you are climbing up Scafell
Pike. If you approach from Esk Hause i.e. from Seathwaite or Langdale you
walk over Ill Crag and Broad Crag on your way to Scafell Pike, i.e. the " Scafell
Pikes " So to my way of thinking (and I know I do
to much of that!) this
was a traverse of the Scafell Pikes and not just an ascent of Scafell Pike! |
 |
| Great Gable and Great End from Ill Crag Col |
| With all this thinking I needed to reminisce about the previous
times that I have come this way. I chatted to Mike about this way up compared
to the way we have come. Just think, I told him, you have come up from
Esk Hause after a long and hard walk in from Seathwaite via Grains Gill,
or Langdale via Rosset Gill (yuk!) You reach Ill Crag and there it is!
Scafell Pike, the only problem is you descend down and up Ill Crag Col,
not that bad really. But then you near Scafell Pike, its less than a third
of a mile away and hold on, what's this, Broad Crag Col, Oh No!!!! Another
big down followed by an even bigger up! Believe me that is so soul destroying,
you think you are there but you still have Broad Crag Col. It's no wonder
I never really liked Scafell Pike! |
|
|
| Ill Crag Col |
Ill Crag summit |
| Anyway, Ill Crag Col came and went and once on level ground
again we made a beeline for Ill Crag summit. It wasn't easy finding a route
across the rocks here, many were covered in Moss or is it Lichen? It was
slow progress but soon I was standing on the 4th highest place in England!
Again the views were great , especially of Scafell Pike. By moving around
it slightly we could now see Scafell and Slight Side and away in the distance
Morecombe Bay. Again I was surprised by the sight of Scafell Pike, I guess
that I am so used to seeing it from other directions that it seemed different
from what I remember! |
|
| Scafell Pike and Broad Crag from Ill Crag |
Sarah soon joined me and John and Mike brought up the
rear, what was going on today, it is usually the other way round! After
the turmoil of Brown Tounge , Sarah was really starting to enjoy this
walk, the difference was amazing! |
|
| 360 degree panorama from Ill Crag |
| Again I took loads of photos! For the last
hour or so we had been walking along the roof of England. I know that sometimes
we enjoy the low level walks a lot more than some of the higher fells,
but this was different. Everywhere we looked were mountains that we had
struggled up, now we were looking down on them all! |
|
|
| Broad Crag from Ill Crag |
Scafell Pike from Ill Crag |
| We spent some time looking down over the Great Moss and
trying to figure out the route we took from Crinkle Crags to Eskdale one
fateful day! Looking down I don't think we actually made it into the
Great Moss but the valley of Lincove Beck, but that's another story! |
|
|
| Looking down into Great Moss from Ill Crag |
Esk Pike and Bowfell from Ill Crag |
| As we left Ill Crag and rejoined the main path I was surprised
to see the sight of Esk Pike, Bowfell and Crinkle Crags all in a line,
they seemed to be one long ridge leading away from Esk Hause. I have previously
walked from Wrynose Pass to Ore Gap passing over Crinkle Crags and Bowfell,
but the possibility of carrying on to Esk Pike never occurred to me, until
now that is, what a ridge to plan a walk over! |
|
|
| John Mike and Sarah try to liven things up! |
Great End from Ill Crag |
| John and Mike had obviously become a bit bored now. As soon
as a small crag appeared they shot straight up it. Sarah followed and when
at the top realized that I wasn't up there she asked if this was the way
or not, when John replied that it wasn't but he couldn't resist the temptation
she laughed quite loudly as they all came back down to where I patiently
waited! |
|
|
| Looking down to Esk Hause and Allen Crags |
Nearing Great End summit |
| With the other three full of good cheer again after a little
(and it was little!) scramble we made our way down to the depression between
Ill Crag and Great End, part of which was over quite rocky terrain. From
here we could clearly look down onto Esk Hause and Allen Crags. Today Allen
Crags seemed tiny but when we walked up it on one of the hottest days that
I have ever walked in, it seemed like we had conquered Everest at the time.
