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| Pillar behind the Wasdale Head Inn |
The bridge at Row Head |
| So here we were in Wasdale. One hell of a trip
but at last we had arrived. The weather was great, sunny with the odd cloud
or two and quite warm. As we all got ready in the triangle we could see
Kirk Fell, Great Gable and the Scafell's all looking very tempting, but
no, stick to the plan and do the Mosedale Horseshoe! Walking along the
road to the Wasdale Head Inn we could see Pillar. From this side Pillar
does not look too intimidating, it just looks big! Walking past the pub
to the stream we followed the path past the bridge and out onto the fell
side. |
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| Kirk Fell |
Pillar overlooking Mosedale |
| The direct path up Kirk Fell looked so easy!
But I can still remember AW's description of it, maybe some other day!
As we came up to the top of the raise the whole of Mosedale lay before
us. By this time my legs already felt a bit rubbery! Keep going I said
to myself, we have only just started ! It was only later talking to John
that I realized that he felt the same. That cheered me up no end! Once
over the raise the path dropped slightly as it made it's way along Mosedale.
In front of us Pillar dominated the skyline, I had forgotten just how big
a mountain Pillar is! |
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| The Dore Head screes |
Climbing along the side of Gatherstone Beck |
| As we made our way along the path the Dore
Head screes looked very impressive, the climb up from the top of the screes
to Stirrup Crag looked pretty daunting. Maybe this time we would have the
energy to carry on up Stirrup Crag and over Yewbarrow and miss out on the
descent down the scree's. Only time would tell! As we reached the
wall it was definitely time for a coffee break! So far, apart from the
initial climb over a small raise near Wasdale the path had been following
the valley floor for quite a way, only really starting to climb up near
the wall. From here on the path would really start to gain height as it
made its way up to Black Sail Pass. |
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| Gatherstone Beck |
Looking back to the Yewbarrow and Dore Head |
| After leaving the wall the path started to
gain height and followed the course of Gatherstone Beck. When we reached
the point where the path crossed Gatherstone Beck I looked at John and
I think we had the same thought. Shall we ? Yes let's do it! So instead
of following the path up the zigzags we went strait up the Beck! This was
really a great way up, picking your way amongst the rocks of the stream
bed! After all, the ascent up to Black Sail Pass was getting a bit tedious! |
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| Alas, poor sheep! |
The path up to Black Sail Pass |
| John as usual managed to find something from
nature that interested him, in this case a sheep skull, yuk! When the stream
bed of Gatherstone Beck gave up being fun to walk up we headed up the fell
side to pick up the path again. At first the path was an easy incline but
soon got to be a lot steeper. As I stopped to take a quick photograph and
admire the view back the others kept going, soon they were way ahead of
me (again!) . As I tried to quicken my pace to catch up with them I realized
that this is one of the problems I face when walking with John, I end up
bloody knackered trying to catch up with him instead of keeping to a steady
pace!. If (as we all know you should!) you walk at the slowest pace of
the group this would not be a problem, unfortunately when John comes to
steep ground he always feels the need to put his head down and push on
at his pace until he has reached his goal! |
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| The repaired path, much easier now! |
The east side of Pillar from the path to Black Sail Pass |
| The path repairers have been at work here.
This time I must say that they have done a great job!. In all places the
path was easy to walk upon with no silly great steps put in to hinder you.
