Seatallan and Pillar

Saturday 29th May 2021

I had spent the night before this walk camped half way down the side of Sca Fell, the second highest hill in England, and broke camp early, though not before a fellrunner ran past my tent asking if I had a cuppa ready for him. He must have started very early to be coming down Sca Fell before eight o’clock! Continuing my, much slower, descent, I followed a faint path above Black Crag and past Rakehead Crag where there is a lot of loose stones that I thought the path descended. However, the correct route is to continue west until you reach the old corpse road between Eskdale and Wasdale Head. It was soon obvious to me that I should not have tried to descend this precariously loose run of stones, but by then it was too late and I had to continue the steep descent. Eventually I reached a fence where a stile gave me access into a field that led me past scattered trees to the path beside Lingmell Gill. My goal on this holiday was to climb fells that I had not climbed recently and right in front of me was Yewbarrow, which I had last climbed in 2011, but this naturally leads to Red Pike that I have climbed many times in the last ten years. It seemed a waste of effort to climb Yewbarrow only to come straight back down again, so I missed it out and walked along the road beside Wastwater for far longer than I thought I would need.

I was astonished at the vast numbers of cars coming up the road into Wasdale Head, attracted by the Bank Holiday weekend, and wondered how the valley copes with so many cars. Restricting the cars into Wasdale Head has been suggested and on a Bank holiday weekend I can see why that would be a good idea. Eventually I took the turning onto the road to Greendale turning off onto the path that climbs towards Middle Fell, which I last climbed in 2006 and definitely qualifies as being a target for this holiday, however when I got to a junction, I could see a path that stays beside Greendale Gill and thought, I wish I was going that way, so I did. This is a narrow path that threads a course through steep, ravine-like slopes lined with gorse and was a delight, but I soon stopped to cross the stream and have a drink. Instead of staying beside Greendale Gill I now found myself climbing Brown How and crossing the top of the Tongues Gills towards the crags of Buckbarrow that had looked too appealing for me to ignore. I had intended on following my route of 2006 up Middle Fell and Seatallan, but I was now heading towards Buckbarrow, which I climbed in 2011.

Eventually I reached the cairn at the top of Buckbarrow, but I could see another cairn lower down on the edge of the escarpment, so I made my way down the short distance to the top of Bull Crag before climbing back up to the top and continuing up to the cairn at the top of Glade How. From this point, Seatallan, across broad, featureless, grassy slopes was an obvious target, but I was still interested in Middle Fell, so I crossed the dreary, boggy slopes above the Tongues Gills to eventually reach Greendale Tarn and from the col above the lake I turned right to climb the craggy slopes of Middle Fell, which is a fell that I have fond memories of climbing in 2006. Unfortunately, the weather on this walk was terrible for photography with overcast skies and very poor visibility all day, but it was warm, which made it nice for walking even if the views were difficult to see. This is a shame for Middle Fell as it provides good views of the Wasdale fells, but I was not in a good mood to appreciate anything. My convoluted route via Buckbarrow and across the tedious grassy slopes above the Tongues Gills in warm weather had worn me out, so I had wearily dragged my feet all the way up to the top of Middle Fell.

Returning back down to the top of Greendale Gill I crossed very boggy ground that can be avoided by going around the northern slopes over Winscale Hows, but just as in 2006 I went straight across the col. After completely enveloping my boots in water, I reached more solid, but ridiculously steep ground that brought me up to the summit plateau of Seatallan that doesn’t feel like it belongs in the Lake District and is certainly not a mountain, being a featureless grassy mound and never deserved to be climbed in the last fifteen years. Turning north from the trig point at the summit I zigzagged down the steep slope ignoring the poor path until I reached gentler slopes where I veered towards the western edge after much deliberation on where to go next. I had climbed all the fells before me several times in the last ten years so there was no obvious target, but the lure of the high fells eventually prompted me to climb Haycock taking a steep, grassy rake that leads to the south cairn. It was now four o’clock and as I made my way along the ridge from Haycock to Scoat Fell I reflected that the day trippers were all now heading back down into the valleys, but that didn’t leave me the fells to myself. There were fellrunners like the one that had passed me while I was packing away my tent at the start of the day and there were other wild campers, given away by their large rucksacks, attracted by the Bank Holiday weekend.