It always amazes me how different days on the fells can be from one day
to the other! Leaving the main path down to Esk Hause we made our way up
the gentle slope towards the summit of Great End. |
|
|
| Great End summit cairn |
The terrible trio plus one at Great End summit |
| We seemed to have a choice of summits here as there were
two. One over looked Sty Head at the north east and the other the top of
Grains Gill at the south east. We chose the one overlooking Sty Head, it
did seem to be the higher of the two. Looking back now I am not sure! The
maps say one thing whilst AW says another. Mmm! (I haven't had the
heart to tell the others yet that we might not have actually been at the
true summit!) |
|
| Panorama from Great End of Scafell,
Lingmell, Great Gable and Seathwaite Fell |
| Great Gable dominated the view from here, but we could also
see Derwentwater in the distance. We were the only people on Great End
and for a while we just sat there and enjoyed the solitude and the great
views. AW does mention that Great End, Ill Crag and Broad Crag although
only just off the main path, are seldom visited, if today was anything
to go by not a lot has changed over the years! |
|
|
| Windermere, Esk Pike, Bowfell and Crinkle Crags from Great End |
Morecombe Bay, Harter Fell and Ill Crag from Great End |
| So that was that as far as summits were concerned! Two proper
AW's but four FRCC's. (Sarah still didn't get it!) all that remained was
the small matter of returning to Wasdale Head! Whilst we sat there
and just enjoyed the moment as it were, John was looking at the map. When
I suggested that we walked down to Esk Hause, along to Sty Head past Sprinkling
Tarn and then down to Wasdale John tried to rebel! He said that it was
the long way round and we should just head straight down towards the corridor
route! I remembered the time that I had tried to make my own route down
from Broad Crag Col to the corridor route with horror! It was no fun, hard
work and potentially very dangerous. Eventually I persuaded him to stick
to my route although I still think he is not convinced! Sarah was quite
happy to bow to my better judgment, and I thank her for that! Mike was
happy just to go with the flow (just for a change!) |
|
|
| The Langdale Pikes from Great End |
The path layers hut |
| With our backs to Great End we retraced our steps back towards
the main path to Esk Hause, well three did whilst John took a more direct
route, still a bit miffed I think! As we neared Calf Cove we saw
a strange sight, a hut or garden shed or something in the cross shaped
wind shelter. Looking around us we noticed a very new remade path. The
hut was obviously for the use of the path repairers, John commented that
people had been throwing stones at it in disgust at the paths, really I
think the stones had been placed there to keep the plastic sheeting on
the roof in place. Johns explanation was far better and much funnier! |
|
|
| The path layers work |
Heading for Esk Hause |
| Once upon the repaired path I got to thinking
about the revenge that Sarah could take for the turmoil of walking on these
remade paths. I suggested accidental setting fire to the hut with a carelessly
discarded cigarette end (I must have been having a
smoke at the time) ,
Sarah thought it would be much better to leave a few carefully (sorry,
misplaced) banana skins in the entrance to the hut to catch the culprits
unaware! All this planning went to cheer everyone's spirits as we plotted
our revenge! |
 |
|
| Hard Knott and Harter Fell in the late afternoon sun |
Esk Pike |
| Again as we descended the views changed, something
that I now look back on and wonder how many great views can one walk give!
The sun came out and the sights before us changed from greens and greys
to greens and browns. The sun made a huge difference to the area, all of
a sudden the colors had changed and it felt like autumn! Along this
path many walkers were descending, all with smiles on their faces as they
had all done what they had set off to do and were now returning back to
where ever they had started from. This made me thing about the difference
in attitudes that happen on the way up and on the way down hills. On the
way up you have that look of grim determination, that look that conveys
the feeling of, enjoying it or not , "I am going to do it! " On the way
down there is that look of "Yeah!, been there and done that!" I must admit
that on quite a few of the previous walks I have probably got those feeling
the wrong way around ! |
|
|
| Nearing Esk Hause |
Esk Pike |
| As we neared Esk Hause I got to thinking about AW's description
of the place, the two Esk Hause's and things. I suppose that we were
now at the true Esk Hause, I have to say that it is much more indistinct
than the junction of the paths lower than the shelter, but like the Allen
Crags and Glaramara walk thinking was dangerous for me so I promptly stopped
doing it and took a few photos instead! |
|
|
| The "true" Esk Hause |
Allen Crags from the "true" Esk Hause |
| Standing up here today at the end of September
I got the distinct feeling that the start of autumn was upon us. With the
sun out, the ground around us took on the golden hues that you associate
with autumn. It got me to thinking about the last year of walking, it was
nearly a year to the day since we started our round of the "Wainwright's".
