Lake District Walking

Half a coledale round (in the fog).

2011-06-28T04:24:00.000-07:00

Distance: 9 miles
Ascent: 3,458ft

I had originally set out to do 8 peaks in 6 to 7 hours on the Coledale round this morning. It seems the dreadful weather and the having to check location and the difficult climb to Grisedale Pike meant time ran after 4.

The day started at 7.30am from the small car park just outside Braithwaite. Some rather steep steps lead out onto Kinn. Short for 'Kinn Hell if you ask me. Whether it was the early start or the bcaon and egg butty for breakfast the 1st climb towards Grisedale Pike was tough going. The heavy drizzle did not help either and it's fair to say I was pretty damn wet within 20 minutes despite various waterproofs.

The fog was thinner at lower altitudes, but we eventually cleared the 1st steep climb after Kinn we were in a pea soup. The fog is strange it really deadens the sound and sheep suddenly appearing out of the gloom did little for my nerves either.

We thought we had attained the summit of Grisedale Pike after a brief scramble, only for more fell to appear, with a more sustained scramble, then a bit more. In the fog, the fell seemed to carry on forever and it felt like we would never reach the top. It really as a massive fell with a very long ascent.

We ascended down quickly. The view was non existent so no point loitering on a winy fell top. We made our way quite briskly to Hopegill Head, then we walked right past it, descended to the edge of crag (which was a path off the fell), realised and retraced our steps.

The path to Coledale Hause is fairly obvious from the vicinity of Hopegill Head and a quick check of the iPhone compass told us we were heading south east (much quicker than taking a bearing, if you have a big path to aim at. The GPS and compass on the iPhone were invaluable and easy to use. The compass gives you direction of travel and means you can orient your map to match it. Wheras the GPS was good to pinpoint us when unsure. The paths were fairly obvious.

We descended to Coledale Hause an got a respite from the thick fog. It thinned as we approached the pass between Crag Hill and Grasmoor. We had intended to do Grassmoor, but with a pathless summit and no views we left it for another day. We turned left up Crag Hill, where an over-zealous cairn builder had made one every hundred yards. It's fair to say that the road sized path gave the route away without a cairn every 2 minutes. The summit was eventually attained, but having now walked 4 hours without a break we were struggling a bit.

It was too cold to stay up there and too foggy. Visibility was about 50ft or less. We decided to do Sail, then stop for lunch.

The descent off Crag Hill was a surprise, certainly what I would call a scramble. Nothing too taxing, but care had to be taken. A short walk brought us to Sail, it also had a small scramble followed by a rocky path to the summit.

Despite the atrocious conditions, we passed several people around Crag Hill and Sail. One guy passed us bare-armed. Very keen with the wind howling around.

After a windy path we eventually reached the point where we could ascend Scar Crags. Time was beating us by now and we stop for break before deciding to end our peakbagging for the day and head straight back to Braithwaite. The walk between the larger and smaller fells on this side of the valley is quite pleasant itself with views opening up towards Blencathra and Skiddaw.

I took a good 6 hours to do what we did through a combination of factors. So we will return again to bag the 4 Wainwright's in the Above Derwent part of the valley.

Not many photos this time (views were rubbish or weather was)

Blake Fell and Burnbank Fell

2011-06-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

Distance: 4.6 miles
Total Ascent: 1,134ft

I am now rapidly starting to tick off the Western Fells as many of them are easily accessible from my house. So much so that I managed to bag these two despite not leaving the house until 6pm. I beat sunset by a good 45 minutes too.

This was an excuse to get my puppy on the fells for the 1st time. She is only 3 months old but I felt she could manage the 4.5 mile route easily. She did quite well in the end.

The route it took started at Fangs Brow after Lamplugh and before the turn down into the Loweswater Valley. This area is marked as Open Access land at the gate which is always good to see.

The route follows a stony path of the 1st mile or so pass through several gates. It the turns almost 90 degrees unto the fell instead of following the terrace path above Loweswater. After a very short walk, you turn 90 degrees to starting climbing the fell head on.