After passing over Scoat Fell I made my way carefully down the large stones that litter the eastern side of the summit before climbing up to the top of Black Crag. This is an often overlooked peak that is small, but very high, so I always make a point of climbing it while traversing the Wind Gap. This gloriously craggy ridge continues up to the top of Pillar where I met a guy who had just completed his round of the Wainwrights and was celebrating with a can of beer. I made my way across to the northern edge to look at the large crag of Pillar Rock and at the path that descends towards it. In 2006 I took this path to the start of a high level traverse from Pillar Rock towards Black Sail Pass and ever since I have wanted to walk across it again in the other direction, but I have been thwarted by bad weather on many occasions. Now, the weather was good, but I was at the wrong end of the path and the day. I was exhausted and didn’t want to attempt the crumbly path in a tired state while carrying a heavy rucksack, so I descended along the top of the ridge, which is still a great route, to the other end of the high level traverse, which also seems to be in a poor, disintegrating state.

Continuing to descend I passed over the top of Looking Stead, even though the path bypasses it, and down to Black Sail Pass where I made my way to the foot of the Sail Beck ravine to get some water. I had been short of water all day and had frequently stopped to drink from streams through a filter, but now I was able to fill the large reservoir in my rucksack with pure water. Continuing my descent I came all the way down into Ennerdale pitching my tent out of sight of Black Sail Hut beside Sail Beck. This was a very long and tiring day in very hazy weather that was really annoying. I should have had stunning views all day, but instead they were awful with the haze leaving the views just a colourless shadow. Previously, when I have been in the Lake District, I have been based in youth hostels that enable me to limit the weight of my rucksack, but now I was carrying all my camping gear and food with me, which makes the walking very tough and left me really tired at the end of the day. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the traverse of the ridge from Scoat Fell over Pillar to Black Sail Pass, despite having done the route several times in recent years, but great mountains always deserve to be climbed.

Hard Knott and Sca Fell

Friday 28th May 2021

After three days of improving weather in the Lake District, on this day it was drizzly, overcast, dull, grey and miserable, but nevertheless I did a walk that felt like a great accomplishment. I left the Baysbrown Farm Campsite where I had been staying and walked along Langdale eventually reaching Stool End Farm where I started to climb the Band soon becoming too hot in my waterproofs. I already knew my cagoule was worn out and unbreathable, so I took off my cagoule reasoning that I was unlikely to get as wet from a few drops of rain as I would from my sweat. The rain was never very heavy all day and remained quite light, just a constant drizzle. How do you dress for that sort of weather? If you don’t wear waterproofs you will eventually get wet, but it was not really wet enough for full waterproofs, though that didn’t stop me from wearing them almost all day. Slowly I climbed the Band, the broad ridge that climbs from Langdale all the way up to Bow Fell, and is a route that I have climbed only once before, in 2013, when I don’t think I enjoyed it, though it makes a great descent with the stunning views of Langdale in front of you. Unlike in 2013, I now ignored Bow Fell and made for Three Tarns sitting beside one of the tarns where I had my lunch and put my cagoule back on.

A path descends into Eskdale on the other side of the pass that I previously climbed in 2007, but I have no memory of it and now I couldn’t find the path. The Ordnance Survey map indicates that it starts north of the three tarns, but I had started from south of the three tarns, so I had to veer to my right until I could find a groove in the grass that was probably the path, though nothing clearer. The latest version of Wainwright’s guides says the path is rough and difficult to follow, which agrees with what I found, though ultimately all I wanted to do was descend and for that the way is clear enough. It is interesting to note how clear the path up the Band to Three Tarns is, since it is very popular, compared with the path on the other side of the pass into Eskdale, which is not very popular. I often lost the path only to find it again lower down and eventually abandoned any idea of following it so I could keep away from Lingcove Beck. I was heading towards Hard Knott so deliberated stayed high above the valley to prevent losing too much height while crossing the slopes below Crinkle Crags until eventually I reached the col at the head of Moasdale where I joined a faint path that crosses the col and slowly climbs the grassy slopes towards Hard Knott.