I must get around to doing a page on the highs and lows, the ups and downs
of our walks after a year. Mmm, more food for thought! |
|
|
| The wind shelter at Esk Hause |
The late afternoon sun above Great End |
| Walking past the wind shelter I was still amazed at the
views today, last time up here we could just about make out the Langdale
Pikes through the clag, today they were clearly visible. The huge
northern face of Great End came into view and I began to wonder about how
easy it had been for us to reach it's summit from the direction we came.
Had we cheated somehow? |
|
|
| Heading for Sty Head from Esk Hause |
Great Gable, Windy Gap and Green Gable |
| Once at the "false" Esk Hause for the first
time in a long while the path underfoot was easy to walk on, gently sloped
and levelish! I think that this lifted everyone's spirit once again,
that is until everyone looked at the maps and realized how far we still
had to go! Even I was beginning to feel something happening in my feet,
for the first time today I started to worry about my feet problems, I thought
I was cured and would never have that horrible feeling again! |
|
|
| Great Gable, Windy Gap, Green Gable and the path! |
Sprinkling Tarn |
| One or two people rushed past us on the way down. Unlike
the others who were still thinking about how far we had to go I was trying
my best not to think, so I just gazed at the view in front, Great Gable
in all its glory! The problems with my feet soon disappeared and I was
glad it was just a false alarm! At the head of Ruddy Gill we saw some people
taking some measurements of a land slide and others who were sat down jotting
these down. We tried to thing what this was all about and I decided to
ask them as we passed, unfortunately I didn't so I still don't know what
was going on! John thought it must be some sort of geology field trip or
something. |
|
|
| Glaramara from above Sprinkling Tarn |
Great Gable, Windy Gap, Green Gable, the path and a stream! |
| Passing these people we made our way past the
southern shoulder of Seathwaite Fell, the path started to get a lot rougher
underfoot. As we neared Sprinkling Tarn the sight of Glaramara appeared
over Grains Gill. From here it seems such a gentle fell, totally unlike
what we encountered on our visit there during a blistering hot day. There
was a tent and some people busy with a cooker by the side of Sprinkling
Tarn, I felt like shouting over "what's for dinner then?" but again desisted
from raising my voice. As we neared the outlet of Sprinkling Tarn I thought
it would be a good idea to take a photo of the Tarn with all the reflections
on it, it was so still and not a ripple was visible on the water. At the
same time John decided to throw some "skimmers" across the water! He enjoyed
himself and managed a paltry 4, but that was 4 more than the number of
photo's I took though! |
|
|
| Styhead Tarn |
Piers Gill and Lingmell |
| Leaving Sprinkling Tarn (now
complete with waves and ripples!) the path started to steepen as it made its way towards Styhead Tarn. We
were making really quick time now and I had to sneak in a few quick stops
to take some photo's, racing ahead, a quick snap and the others caught
me up. As we neared Sty Head we could see the side of Great End start
to appear from behind the Band. In front of us now was the sight of the
full length of Piers Gill and the huge scar it made on the flank of Lingmell. |
|
|
| The Band, Skew Gill and Great End |
Styhead Tarn |
| Once at Sty Head John could not resist a look
into the stretcher box. He gingerly opened it and found ....... a stretcher!