There is a rough but easily followed path right up the face of Burnbank Fell. For such an assuming and somewhat boring fell the ascent is remarkably steep, so much so that the majority of the days ascent is achieved in just 0.4 miles. I didn't like it much it was really tough in places and and a real plod. The dog liked it even less than me and kept looking back to the car.

Eventually the torture ends and the land levels out to an almost imperceptible climb. The dog got its 2nd wind and started running about like a lunatic in the marsh grass. We attained the summit quite quickly once the climb was easier.

The summit is pretty rubbish. A rather meagre pile of stones and rickety fence mark the highest point on Burnbank Fell. I would have marched on but with my not having any dinner I thought it best to stop. I hooked the dog lead over a fence post, poured her some water and took on refreshments and surveyed the next summit.

Blake Fell is a magnificent looking fell. It rises quite sharply from the col between itself Burnbank Fell and Carling Knott. Certainly not as sharply as Burnbank did from the lower ground but it still looked fairly formidable.

The weather, which was pleasant when I started off was showing signs of turning. Dark clouds were skirting by with a cloud deck that didn't seem much higher than Blake Fell's 1,880ft. But confident that if the clouds dropped I could easily navigate via the fence and a clear path on Burnbank Fell I carried on anyway.

It had been my intention to descend via Carling Knott onto the terrace path, but with the potential for rain I decided I would reach Blake Fell and retrace my steps to the car.

Blake Fell is lovely climb. Despite the formidable appearance, the ascent is not too challenging. The views both north east towards Grassmoor and south west towards Knock Murton and Dent are very good.

The summit was attained fairly quickly and is a small summit with a small wind shelter. Views are extensive with the nearby Gavel Fell, Hen Comb and Mellbreak easily visible with the High Stile range dominating the more distant views. Grassmoor was also visible with cloud just caressing its summit (as it always seems to be).

The cloud deck was just above my head by a few feet and lower than the summit in parts. I finished my packed lunch and headed back to the car. The monotony of Burnbank Fell was certainly worth it when presented with views from Blake Fell

A Whinlatter qaurtet

2011-06-16T01:56:00.000-07:00

Distance: 6 miles
Ascent: 1,900ft

I am really starting to get into this fell walking malarky and I try and snatch any short walk I can. Last weekend I had limited time so decided to visit the easily accessible and navigable Whinlatter forest with its well marked paths and collection of fells in close proximity. We set out to just climb Lord's Seat and Barf

We set off from the visitor centre at 11am and immediately found ourselves a bit lost on the rabbit-warren like paths through the forest. We eventually picked up the correct waymarker again and almost immediately got lost again, wandering up a moderate slope in the direction of Whinlatter Top instead.

I discovered our error at a stile that left the plantation boundary and with a check of the semi-useless path guide from the shop we decided to crack on for Whinlatter Top and Brown How (Wanwright's summit) before working out a route to our original targets. The path after the stile heads straight up the line of the fence and is very steep but we had warmed up so it didn't pose too much of a problem.

Whinlatter Top and Brown How are fairly average summits. Both offer great views of Grisedale Pike (now pencilled in as my 1st 2,000 footer) and Brown How has good views to the other fells in the group as well as through Lorton Vale.

We decided to continue on a good path off Brown How, which eventually traversed round towards the forestry path in the valley between the Whinlatter tops and those in the Lord's Seat range. The path became increasingly tenuous and eventually skirted the edge of a felled plantation. The thing I hate the most in the Lake District is the decimation left by a felled forest, like scars on the landscape.

We eventually intercepted the forest road and followed round the lower reaches of Lords Seat, leaving at a waymarked gatepost (the £2 guide proved its worth). There then followed a very stiff, straight and sustained climb through the forest which we did at a good rate of knots to get the blood pumping. A quick skip over a small boggy area and we were back on the gravel path and heading for Lord's Seat.