It made upwards progress a lot easier than I remember! Anyway with
the rest having long since disappeared out of sight I realized my folly
in trying to push my pace to catch up with them! I then took my time and
enjoyed the walk up to Black Sail Pass at my own pace, something that I
should have done from the start! (going to fill John's
rucksack with some heavy stones before we set off on the next walk!) Soon I saw the figure
of John coming back down the path to find me! He made his usual attempt
of saying how he had to carry on otherwise he would really struggle if
he had to keep on stopping and starting! (try walking
slower and we wouldn't need to!) Now I could make all sorts of excuses about not being as fit
as John but when I saw Mike and Phil flat out on the grass by the cairn
near the top of the pass I knew that it was not just me! They looked worn
out! I allowed myself an inwards smile and just carried on past them much
to their surprise (follow me lads and not John, you will not regret it!) |
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| The gate at Black Sail Pass |
A popular lunch spot ! |
| The top of Black Sail Pass comes as a pleasant
reprieve after the hard work of the ascent. It was quite crowded today
with lots of people having a spot of lunch. We headed on over the other
side for a look at the head of Ennerdale and the High Stile range. Making
our way across the head of the valley we eventually picked up the path
to Pillar again. This proved to be quite time consuming, it would have
been a better idea to have used the path from the beginning (do we ever
do anything the easy way?) |
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| The path to Pillar from Black Sail Pass |
Ennerdale and the High Stile range |
| When we eventually reached the path again we
started to make good progress. It was along this path that something really
started to annoy me! Normally I am a mild mannered, even tempered sort
of bloke but now something was really starting to get on my nerves. We
were being followed by the noise of clickety clacks all the way. It sounded
like a kid had taped some card to the wheel of his bike, or someone running
a stick along some iron railings! After ten minutes or so I just had to
stop and let this noise pass by. It turn out to be an elderly gent on his
own who was dragging his walking poles along the ground, it was this that
was causing the noise! If it had been a child you would have seriously
wanted to wrap the poles around his neck! John and I exchanged glances
as the elderly gent passed us, maybe he had used his ration of "hello's" for
the day up already! (John limits himself to 10 hello's
a day !) Unfortunately
this elderly gent was to dog me for most of the day from this point on! |
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| Looking back to Black Sail Pass |
The start of the High Level Route |
| Waiting for the noise nuisance to disappear
into the distance gave us a chance to have a look around. The summit of
Great Gable was just starting to appear over Kirk Fell and the whole of
Mosedale back to Wasdale Head was below us, great! From this point on I
started to take great care over the map and AW's western fells book. I
was determined not to make the mistake of my first visit here and not find
the starting point of the High Level Route. Many years ago (God
I am starting to sound OLD !) on my first visit here with my sister and Phil we found
a young couple at the top of Black Sail Pass who were trying to ascend
Scafell Pike from Wasdale Head (and I thought my map
reading was bad!) Pointing out there mistake they decided to join us for the rest of the
day. Unfortunately I could not find the start of the High Level Route and
descended down too early. We then spent a very uncomfortable 2 hours making
our way along the fell side until we eventually picked up the path! The
second time here I made sure that I found the right path but unfortunately
my memory has failed me so I took the time to ensure I took the right way
again! |
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| The view from just past the cairn at the start of the High Level Route
in the previous photo |
Up or down ? Down is the correct answer! |
| Whilst taking the time to ensure that we were
on the right route, the others managed to find their way without me (beginners
luck!) As they waited for me at what appeared to be a junction in the path
I double checked everything again and still couldn't decide which path
to take! John and Mike took the more obvious path which headed down whilst
Phil and I took the one that headed up. It soon became apparent that although
the high path went somewhere the lower path was indeed the High Level Route!
(beginners luck again !) Shouting down to John and Mike to wait for us
we had a fun filled five minutes trying to descend down to them! It really
is hard work around here if you wander off the paths - be warned! |
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| The High Level Route |
Looking over to Scarth Gap |
| Once safely all back together again we set
off on the High level Route to our target of Robinson's Cairn and Pillar
Rock. We seemed to lose a lot of height at first, something that I can't
remember from previous visits. This really started to depress me! This
depression was soon lifted as I started to admire the view. Walking along
the High Level Route you get great views down into Ennerdale and across
to the High Stile Range. Somewhere around Hind Cove we decided to stop
for lunch. I can remember John making a comment about being impressed with
his first visit to the western fells, praise indeed! |
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| Further along the High Level Route |
Robinson's Cairn and Pillar Rock |
| After a quick stop for lunch and a look down
into Ennerdale we set off again for Robinson's Cairn. This was time for
the camera to be out again ! I have never been here in good weather. On
my previous visits it has always been very dark and gloomy, a very desolate
and intimidating place. Today with a bit of sunshine it was a revelation!
Unfortunately the elderly gent had decided to park his backside against
Robinson's Cairn and so I had to sort of work around him as I took my photos,
I could not bring myself to ask him to move! Feeling a bit annoyed I quickly
joined the others and walked over to them as they contemplated the view
of Pillar Rock and our way upwards, the Shamrock Traverse. |
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| Pillar Rock and the Shamrock Traverse |
Heading up the scree to the start of the Shamrock Traverse |
| As we entered Pillar Cove I told them to look
out for the memorial to John Robinson, as I really wanted a photo of this.