Eventually the terrain became more interesting with rocky outcrops scattered around as I slowly made my way up to the top of Hard Knott where I found a bank of thick cloud obscuring the view further south towards Harter Fell. This was a surprise as despite the heavy cloud cover, all the fells around Eskdale, including Scafell Pike, were clear, though this bank of cloud would soon envelope all the high fells, albeit temporarily. I had previously visited Hard Knott just once before, in 2011, and was one of the last Wainwright fells that I completed, but it is not a particularly interesting fell whose main redeeming quality is its awesome view of the Scafell Pikes range. Turning around I made my way back down the ridge veering left at the end to Lingcove Beck where I found some stepping stones across the river and a clear path beyond that passes below Pianet Knott and Long Crag ending at Great Moss opposite Cam Spout. Although it was very boggy, this was a fun path with stunning views of the great, surrounding mountains, but it is not marked on maps and was probably made by fellrunners, as are many of the new paths in the Lake District.

I once said Upper Eskdale is my favourite place, but it has been a long time since I was able to explore the area, so although the weather was not at its best on this walk, I was enjoying the opportunity to make its acquaintance again. After skirting the edge of Great Moss I crossed the River Esk and climbed the grassy hillside directly in front of me between High Scarth Crag and Horn Crag on a groove in the grass that indicated I was not the first person to ascend this way, but I have no idea whether my predecessors were fellrunners or merely sheep. Veering right I crossed increasingly steep, craggy ground below Horn Crag that I found very difficult to negotiate and required a lot of care, so I was relieved when I finally reached easier slopes and found the clear path known as the Terrace Route up Sca Fell. I climbed this path in 2002 finding it very tedious, but subsequently thoroughly enjoyed descending this way and had not climbed Sca Fell from Eskdale since 2002 until now. Even though I now had a proper path underfoot I struggled as I climbed, feeling very hot in my waterproofs as I slowly made my way up to Slight Side, an outlier of Sca Fell. I was soon revived by the stunning views that I saw from the top of Slight Side, despite the overcast weather, with the top of Sca Fell looking tantalisingly close.

There had hardly been any wind during this walk, which had contributed to overheating in my waterproofs, but now that made standing on Slight Side seem extra special where one would expect a strong wind. This gave the surroundings an ethereal quality and gave me bountiful amounts of energy that soon had me climbing again towards Sca Fell across a fabulous, rocky landscape that reminded me of Scottish mountains and kept drawing me on. Since it was now early evening and I was climbing to three thousand feet it was much cooler and I did not have the overheating problems that I’d had earlier, so I just kept climbing. Sca Fell is a proper mountain, vastly superior to all the smaller fells that I had climbed earlier in my holiday as this was a Munro-sized mountain and it felt like it. There is no better feeling than being at the top of a mountain, especially when there is hardly any wind and I had a bit of that on Slight Side, but I really felt it at the top of Sca Fell. I had amazing views along the ridge to Scafell Pike while behind me I could see all the way to the sea where the setting sun was trying to make an appearance through the cloud and failing.

Eventually I tore myself away from the top of Sca Fell and descended the steep, craggy, western slopes for what seemed an age until I reached the top of the Lord’s Rake path and I was appalled at what I saw. It is ten years since I last traversed Lord’s Rake and since then the deterioration of the path that had already been advanced at that time, has continued leaving it in a terrible state so that from the exit, it looked horribly eroded and crumbly and not worth the attempt. Continuing my descent I tried to find somewhere to camp eventually stopping at the first level ground, just above Black Crag, where I was finally able to have a rest and get something to eat. This had been a very long and challenging walk that turned out completely differently to how I’d planned. I never imagined that I would climb Sca Fell on this walk and when I was having my lunch having only reached Three Tarns I thought I would never get anywhere near, but this walk turned out completely differently to how I’d planned. I had climbed a great mountain in Sca Fell and now I had tranquil evening in my tent half way down the mountain with hardly any wind and hardly any sound.