Like every fell I seem to choose, the summit of Lord's Seat climbs sharply for the last 100 yards and after the recent exertion another stiff climb was not too welcome. The climb was worth it though. The highest fell in its range gives extensive views to the west towards the Cumbrian coast and Skiddaw rises like giant to the north.

It was windy so we didn't linger to long as Barf awaited and time was getting on now, thanks to our earlier detour. The walk to the summit of Barf is fairly short. The route is somewhat eroded and was very boggy in places, though perfectly navigable. The final ascent was steeper than anything we had encountered that day, but short and not too taxing in the tiring legs. There was an abandoned wheelbarrow close to the summit, which was slightly bizzare

The views from Barf are truly astonishing for such an unassuming fell. The length of Bassenthwaite is visible from the fell, with Skiddaw providing a fantastic backdrop. Keswick and Derwentwater are also visible from the top. Well worth the effort and a great prize for all our exertions.

Mellbreak & Scale Force

2011-06-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

Date: 30 May 2011
Distance: 6.2 miles
Ascent: 1550 ft

I've always wanted to climb Mellbreak ever since I first saw the fell. In fact it is probably the fell originally piqued my interest in fell walking. Approaching it from Loweswater it is just so imposing and looks completely inaccessible, with it's extensive scree and even more extensive crags.

I have collected a walking in the form of my friend and next door neighbour. He seems happy to have me as a guide (of sorts), though I am sure I will get us hopelessly lost at some point. Not on Mellbreak though, its stand-alone nature makes it impossible to get lost on.

We parked up at Maggie's Bridge where there is room for a single car and set off.

The route up the north face of Mellbreak is not apparent from the lower approaches. Once at the foot of the scree fall, two routes present itself. Firstly if you are mental you could attempt the screen directly. The more sensible route involves a less direct path intersecting the scree fall at the top. We took the latter.

Wainwright described the ascent as a steady plod. It is certainly that any despite you never quite knowing where the path is going next its a reasonable easy walk, with on or two short scrambles thrown in for good measure.

Both myself and my friend are not fans of exposure and there is once section of the path that skirts round an outcrop and has a fairly precipitous drop into a gully. This is the only exposed section on the way up and wasn't the bad.

Once in deep in the crags, the light scrambling was fun and there is a small grassy section with really excellent views before the final ascent to the north summit.

The weather on the way up had been showery, but on each summit we seemed to be greeted with a brief deluge, especially on the south summit.

The summits and the depression were very boggy, especially the south summit. Judging by that, I am glad our route avoided Mosedale, noted for its wetness. Despite the damp conditions, the views were still OK. The peak of Grassmoor was just shrouded in cloud and Fleetwith Pike was difficult to pick out through the showers.

We headed down in the direction of Scale Force. The route of the south summit is clear, bur rather steep in parts. The path to Scale Force though is difficult to intercept from the fell. We eventually shimmied down a bank and jumped the beck for a short cut.

There was a particularly dead sheep on the side of Mellbreak, it looked like it had been killed by some animal. I can only assume a fox had got at it. It was a right mess.

Scale Force was very impressive. Less visited than Aira Force but more impressive if you ask me. I'd like to have shimmied up the 1st level, but the rocks looked far to wet, so I never bothered.

The walk back to the car took is via the banks of the excellent Crummock Water. I think Crummock is my favourite lake. Surrounded by very high and steep fells and still fairly peaceful and quiet. The weather gave it a very moody fell on our return home.

My first 3 Wainwright's - An unfashionable route.

2011-05-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Distance: 8.2 miles
Total Ascent: 1605 feet

I decided recently to take up fell walking. With living on the edge of the lake District it seemed the natural thing to do. I also figures that the best way to start it all was to climb all 214 Wainwrights.

The best place to start seemed to be the ones closest to me. They are of moderate height and easily accessible from my house. In fact the whole Lake District in no more than a 90 minute drive from my front door.