It was only as I looked back that I could clearly see the memorial below
where the elderly gent had been sitting! Cheers mate! I was gutted, but
looking on the bright side we are going to have to return with Sarah anyway
so I will get my chance again. The scree leading up to the start of the
Shamrock Traverse always looks a lot harder than it actually is (I'm
telling myself this because we will be returning with Sarah!) and very soon we
reached the start of the Traverse. As usual the others had to wait for
me at the start! This at least gave John a chance of a quick scramble up
the rock face! Many days later John confided in me that he enjoyed this
until he felt a bit unsure about how he would get down! |
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| The Shamrock Traverse |
And again a bit further on |
| The Shamrock Traverse is why I climbed Pillar
in the first place. AW's description of it compelled me to follow in his
footsteps. His list of the best places to be (other
than summits) included
this, so I just had to see for myself! On my first visit I have memory's
of being thousands of feet above the valley floor below. This was probably
heightened by the fact that at one point the Traverse was covered in ice!
Luckily for us some previous walker had managed to chip out some steps
in the ice, none the less it was a very frightening moment. Thankfully
we managed to cross the section of ice, it would have been a very long
trip back to Wasdale from here without reaching a summit! On my next visit
I began to wonder what I was worried about, the sense of exposure did not
seem as great as my first visit! Maybe this is why I find Snowdonia such
a thrill now, as when I go there it is always new to me! |
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| Looking back down the Shamrock Traverse (that's him!) |
Pillar Rock |
| The Shamrock Traverse is indeed a special place. There are
not many places in the Lake District that have walks that climb across
the side of crags and give such a great feeling of adventure. Unfortunately
the elderly gent had by now finished his lunch and followed us like a terrier
up the Shamrock Traverse! At first I thought that he had spoiled my photo
looking back but as I think about it he does give some perspective to it! |
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| Looking down into Ennerdale |
The way up from the end of the Traverse |
| At the end of the Shamrock Traverse you have a really good
view all the way down to Ennerdale. Maybe this is the memory that I carry
from my first ascent? It really is a long way down from here! from here
the way to the summit of Pillar is straight up. There was a path of sorts
but soon it was a case of scrambling. Hands and feet on rock, picking your
way upwards - Great! Looking back to Pillar Rock you can understand why
this was a mecca for the early climbers, maybe it still is, but there was
no sign of them today. |
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| Pillar Rock from above |
A bit of scrambling ! |
| Well it was great until we reached a sort of
rock chimney. John, always at the front, sent a shower of loose stones
around our heads! I shouted up at him to try and be a bit more careful
but soon realized that that was easier said than done (sorry
John!) This
is the best way to reach the summit of Pillar (Don't
quite know why I say that as it is the only way I have reached the summit!) because
after a mad bit of scrambling there it is, the summit of Pillar after four
hours of toil! It had seemed to take an age to eventually reach the summit (as
always!) but here it was at last. |
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| The crowded summit of Pillar |
The view to Great Gable and the Scafell's over Kirk Fell |
| It was quite crowded at first, I took the opportunity
to go to various corners of the summit and take some photo's whilst the
others waited at the summit cairn. From the top of Pillar the best views
today were over to Great Gable and the Scafell's. The views over to Ennerdale
Water and to the North were very hazy. |
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| Panorama to the North with Ennerdale Water and the High
Stile range prominent |
| Most people had left the summit when I returned
so we quickly took the usual summit photo's and I settled down for a well
earned coffee break. |
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| Pillar summit cairn and Trig Point |
Happy but tired at Pillar summit! |
| I had provided everyone with a map print out
of our route from the Anquet superscale Lakes software. As I enjoyed my
coffee I had to smile at their attempts to figure out where we were on
the map and our next destination. Being able to see for quite a way this
made me chuckle. There was plainly in view only two ways off Pillar, back
down the south east ridge to Black Sail Pass (why
would we return that way?) and the path down to Wind Gap and on towards Scoat Fell. Someone
mentioned that it was difficult to see on the map as most of the other
hills and lakes such as Ennerdale Water were not on it! Fair point and
something to remember for the future, print out on a smaller scale so that
features further away are included as well - good thinking! |
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| Panorama to the East and South with
Great Gable and the Scafell's prominent. |
| We left the summit of Pillar and headed of towards Wind
Gap. It had taken us 4 hours to reach the summit of Pillar, 4 hours of
hard work but enjoyable none the less. I must admit that I was now not
looking forward to the descent to Wind Gap as my memory was telling me
it was hard work! My memory is not what it used to be ! |
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| Black Crag with Scoat Fell and Steeple behind |
Looking back to the summit of Pillar |
| At first the descent was very easy and we made
