The Stake Pass

Tuesday 18th December 2018

When I saw that the weather forecast for this walk was persistent rain and strong winds with gusts up to eighty miles an hour my heart sank as I knew I would not be reaching the top of any of the fells and just getting to Borrowdale would be a challenge. I was going to get wet, or if my waterproofs were any good they will get wet, but there is nothing that can be done about strong winds. In my experience once the winds start gusting above fifty miles an hour you don’t want to be in their way. My original planned walk was actually able to proceed with only the slight alteration of no discursions onto the neighbouring fells as I made my way over the Stake Pass from Great Langdale to Borrowdale. I caught a bus from Ambleside, where I had stayed the night, down Langdale as far as the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, which is where I have finished a couple of walks in the rain in the past and happily sat in the Hiker’s Bar waiting for the bus, most recently last May. On this occasion I didn’t have an excuse to have a drink as I was starting from this point, so after wrapping myself up in waterproofs I set off onto the bridletrack that heads through Mickleden to the head of the valley.

I had been on this path just last May in considerably better weather conditions when under blue skies I climbed the Rossett Gill path, but now it was raining, the wind was pushing me along and the clouds were low and thick with moisture. This was going to be a challenging and adventurous walk despite merely going over the Stake Pass as these were interesting weather conditions. The path was already waterlogged with large puddles that blocked my way and forced me to wade through the waters, which was a foretaste of what was to come. Eventually I reached the junction where the Rossett Gill path diverges off to head towards Esk Hause, which was the route I took last May, while a path that I have never taken before heads steeply up the hillside on many zigs and zags all the way up to the Stake Pass. This is a well-constructed path that meanders through the fabulously rugged, boulder-filled terrain below Black Crags following the route of an ancient packhorse trail with flagstones underfoot faithfully guiding the weary traveller through all thirty-nine turns that lead the way up the steep fellside eventually easing when the path crosses Stake Gill.

The wind became increasingly ferocious as I neared the top and made just standing upright difficult, but as the gradient eased the wind also abated to reveal the scenery of Langdale Combe before me. The excellent, well-made path now disappeared and I initially had difficulty locating the continuation until I realised I needed to cross the stream and follow a narrow path around the eastern edge of the wide bowl that lay before me. Slowly the path climbs as it passes the bed of what must have, at one time, been a small lake, similar to Angle Tarn, and eventually I reached the pile of stones that mark the highest point on the Stake Pass. The stake that once gave the pass its name has long since gone and now there is a junction of paths with one heading towards the Langdale Pikes and another towards Rossett Pike, which I had hoped to visit on this walk, but even while planning I’d known I would need good weather for that to happen. With no such luck I headed over the Stake Pass on a delightfully well-weathered path across the top and upon reaching the northern edge of the pass I was once more battered by strong winds until I began the descent into Langstrath.

With the view into the valley before me I stopped to have my lunch and hastily put on my fleece that had been taken off before the climb over the pass. It was really unpleasant taking my waterproofs off while it was raining, but it was only for a brief time and once my fleece was on I could put my waterproofs back on, so that now I finally felt that I was snug and warm. After eating my lunch I changed my gloves for a dry pair and headed down the relatively recently constructed zigzags as I remembered a time ten years ago before this path was ‘fixed’. These zigzags are a poor shadow of the excellent path on the Mickleden side of the pass mainly because they are too obviously manufactured. Rather than blending into the landscape the path on this side of the pass has loose gravel underfoot with rigid, identical zigzags all the way down. The grassy surroundings means this path was never going to be able to match the majestic zigzags on the other side, but I wish it wasn’t so uniform, although time may be the healer and with a little deterioration the path may acquire some appeal. The path improved near the bottom where the terrain is stonier and the path is more uneven, though it always feels better to have solid rock underfoot.

Across the raging torrent of Stake Beck I veered off the clear path to descend to the bridge over Langstrath Beck where I had good views back up to the Stake Pass and down the valley past the rocky ravine of Tray Dub. Langstrath is better known in Britain as that valley from Countryfile and there is good walking along the lengthy valley in any weather. I decided I would take the path on the western side of the valley as I thought it would be easier in these conditions, but I have no way of knowing whether I was right, although on the only other occasion that I have taken this path, in 2009, I thought it was easier. The path certainly wasn’t dry and when the path becomes an enclosed track, half way along the valley, there were many occasions where I had to wade through surprisingly deep water, but my boots worked well to keep my feet dry. Eventually the track improved and I passed through the hamlet of Stonethwaite and along a road that led me straight to the Borrowdale Youth Hostel. My waterproofs did a fabulous job on this walk with the warden at the hostel expressing his surprise at how dry I looked considering I had just walked over the Stake Pass whereas people who had just been out to their car had looked as they’d jumped in the river. In these conditions prudence had kept me off the tops of the fells, but with good waterproofs I was still able to have a fabulous and enjoyable walk despite the challenging weather.