Helm Crag and Ullscarf

Sunday 16th April 2006

Another gorgeous day in the Lake District seemed guarrenteed after early rain had blown itself away, so on leaving Grasmere I decided to change my original plan by doing the Langdale Pikes next Saturday and instead I climbed up to Greenup Edge via Helm Crag, which is right next to the hostel. Climbing up onto the iconic hill I admired the stunning scenery and tried to pull one over on Wainwright who had been unable to climb up to the top of the large rock that sits at top of the hill. Unfortunately what defeated the great man also defeated me and I was left to merely look at the summit begrudgingly rather than standing on it in triumph. Continuing along the ridge I passed over Gibson Knott and after reaching Calf Crag on to the junction with the path at the top of Far Easedale. Crossing the head of the bog-infested Wythburn valley I climbed up to the surprisingly wide Greenup Edge and turned right heading along the wide ridge north. I have never walked in this area before having previously gone no further north than Greenup Edge from High Raise. This area is the heart of the Central Fells which is atypical of the Lake District being predominantly wide, grassy, boggy moorland, in fact typical English moorland. On this walk I immediately plunged into a huge bog, which would become a common occurrence during my day in the Central Fells.

After an age, during which I had my lunch, I eventually arrived at the top of Ullscarf, but I didn't stop at the summit and kept going since the weather had become breezy and cold. Stopping in this bleak landscape was not very appealing. After passing Ullscarf I realised that despite not doing the Langdale Pikes my pre-arranged route was still too long. I had originally planned on going as far north as Ashness Bridge and returning through Borrowdale via Castle Crag, but quickly realised Ashness Bridge was simply too far away so I decided to go to Borrowdale via Watendlath.

After walking around the huge, solitary Standing Crag I took a bridlepath past Blea Tarn gradually losing height as I crossed the boggy moor towards Watendlath. When I eventually arrived at the picturesque National Trust village it was after four o'clock and any chance of visiting Castle Crag would also have to be lost. Passing over the low headland I descended into the stunning valley and through Rosthwaite where the huge crags around Borrowdale dominated the landscape. It's been a few years since I was last in Borrowdale and I had forgotten how impressive it is. It was not at its best at this time with darkening clouds looming overhead, but I was back later in the week when I would have the time for a fuller appreciation.

With time advancing I passed the Borrowdale Youth Hostel and Seatoller, rushing up the old toll road to Honister Hause. This was a very different day in landscape to that encountered the day before. I had never walked over Ullscarf before and had actually always avoided the area north of Grasmere because of its bogs. One could have that attitude about the whole of the Central Fells with the Langdale Pikes as the only redeeming feature of the entire area, and I now planned on doing them on Saturday.