What else he expected to find I do not know! With his curiosity satisfied
we set off on the last leg of the walk back to Wasdale Head. |
|
|
| Sty Head |
The stretcher box at Sty Head |
|
|
| The Band, Skew Gill and Great End from Sty Head |
The start of the path to Wasdale |
| The path back to Wasdale started to rise slightly
as it rounded a corner and then the full length of the valley lay before
us. This sort of made everyone groan and I can remember Mike who had been
very quiet today commenting on how far it still was! I was still
impressed with the sights of Great End and Lingmell around me. From here
they seemed like proper mountains. A few hours before we were looking down
on them from Broad Crag and thinking that they looked nothing! Broad Crag
especially held my attention, I really felt like I had cheated by doing
it from Scafell Pike! This side of it looked so impressive, the approach
up Grains Gill towards the huge crag face is impressive, but the way we
approached it today made it seem somewhat insignificant! This is probably
the first time that I have felt this way about a summit since our quest
began. Great End, and Lingmell for that matter deserve so much more than
a mere tick! (God, I am thinking again, I have to
stop this!) Compare these
to other summits such as on some of the horseshoe walks like the Fairfield
Horseshoe,(they deserved nothing more than a tick!) |
|
|
| Lingmell Beck and Wasdale Head |
And a bit further down |
| The path we followed was quite rough in places, but we did
seem to make good time, even though Wasdale Head never seemed to get any
nearer. We stopped and talked with an Indian gentleman who was making his
way up to Styhead. John had got chatting to him wondering why he was going
up so late in the day. It turned out that this guy was on his way back
to Seathwaite after walking over Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Pillar and the
rest of the Mosedale Horseshoe, down into Wasdale and then back over Styhead
to Seathwaite! And I thought we had chosen to do a big walk! I looked at
the GPS and found that the batteries had gone! Luckily I had a second hand
spare set with me (I would have hated to lose the
track log from today's walk!) , unluckily these spare batteries had as much life left in them
as a Conservative Party conference! I spent the rest of the walk constantly
turning the GPS back on as it kept turning itself off! (at
least it stopped me from thinking!) it turned out that all was not lost though. Phew!! |
|
|
| One last look back to Great End |
And another down towards Wasdale Head |
| Anyway, with the pub in sight, now lit up like a beacon
as dusk started to appear, it was time to concentrate on walking! When
we eventually reached levelish ground we met the strange sight of a flock
of sheep running towards us, in fact on both sides of the river sheep were
making their way up the valley. Why? We stopped and let them pass us, it
was the nearest thing to a stampede that I have seen! With the sheep past
us we carried on with a race against time and daylight to reach Wasdale
Head before darkness. Darkness won! The last fifteen minutes or so Sarah
had her torch out, again I led the way as the pace had slowed down considerably.
I was thinking again about what we had achieved today. Like I have said
I was not looking forward to this walk, I had done it though, feeling a
lot fitter than I had done in over a year, only a slight twinge in my feet,
and still going strong. I can honestly say that I enjoyed ever minute of
today, I must be on drugs or something, enjoying Scafell Pike, via Brown
Tounge and Mickledoor (Hang on. I AM on drugs!) Maybe that explains it
then! One thing is for certain though, there can be few better sights at
the end of a day on the fells than the sight of all the hot food being
served in the pub! A bar full of tired happy walkers, hot food on tap and
a pint of "Scawfell" bitter. What an end to a walk! |
|
| GPS Track log from today's walk |
As I got a round in and waited for a table,
Mike retrieved his car, Sarah did the usual "I can't go in there looking
like this!" routine and decided to get changed. When I found a table
we ordered our food and contemplated the walk. Looking around I think
that everyone was shattered! It was a great atmosphere in the pub but
with time pressing we had to leave on that dreadfully long journey back
home! As we drove along side Wastwater we could clearly see torchlight
high up on the paths down from Scafell, I think we were all thankful
that it wasn't us! Anyway the journey back along that coast road and
back to the M6 was a nightmare in the dark, it never seemed to end! I
eventually got home at 10.30, Sarah just managed to back before midnight!
It was a long, long way back home after a long tough walk, but worth
it.
Once back home I waited patiently for my feet to flair up but nothing
happened! I felt full of energy and raring to go, apart from the next
day when my legs seemed very achy and stiff for some strange reason!.
This walk had meant so much to me both mentally and physically that I
think I didn't stop smiling for a week! (It looks like the medical profession
is back on my christmas card list again then!) I can remember saying
to Sarah something about everything being easier now, corney things like "it's
all downhill now!" I think I was saying it more for my benefit than hers!
I can now stop thinking negative vibes and concentrate on having fun
on the fells again, I'm fixed!!!!!!!!!! (or have I spoke too soon?) |