The Langdale Pikes and Rossett Pike

Thursday 27th May 2021

The overnight cloud-cover that heralded me when I got up this day soon faded away leaving blue skies for a fabulous walk up the Langdale Pikes. Setting off from the Baysbrown Farm Campsite, in Langdale, where I had been staying, I walked down the valley to the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel and the Stickle Ghyll National Trust car park taking the path that climbs the Langdale Pikes over Raven Crag. I climbed this way in 2003 on the first time I climbed the Langdale Pikes and had never been on the path since, so I thought it would be a good idea to reacquaint myself with this fabulous path that starts by passing close to Dungeon Ghyll Force, but the waterfall is very difficult to see in its deep, dark, wooded ravine. After the merest glimpse of the waterfall, I continued my ascent along the excellent path that climbs above Raven Crag and across a grassy plateau that was rather boggy and vague. Nevertheless I managed to follow the path up and through the gap between Loft Crag and Thorn Crag while gorgeous sunshine accompanied me, but clouds were slowly beginning to cover the sky. Ignoring Thorn Crag, which is not a Wainwright and is insignificant, I immediately turned left, off the path, tackling the crags directly up soon rejoining the path to reach the top of Loft Crag.

All around me were stunning views of the other Langdale Pikes, notably Harrison Stickle, and down Langdale towards Windermere in the distance, but dark clouds were now coming over and soon robbed me of the sunshine that I had been enjoying. Heading towards Pike of Stickle I stayed on the path to reach the point where an easy scramble is required up to the small summit dome. There I had stunning views all around me, despite dark clouds that were clinging to the fells while bright sunshine remained in the distance. Making my way back down I crossed over towards Harrison Stickle deliberately choosing the craggy path that climbs steeply straight up to the summit, ignoring the green path that heads towards a col further north. I enjoyed this climb through wonderful, rocky terrain eventually reaching the top of Harrison Stickle where, although the views were marred by the cloud cover, there were still great views down Langdale towards the distant sunshine around Windermere.

Turning my back on the views I crossed the complex, rocky terrain heading north towards Pavey Ark, which I was surprised to see seemed insignificant, while Thunacar Knott, benefitting from much wider breadth, seemed much more notable despite often being dismissed as unphotogenic, lacking the steep cliff-faces of the other pikes. Looked at dispassionately, Pavey Ark is just a part of Thunacar Knott, but is always considered to be separate due to its cliff-face that is the largest in Langdale. It is justifiably popular and I did find that there is a dip before the final rise to the top which emphasises its significance, even if this is not apparent when seen from behind. After visiting the top of Pavey Ark I made my way across the broad slopes to the top of Thunacar Knott where I decided I would now leave the Langdale Pikes and make my way down the tedious, grassy, western slopes of Thunacar Knott along very faint, often boggy paths to Stake Pass.

On the edge of Martcrag Moor I came across someone who asked me if this was the path down into Langdale. I told him it wasn’t and escorted him back down to the Stake Pass where I pointed him towards the path into Langdale while I crossed the pass onto the path beyond heading towards Rossett Pike. I must have passed close to Rossett Pike several times in the last ten years while on the Rossett Gill path, but only once in the last ten years have I visited the summit, in 2015 when I was suffering from an allergic reaction to a sun spray and kept to the path away from the ridge. This time I kept to the top of the ridge enjoying every step of the traverse over Black Crags, past Littlegill Head and over Rossett Crag to the top of Rossett Pike. The clouds had begun to clear while I was descending to Stake Pass so by the time I was traversing this ridge I was once again basking in the sunshine and I had tremendous views down Mickleden towards Langdale. From the top of Rossett Pike I descended the short grassy slope to the top of the Rossett Gill path where I turned left to start the epic descent.

The Rossett Gill path is legendary, described by Wainwright as “probably the best known of Lakeland foot passes”, and I enjoyed the awesome descent largely because it is paved throughout. I was worried about my dodgy knee, so at first I was taking things very slowly, but I eventually developed into a brisk pace with the aid of my walking poles so that by the end it was my hands that were aching rather than my knees. When I finally reach the bottom of the path I still had to walk all the way along Mickleden and Langdale back to the campsite, but with the sun shining this was also a pleasure. This was an epic walk over the iconic Langdale Pikes with great weather that I felt lucky to have in the Lake District and I planned to make the most of it.

