After my disappointments in Scotland I was desperate to go up a mountain so I quickly planned a day trip to the Lake District. The mountains I had in mind were the Coniston Fells but while planning my walk I noticed the Dunnerdale Fells to the south. I had never been south of the Walna Scar Road before whereas I've already been to the top of all the Coniston Fells. I was still in two minds when I caught a train to the south Cumbrian town of Ulverston (birthplace of Stan Laurel) where I caught a bus to Coniston. Now it was decision time: do I walk up the Coniston Fells and satisfy my mountain craving, or do I walk over the lower hills south of the Walna Scar Road that I’d never been over before? In the end the weather decided it for me. It was overcast with rain threatened when I arrived in Coniston so I set off along the excellent Walna Scar Road.
At Boo Tarn I was very tempted to go up a mountain after all by turning to the right and climbing up the Old Man of Coniston following in the footsteps of Sean McMahon of StridingEdge.Net, but eventually I came to my senses. As later events proved, if I had gone up the Old Man I would never have been able to complete the walk. At the foot of the zigzags that lead up to the top of the Walna Scar Pass I actually did leave the path. To the north of the Walna Scar Pass is Brown Pike, a relatively small fell that even Wainwright didn't honour with its own chapter in his guide books, but it is a fell and it is bigger than any of the hills south of the Walna Scar Road. As an added interest there are some disused mine workings on the eastern side of Brown Pike so I climbed up to the old miners' tracks and investigated the remains, marvelling at the well-made tracks (which are mostly all that's left). At the end of one track I came on an awesome view of the seldom seen Blind Tarn. Hidden away behind Brown Pike this small lake would only be seen by people looking down from the ridge above, from where it would appear small and insignificant. From where I was standing it looked delectable.
Climbing further up the steep fell I eventually reached the summit of Brown Pike where I had my lunch. While eating I gazed out over the nearby fells all the way to the Scafell Pikes. Even in the low cloud it was an awesome sight. There were many people passing me as they made their way along the ridge towards Dow Crag and the other Coniston Fells and I couldn't help thinking how old and tired this route was. I have walked along all the main ridges in the Lake District, so they no longer hold any appeal for me. It is the more unusual ascents or off-path routes that interest me now. So after eating I dropped down to the Walna Scar Road and crossed over to the barely trodden ground beyond, south of the Walna Scar Road, where there are no Wainwrights and the highest point barely touches two thousand feet, but as with the rest of the Lake District what they lack in height they make up for in complexity.
The first and highest top beyond the Walna Scar Road is Walna Scar itself, but before reaching the summit the clouds descended which made navigation trickier than it should have been. With only faint paths to follow I made my way to the summit and across to the neighbouring tops of White Maiden and White Pike. Once the clouds had thankfully lifted I was able to enjoy myself by taking full advantage of every bit of rock I could find while descending the southern ridge of White Pike before dropping steeply down to the boggy saddle of Yauld Mire. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment as I picked my way across the complex terrain over the small top of Pikes and onto the top of Caw. Just as I approached the trig point however it started to rain and this continued as I took a challenging and very steep descent to the ground below. Spurning the insignificant hills around Fox Haw I followed a bridlepath past them onto a road and the rain finally stopped as I crossed the road and climbed the bracken covered terrain to the deliciously prominent top of Stickle Pike. I was now mindful of the clock so I quickly made my way over the insignificant Tarn Hills to Great Stickle, the last top of my walk where the sea now dominated the views ahead of me.
Dropping down once more I entered a dense area of bracken that was really tricky to traverse. Every path seemed to be crossing the ridge rather than traversing it so eventually I had to wade through the dense growth without knowing where I was putting my feet. When I finally reached the edge of the bracken field I sprinted along a path over the low hill of Raven’s Crag and steeply down to the road. My GPS was telling me that I still had many miles to walk before I reached a railway station but with only one hour left until the train was due. There ensued a mad dash down the road and an even madder dash walking beside the busy A595 because it was quicker than following footpaths. The sun came out during my dash so by the time I reached the station with minutes to spare I was roasting in my waterproofs. This was a very different walk to the ones I usually do in the Lake District, and all the better for it. After crossing the Walna Scar Road I hardly saw another person, which just goes to show there's a lot more to the Lake District than the popular routes. It can be difficult to find off-the-beaten-track routes in the Lake District, but once I was there I found that they were worth the effort.
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