Other than the occasional ascent of the Outlying Wainwright known as Dent (it's literally on my doorstep) the last fell of any note I have climbed was Catbells and that was when I was 11 and probably fit enough to climb Everest. I am now 33, slightly overweight and do far too little exercise, so walking the fells is not going to be as easy as it was back then.

My route would take in the summits of Grike, Crag Fell, Whoap and Lank Rigg, in just over 3 hours, with a 1 hour return back to my car from the final summit.

I parked up at Kinniside Stone Circle. There are several approaches to Grike. You can take the forestry road, the bridleway or up over Blakely Raise. The forestry path is not very inviting after recent tree felling and I figured I had enough ascent planned without Blakely Raise. So i took the bridleway.

The route took me across the the forestry path and onto the lower slopes of Grike. Much of the lower slopes were pretty boggy made worse by recent heavy rain. The final ascent to Grike was reasonably steep but nothing to bad and the summit appeared surprisingly quickly after the stile. For a fairly unassuming and rarely visited summit it has a very good wind shelter. This was was very welcome as the stiff westerly wind was quite strong at the summit and giving a significant chill.

The view from Grike is restricted due to the presence of Crag Fell and Lank Rigg, but has good views back to West Cumbria and the Irish Sea.

It was then on to Crag Fell. The path is fairly clear between the fells and not too boggy. Crag Fell summit was obtained quickly and presents much better views down the Ennerdale Valley. It was very windy by now so I took care not get to close to the edge. The large cairn gave some shelter but I needed a break from the wind so descended after a short while.

The descent of Crag Fell is also clear as is the cutting through the forest and onto the lower slops of Whoap (and onto Iron Crag if that is your route).

The path to the summit of Whoap, however, is very unclear. I ascend via the wall for a short while, then when the ground became less boggy I crossed over open ground before picking up the path that seems to run from Iron Crag to Whoap. Whoap is a little known and rarely visited summit. This is not surprising, the views are severely restricted in all directions. The only saving grace is the magnificent view you get of the imposing Lank Rigg.

I didn't hang about long at Whoap summit. I took the path to the col between Whoap and Lank Rigg and began the steep ascent of Lank Rigg, the highest point on my route. The wind on the col and Lank Rigg felt much stronger than the earlier wind. It was buffeting and biting cold by now.

The ascent really is steep, going up 319ft in half a mile, straight up the face of the fell. It was tough going and I was greeted at the top with a biting cold wind and very little shelter (Trig points are useless as wind shelters).

I didn't hang about too long up here either as it was getting very cold in the wind.

There are 2 descents I know of from Lank Rig, you can return to the col and take the path along the side of Whoap, then Blakely Raise, or you can head down the north western slope onto Lank Rigg common, intercepting the 1st route near Blaklely Raise. I did the former.

The return to the car was a long walk, taking the best part of an hour and almost half of my total mileage. Not the most exciting journey, but I walked with a sense of accomplishment. I had walked 3 Wainwrights in a single morning and looked forward to doing it again soon. I also didn't meet a single other person on my route.

On a side note. I could get an O2 signal on all 4 summits (not sure how on Whoap as line of sight were limited). I created a "Place" on Facebook for checking-in purposes. So if you visit these summits with your iPhone you may be able to check-in with your mobile phone in future.

Here are some photos of my day (taken with the iPhone)

New To Fell Walking

2011-05-17T03:42:00.000-07:00

Living in West Cumbria, you would think by the age of 33 I would have climbed half of the Lake District peaks by now. Unfortunately, for one reason or another I have climbed the grand total of 2 fells. One when I was 10 (or 11) and the other, Dent, which is within minutes of my house.

Inspired by programs such as Coast and Countryfile. I figured I was missing something quite interesting and something good for my general fitness. I literally have no excuse to not to climb the Lake District fells. The nearest are minutes away and the furthest no more than a 90 minute drive.

I've spent a few months soaking in information and getting some basic kit together and I am now ready to go.

My 1st target is to climb all 214 fells featured in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides. This might take me a while!