The evening before this walk someone in the youth hostel I was staying in said the weather forecast for the next day was the best that he'd ever seen for the Lake District. It was perfect. There were clear blue skies all day with an occasional cold breeze to cool the heat of the day. To accompany these amazing conditions I did a very challenging and tiring walk across the highest hills in England. To take the easier routes would have been too simple so I took the hardest routes I could find just to more successfully wear me out. And it worked!
I set off from Seatoller and walked along the Seathwaite road as far as the Seathwaite Bridge and from there I followed the river past Seathwaite around the foot of Base Brown up to Taylorgill Force. I absolutely love this wonderful path; in fact it may be my favourite path in the Lake District. It is a bit of a scramble, perched on the side of a steep cliff face, and affords close up views of Taylorgill Force. It is the perfect path. I first walked this path on my first ever visit to the Lake District, and I have loved it ever since, but it must be five years since I last walked up it. That is just too long. Soon however I was past the waterfall and climbing beside the stream up to the top of Sty Head Pass.
Passing over the top of the pass, I descended on the little used valley-route path towards Wasdale. This is a lovely little path that cleverly snakes up the steep hillside from the stream below, but all too soon I left the path and crossed the steep hillside to Piers Gill, joining the path near the confluence of Greta Gill with Piers Gill. The path climbs steeply up the rock-strewn terrain and afford me with vertiginous views into the deep ravine of Piers Gill to my right. I had never been up the Piers Gill path before and I found it very challenging, but also with some stunning views. This was a tough, tiring climb that required a bit of a scramble, but eventually I reached the Corridor Route and finally I crossed Piers Gill.
I didn't stay on the Corridor Route for long but branched off to cross Lingmell Col and climbed up to the top of Lingmell, where I had my lunch. I had been up Lingmell only once before, which is a great tragedy considering the number of times I’ve been up the neighbouring Scafell Pike. The views from the top of Lingmell were quite stunning with an all-round panorama that was only supplemented by the views of Scafell Pike that dominated the scene to the south across the col. One could argue that the views from the top of Lingmell are better than those from Scafell Pike and with a wider summit area there was plenty of scope for exploration. I wish I’d spent more time on Lingmell, but I still had a long way to go so after lunch I crossed Lingmell Col and joined the crowds climbing up Scafell Pike. Having come so far it would have been a shame to leave out the highest mountain in England.
I went up Scafell Pike Easter Sunday last year but the conditions at the summit then were completely different to Easter Sunday this year. Last year there was still quite a lot of snow at the summit, now there was no snow at all and instead I found warm, bright sunshine. It’s amazing how conditions at the top of a mountain can vary Easter to Easter. I’ve been walking at Eastertime for more than ten years and I have encountered snow and cold, hard rain as well as warm, clear skies. It’s an interesting time to go walking and there is no better time. The summit of Scafell Pike was as ridiculously busy as usual so I didn't stay long and immediately headed towards Mickledore, the gateway to Sca Fell, the second highest mountain in England.
There are only two routes from Scafell Pike to Sca Fell, and the direct one up Broad Stand is not one of them, so both routes required me to circumvent the huge crag that was blocking my way. The easier (and recommended) way is via Foxes Tarn (still not particularly easy), and the harder way is up Lord’s Rake, so that's the route I took. At the end of the narrow connecting ridge of Mickledore I dropped steeply down treacherous loose stones to a path that crosses the foot of the enormous Scafell Crag to Lord's Rake. I have been up Lord's Rake twice but this time it seemed much harder. The rocks in the area are disintegrating and nowhere more so than in Lord's Rake itself. I found it a really difficult to climb up the steep loose stones and dirt that comprised the rake, and I was greatly relieved when I eventually reached the top. I suspect that Lord’s Rake will eventually become impassable to anything other than superhuman effort, and that prospect fills me with great sadness.
I had originally intended on taking the West Wall Traverse from Lord's Rake, but I didn't like the crumbly state of it so I stayed on the straight route over the top of Lord’s Rake, across a couple more steep, though easier rakes, and eventually emerged on the side of Scafell. Now I had to climb steep, rock strewn terrain all the way up to the summit of Sca Fell, which was a long way away, so by the time I reached the top I was really tired and just collapsed in a heap beside the summit cairn while taking in the stunning surroundings. After a rest, and a bit of Kendal Mint Cake, I started off down the long southern slopes of Sca Fell all the way to Eskdale.
I came up this path on my first visit to the Lake District and I found it to be a far too lengthy climb. On a later visit I descended by this route and found it to be a delightfully relaxing descent, known as the Terrace Route, but on this occasion I was possibly too tired to be able to enjoy the faint path. Eventually I came down into Eskdale where a short walk along the valley road took me to the youth hostel. This was a really tiring walk, but in stunning weather, over some truly amazing and challenging terrain, and through some absolutely stunning surroundings. This was the Lake District at its best.
No comments:
Post a Comment