Tarn Crag and Sergeant Man

Wednesday 26th May 2021

Rain as I had my breakfast at the start of the day didn’t bode well for this walk, but I was hopeful for better weather as I put on my waterproofs and left the Baysbrown Farm Campsite in Langdale to take a footpath out of the valley that I have taken many times in the past since my earliest days in the Lake District. It initially climbs very steeply until on gentler terrain rises above the dramatic ravine of Megs Gill eventually crossing the stream in a tremendous location high above precipitous slopes to reach the top of the ridge between Langdale and Grasmere below the crags of Silver How. With the weather now reduced to just the occasional drizzle, I followed the path over the pass and down into Grasmere where I bought some food before setting off up the Easedale Road past the Youth Hostel and over Easedale Beck. This path took me up the hill beside the waterfalls in Sourmilk Gill to reach Easedale Tarn while the weather gradually improved so it wasn’t long before my waterproofs had all been removed as sunshine and blue skies appeared overhead. In 2012 I had similarly been climbing Tarn Crag, but my way then was blocked my raging torrents in the stream following heavy rain that forced me to approach the ridge via Stythwaite Steps in Far Easedale. 

This was not necessary now, despite the recent rainfall, with Sourmilk Gill easily crossed at the mouth of Easedale Tarn. I remember coming down from Tarn Crag to Easedale Tarn in 2007, but I have no idea of the route and struggled now to find a path. After climbing steep, pathless slopes through young bracken, I eventually came across a clear path that I should have easily been able to find from the beginning and took me onto the ridge that I now followed to the foot of the final rise where I stopped to have my lunch before making the ascent up to the summit of Tarn Crag. The sunshine that I had enjoyed near Easedale Tarn proved to be short-lived and by the time I had finished my lunch the skies were overcast remaining that way for several hours. The ridge behind Tarn Crag broadens before rising again into the complex, craggy landscape east of High Raise, which as I left the top of Tarn Crag was covered in cloud, though this didn’t concern me and as I climbed the cloud gradually lifted. In 2012 I had descended towards Codale Tarn at this point because of snow on the higher fells, but I had no such problem now as I made my own way up the pathless terrain simply heading uphill to anywhere that took my fancy. It was great to have the freedom and time to wonder around exploring the terrain with no restrictions on where I was going, not even from a path.

Eventually I reached the distinctive peak of Codale Head and across a depression looking very appealing was the striking peak of Sergeant Man, while to my right, grassy slopes rose gently to the top of High Raise with no outcrops or anything else to appeal. Quite rightly I turned my back on High Raise and crossed the depression towards Sergeant Man minimising the descent as much as possible before tackling the final steep climb up to the small, craggy top. Despite dark, overcast skies I had awesome views from the top of Sergeant Man especially towards the crags of Pavey Ark and the Langdale Pikes with the Coniston Fells lurking gloomily in the distance. I was so awestruck at my surroundings dominated by dark mountains under grey skies that I laughed with joy, overcome by emotion. Eventually I tore myself away and slowly made my way back down the mountain on the wide south-east ridge that I had previously climbed in 2013, but had not left much of an impression on me.

I was bizarre to feel like I had never been on this path before considering I have been walking in the Lake District for almost twenty years, but this added to my enjoyment as I descended the craggy ridge while enjoying the extensive views. Somehow I completely missed the top of the path coming up from Easedale as I continued to slowly descend the seemingly never-ending ridge until eventually I climbed up to the top of Blea Rigg and was finally in familiar territory again. It had been fun walking in unfamiliar surroundings, but now ahead of me was the fabulous, undulating ridge that extends from Blea Rigg all the way past Silver How to the foot of Loughrigg Fell. I have descended this ridge several times before including on my earliest visits to the Lake District when I grew to love it, but most recently in 2012 after climbing Tarn Crag and passing Codale Tarn. As the skies cleared again to reveal lovely sunshine I joyously sailed along the ridge picking whatever route I felt like at that point, sometimes sticking to the path and other times diverting up a small hill. I didn’t always go the best way and consequently at one point I got my feet wet, but that was just part of the joy.

After passing Swinescar Hause I decided to keep to the Langdale side of the ridge and was rewarded with stunning views up Langdale towards the Crinkle Crags that I didn’t remember ever seeing before and was a great angle that made the valley the look particularly attractive. Exploring the fabulous terrain as I went I eventually reached the path that I had taken at the start of the day around Megs Gill, but branching off from my ascent route I took an alternative path that descends into the disused Thrang Quarry above Chapel Stile and was a joy to once again find a path that I had never taken before. This was a fabulous walk where the poor weather at the start of the day soon cleared leaving me to revel in the pure joy that is walking in Lake District.

