High Rigg

Friday 24th December 2010 

For the last day of my holiday in the Lake District just before Christmas I parked in the snow covered car park at Legburthwaite near the northern end of Thirlmere Reservoir. This is right in the heart of the Lake District and so had a deeper covering of snow than I'd found on the western edges of the park where I’d been walking for the previous couple of days. The weather was fabulous but bitterly cold as I set off across St John’s Beck and steeply up the southern end of the wonderfully rugged and undulating fell of High Rigg. My previous visit to this fell was four years ago at a similar time of the year but late in the afternoon with the light fading as I progressed. By the time I’d reached the summit at the northern end of the fell on that occasion the sun had long since set and my long descent to the bus at Threlkeld was in the dark. When I started this walk the sun was still very low in the sky to the south, hiding behind the western slopes of the Helvellyn range and didn’t make its appearance till I was part way along the spine of the fell. 

Passing over the southern top, Wren Crag, I proceeded over Long Band, keeping to the highest point on the fell and exploring every top in my path. I wasn’t in a hurry so I enjoyed exploring the complex terrain, hopping from top to top as I went, climbing over the central wall across the fell to get from a top on the eastern side of the fell over to the centrally-located 343m top. From there I headed straight to the summit of the fell visiting the small top to the left of the summit first. By now the sun was bathing the whole fell with clear blue skies all around me that showed off the bigger fells that surround this low fell. Instead of taking the usual path north off the fell down to the youth centre I visited a couple more tops in the north-western corner of the fell before dropping into the ravine of William’s Beck. This was a very steep descent and is quite tricky in places particularly near the bottom of the stream where there was extensive stretches of ice. I wouldn’t advise this as a route of descent. 

Once in Naddledale I crossed the valley to the bottom of Castlerigg Fell where I took a path along the foot of the fell that leads to the delectable and secluded valley of Shoulthwaite Gill. Sadly I didn’t have time to visit this picturesque valley as I wanted to get home early. Soon after joining the stream and passing a number of delightful cascades I crossed the stream and entered the wood that dominates the slopes to the west of Thirlmere. I had visited Shoulthwaite Gill only once before, the same day I’d visited High Rigg four years ago, and on that occasion I took the same route as now to get to the southern end of High Rigg. I followed a track that skirts the edge of Shoulthwaite Moss and then passed by the farms of Smaithwaite and Bridge End, crossing St John’s Beck between them, to return to my car in time for lunch, and drove home afterwards. This was a great little walk in bright, sunny, but cold weather over a great little fell. But with hindsight this walk would have been greatly improved by returning back over the fell as the return route that I took was rather tedious in comparison.