good time, eventually the descent got a lot steeper but it was still a
lot easier than I remembered. I stopped to allow a couple of walkers going
up get past a difficult bit, taking the time to enjoy the view back down
Mosedale and down into the rugged and desolate Windgap Cove. There was
a place that did not look inviting at all! |
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| Heading for Wind Gap |
And a bit nearer |
| Wind Gap was quite busy today, signs of the Wasdale
Mountain Rescue people out on a training session and fellow walkers
out and about! One gent even descended down into Windgap Cove - I hope
he knew where he was going! We could just make out a RAF Sea King helicopter
taking off from near the Wasdale Head Inn. |
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| Ascending Black Crag from Wind Gap |
Nearing the top of Black Crag |
| Heading up to Black Crag from Wind Gap john did his usual
trick and soon disappeared! Mike was able to keep up with him but Phil
lagged behind (still not as much as me though!) This ascent did not look
much from the descent off Pillar, but once on it your legs told a different
story! Nearing the top the ground beneath turned very boulderey (is
there such a word?) With the others way ahead I managed to slip and fall against
a rather large rock. I banged my side and elbow painfully and managed to
catch my watch strap against the rock. This in turn somehow managed to
cut and graze my wrist. Ouch!! I swore quite loudly and it was only the
sight of someone coming up behind me that made me carry on instead of venting
my anger any further against the offending rock! |
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| Looking back to Pillar |
Mike M on Black Crags Summit |
| Reaching the others at the summit of Black
Crag I attempted to tell them about my incident - good job I wasn't looking
for any sympathy ! By this time I was feeling very low. I was very tired
and did not feel like carrying on to Scoat Fell and Steeple, even though
the way towards them was relatively simple! I kept thinking that we had
to return with Sarah, so I could leave these summits till then. |
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| Scoat Fell and Steeple from Black Crag |
Steeple |
| I must have had this feeling on my previous
visits here as I had always skirted Scoat Fell and headed straight for
Red Pike! Not today though, after pointing out the way John set off and
I really did not have a choice but to follow him (he
does have his uses sometimes !) The walk from Black Crag to Scoat Fell was a lot easier than
I thought it would be. Walking along the ridge gave us great views over
to Steeple and down into Mirk Cove, another place that I don't thing I
would like to be! |
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| Scoat Fell summit cairn on the wall |
And another cairn to the north |
| As we neared the summit of Scoat Fell a wall started, in
places it had collapsed so we took the opportunity to cross it and soon
reached the summit. As AW describes it, the highest point is indeed where
the wall crosses the summit, therefore the summit cairn sits on top of
the wall, weird! There was another cairn near where the path for Steeple
descended so I used that one for the group photo. As I took the photo some
dark clouds came rolling in and I started to feel a bit cold, so for the
first time today my tee shirt got the extra protection of my walking jacket! |
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| Happy but quite tired on Scoat Fell ! |
Heading for Steeple |
| I must admit that the path along the ridge to Steeple looked
very inviting, so I was glad that I had not whimped out after all! The
ridge that linked Scoat Fell and Steeple was a delight, in one place the
drop down into Mirk Cove looked immense, defiantly worth the effort. Unfortunately
on the summit of Steeple was a solitary figure who looked like he was going
to be there for the duration. He did not move until John reached the summit
ahead of us and then only reluctantly! Yes, you guessed it, the elderly
gent with the noisy sticks! |
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| Happy, but very tired at Steeple's summit! |
Steeple summit cairn |
| Even though the summit of Steeple was one of AW's seven
best summits, and I had missed out on this one on my previous attempts,
I could not seem to get any enthusiasm for it! I was cold and tired and
with the dark clouds around us I felt very intimidated by my surroundings.
I don't think the others knew what still lay ahead of us on our return
to the car! Leaving the summit of Steeple we retraced our path along the
ridge and back up to Scoat Fell. Instead of returning to the summit we
just carried straight on over the wall and headed for Red Pike. Maybe this
was a mistake as even though the OS maps show a path there was no sign
of one on the ground! It was a case of finding our way across the rock
strewn landscape until we eventually picked up a path - hard work! John
was in a good mood as he noticed a couple with a dog pass by on the path.
The dog was fully equipped with shoes or boots or something that protected
the dogs feet! |
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| Red Pike |
And a bit nearer to Red Pike |
| By this time the batteries in my camera had
virtually given up the ghost (pretty similar to the
way I felt!) I had
to coax them into life for every shot now. This was really unfortunate
as the weather had improved dramatically and we were treated to some late
afternoon sun! During the walk across this boulder field I must have had
one of my quite moments that John says I get into. I just wanted to get
back to the car now. This was really unfortunate because we were approaching
Red Pike. Red Pike deserves so much more than a passing mention in this
route! As you approach it from this way it appears very rugged. The ascent
is not very steep but after all that has gone before it is a struggle now!