Lingmoor Fell and Pike of Blisco

Tuesday 25th May 2021

The prospect for this walk was not good following a night of rain, but I set off from Baysbrown Farm Campsite through the wood and onto the quarry road that climbs to the Lingmoor Fell ridge. Although it had stopped raining, many showers would come and go throughout the day, but they failed to spoil my fun as I made my way along the fabulous, undulating ridge as it meanders across the heather covered fell past old quarry workings until I reached the summit of Lingmoor Fell at Brown How. Across the valley, the Langdale Pikes attracted my eye, while ahead of me was my next target, Pike of Blisco, with the Crinkle Crags and Bow Fell lurking behind, touching the clouds. I had last come this way in 2012, when the weather was sunnier but colder, though on that occasion I had turned off the ridge at Brown How to walk down to Lingmoor Tarn, so as I descended the steep, craggy ridge towards Side Pike, I couldn’t remember when I had last come down this way. It is only after looking through my records that I discovered I had climbed this way in 2005 on my first ever visit to Lingmoor Fell, which made this the first time I had ever descended this ridge and might explain why I was surprised by how much steep rock there was to negotiate and requires some proper scrambling.

This made for a fun descent while ahead of me was the rocky top of Side Pike and a sheer cliff face that prevents further progress along the ridge. In 2005 I went around it, but more recent maps indicate a route that circumvents the barrier and was the route that I took in 2012, up to the impenetrable crags and left through a narrow squeeze between two rocks that forced me to take my rucksack off my back. If my rucksack had contained all my camping gear I may have struggled to get it through even when not wearing it, but fortunately this was not the case and I was able to continue along the narrow path that provides access to the easier western slopes of Side Pike and thence to the top. After looking at the views I turned around and descended those western slopes until I somehow lost the path in boggy ground and it wasn’t until I was gingerly making my way steeply down that I saw the path some distance away below me, so carefully I headed across the hillside to continue the descent on the path down to the cattle grid on the road. Just as in 2012, I crossed the road and climbed the grassy slopes opposite towards Pike of Blisco where a path created by fellrunners heads towards the summit, however, unlike in 2012, I didn’t follow it and instead kept to the ridge climbing steadily towards Blake Fell.

I have never visited this top before and, as I sat having my lunch beside the good cairn, the weather improved dramatically providing me with stunning views of the surrounding fells, but most spectacular of all was the view over Little Langdale towards Windermere. Pike of Blisco was also looking sensational in the sunshine, but it soon clouded over again as I set off along the craggy ridge towards the summit stopping off at any notable rise along the way including Bleaberry Knott and Long Crag. When I was more than halfway across it started raining again, heavily, though this was short-lived so by the time I reached the summit of Pike of Blisco the sun was out again. This is a great fell whose lack of height is a great tragedy that was offset by a particularly fine cairn at the summit, but that cairn is now a mere shadow of its former self having been demolished many times and rebuilt by less skilled hands. A steep, rocky path brought me down to Red Tarn where I had to consider my options. In 2012 I had continued along the ridge towards Crinkle Crags, but I have been up there twice since 2012 and I really didn’t want to go up there again. So eventually I decided I would head down into Langdale even if that would mean finishing the walk early.

Turning right at Red Tarn I descended the path that is initially beside Browney Gill down into Oxendale that I had taken only once before, in 2006, in a hurry, so now I was able to take my time and enjoy this fabulous, heavily manufactured path. At one noteworthy point, while rain was falling, I crossed a subsidiary of Browney Gill high above the gorge in stunning surroundings with steep rock all around and sheer slopes below me. At the bottom of the valley I proceeded along Oxendale to Stool End, which is one of those legendary Lakeland farms that is a gateway to the fells, and from there I walked along Langdale past beautiful bluebells in gorgeous sunny weather all the way back to the campsite where I was staying. I had mixed weather on this walk with lovely sunshine on occasions, but also many rain showers. Although I had been afraid the walk would end rather early I took so long walking along Langdale it was about five o’clock when I finally reached the campsite. This was a very relaxing and enjoyable walk on fabulous fells that are exactly why I had come to the Lake District, and why I keep coming back.