On one side there are gentle slopes down to Scoat Tarn and on the other
is the steep drop down to Mosedale. It would have been great to follow
the line of the ridge but apart from John we just kept to the path, eventually
making our way up to the summit. There was just enough battery life to
take one shot of the summit and not all of the usual photo's. |
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| Scoat Tarn with Middle Fell and Seatallan behind |
Red Pike summit cairn |
| Leaving the summit behind I started to feel
a lot better, I knew it was downhill all the way from here, unless John
somehow managed to drag us up and over Yewbarrow! I was more annoyed at
my camera batteries now so at least it took my mind off my own state! With
the improved weather the view over to Great Gable and the Scafell's was
great, (so annoyed with my batteries!) Yewbarrow was basked in sunshine
and if it had been at the start of the walk would have been a pleasure
to climb, but now it just looked too much! |
|
As we reached the top of the Dore Head Screes I took the opportunity
to ask the others what they wanted to do. We could walk down by the side
of Yewbarrow and circle round back to Wasdale, climb Stirrup Crag and reach
Yewbarrow's summit, or descend the screes. On my previous visits the ground
had been frozen solid and the descent of the screes had been purgatory,
but it now seemed the easier option. I really don't think that I had the
energy to do anything else apart from get down the screes, after all, it
was the shortest way back to the car! |
| Yewbarrow with the Scafell's behind |
|
Only John seemed willing to make the ascent of Stirrup
Crag! He even pointed out the dog with the boots that he had seen earlier,
if a dog can do it we can, can't we! (no we can't!) I
made my way to the top of the screes to see if I could see an easy
way down. This took some time and I still was undecided about going
down. Mike made the decision for us as he thought "sod it!" and launched
himself down! On seeing this John realized he was missing out on something
and promptly followed Mike, all thoughts of following the dog with
boots on vanishing! Me and Phil followed them down by a slightly different
route, it really was a lot easier than I remembered! We soon caught
up with John and Mike. A couple of walkers below us, who had been trying
to find their way down the side of the screes had noticed our fast
progress and decided to jump onto the screes themselves. This presented
John and Mike with a problem, it was dangerous to descend the screes
with people below, so they stopped and let the other walkers get well
out of their way, I could tell they were planning something!
When the other walkers were out of the way John shouted "time us down to
the bottom!" So with a 3 - 2 - 1 I set them off. 2 minutes and 45 seconds
later they reached the end of the screes! Now I know that this is destructive
to the environment so Phil and I came down at a much more reasonable pace,
I just could not go any faster anyway. Reaching the end of the screes we
rejoined the others who had waited patiently for us. After a long slow
drink we set off back to Wasdale Head. I was dog tired, Phil had very sore
knees, Mike was his usual self and John was made up with his new found
passion for scree running ! This was the first level ground that we had
walked upon for a long time, and boy did I enjoy it! Eventually reaching
Wasdale Head by the bridge that we had passed so long ago we stopped at
the toilets at the back of the Inn, and then enjoyed a well deserved pint.
After getting back to the car I was filled with mixed emotions. I had enjoyed
the walk but I was very tired and we still had the journey back home to
contemplate! This was definitely one off the hardest walks that we are
going to have to do and the thought of doing it again with Sarah did not
appeal to me (at least not this year!) Driving back down past Wastwater
we had to stop for a traffic jam (already!, and we
hadn't even reached the M6 yet!) This one was OK thought as everyone had stopped to look at
the lambs jumping in the fields and generally running around having fun!
See what Sarah has missed out on! Anyway, on the journey back we decided
to stay on the coast road all the way, at least this meant a smooth ride!
Even the fact that the M6 was down to one lane southbound did not seem
to make that much difference to the journey. It was quite late anyway and
being a saturday meant less traffic. This walking on a saturday means less
hassle with the traveling so I am sure that we will be trying to do more
saturdays in the future!
Some final thoughts after this walk, Very hard work with a long journey
there and back, but worth it! Could be made a lot easier if you miss out
the High Level Route and the Shamrock Traverse and go straight up the ridge
to the summit of Pillar, maybe this would make the rest of the walk easier,
but why miss out on one of the best part of the area?
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| As usual click on the link below to have a look at an
aerial photo with a map overlay of the area of the walk. |
| Aerial
photo and map overlay link |
|
