Skiddaw via Ullock Pike

Friday 28th November 2008

For my first full day of this holiday in the Lake District I did a walk that must rank as one of the best in the Lakes: climbing Skiddaw over the Ullock Pike and Long Side edge, and just to make it more interesting: over snow. I parked just off the main road and took a bridlepath through muddy fields to the fell wall where the fun really began as I climbed onto the Watches, which are a bizarre collection of rocks at the foot of the Edge. Once onto the edge I followed the path up the ridge beyond the snow line and up onto Ullock Pike. Having reached the top my climbing was briefly over and I had a blissful spell of fantastic ridge walking as I proceeded along the top towards my second Wainwright, Long Side. The snow underfoot were making things absolutely fantastic and the scenery was as good as I could have hoped for. At Carl Side, another Wainwright, I rested and surveyed the views across Derwent Water and the whole of the Lake District. There is simply nothing better with such exceptional views. Reluctantly I turned around and began to climb up Skiddaw taking the widest path that gradually climbs the interminable scree on its way up to the summit. I had been up Skiddaw only once before back in 2004 when I had descended along the Edge. On that occasion I recall coming down the scree from the south top by a faint path that zigzagged to the Carlside col. The weather on that occasion had been good, but during this walk the weather worsened as I climbed and once I reached the summit it started to snow. This still didn't detract from my enjoyment of being up there and in fact the bad weather seemed to make it even better! When I was up there four years ago it was Easter Sunday and the place was packed but now I was all on my own, which in these conditions is not surprising. After lingering at the summit for a while I continued north along the summit ridge to the north top and then down towards Bakestall.

As I dropped down I passed over a col and the flat top of Broad End. In the poor weather I needed an aid in navigation and there were a few cairns around the place that should have been a help, but the area was absolutely littered with them. One could go round in circles trying to follow these piles of stones. Littered is certainly the right word for them as they are the result of people messing up the landscape, littering the fells, and they aren’t necessary as there is a fence not far from the top that unerringly follows the route down to Bakestall. At this was a new Wainwright for me I stopped and had my lunch while gazing out on the northern fells, the views having cleared wonderfully while I'd descended to reveal awesome scenery that included the fells I’d walked the day before, and Great Calva that I’d been up last January. At this point I was on the last top of my walk so I would be back at my car not long after lunch so while eating I considered prolonging the walk by going over Great Calva but in the end I decided against that as it would spoil what had been a really good walk. The Edge had been a fantastic climb with some amazing views, while Skiddaw, although it has its detractors, is over three thousand feet high, and is a fantastic, massive mountain that totally dominates the scenery all around it. Great Calva is just a heathery bog that doesn’t deserve to be associated with Skiddaw.

After lunch I descended Birkett Edge, keeping right to the edge of the awe-inspiring Dead Crags. At the bottom I joined the Skiddaw House service road that led me away from the fells, and at the bottom I took a bridlepath through fields past Barkbeth back to my car. As I’d thought I reached the car early with a couple of hours of sunshine still left so I decided to do another walk and go up Dodd. I'd been up this fell five years ago not long after the trees were felled from the summit so I was interested to return and see if it had changed (it hadn’t as far as I can recall). I started from Dancing Gate as the main car park charges for parking, and zigzagged up the steep hillside following the maze of forest tracks and paths using Wainwright's guide to keep me in the right direction. At the summit I noticed there is a route up Dodd on the north-west ridge that Wainwright hadn’t mentioned (probably didn’t exist when he was writing his guides, when the summit was tree covered). It looked like a fun way up, so I’ll have to go that way next time I decide to do this outlying fell of Skiddaw. Leaving the summit I descended by a different route that took in the col with Carl Side and the path to Millbeck. This was a good little walk and a perfect end to a great day on the fells. I was really lucky with the weather as I was going up one of the highest hills in England, but I had clear views at just the right moments and it gave me more experience of walking in wintry conditions.

Great Sca Fell via Trusmadoor

Thursday 27th November 2008

It was great to be back in the Lake District for this holiday, and just as great to be walking again after two months of enforced rest while my ankle healed. So it was a pity that the weather wasn't better, but what can you expect at this time of the year? I suppose the weather was another reason why I hadn’t been walking much lately even though the weather in autumn can be quite nice, it’s just that the weather all year has been rather poor. I remember having walks in October where the weather can be described as feeling like summer, however the weather for this walk definitely did not feel like summer. I was walking in the Northern Fells, which is a generally ignored area of the Lake District as the fells, as a whole, are not typical Lakeland having rounded grassy slopes with very few cliffs or rocks. I haven’t done much walking in this area myself (aside from the beginning of this year) so I thought I’d take advantage of my last two day's holiday from work to go to the Lake District and do some walks in the area. After driving up during the morning in pouring rain I was delighted to find clear dry weather when I finally reached the tiny hamlet of Longlands on the northern edge of the Lake District. I set off south beside a tiny stream, the Longlands Beck, to the distinctive Trusmadoor, a natural cutting in the hillside, and as perfect a pass as you could hope for. On reaching this gap I walked through it and climbed up the fell on the right side of the pass, onto the eloquently named Great Cockup. There are some brilliant names in this area, but this one has got to be the best, with Trusmadoor a close second. On reaching the summit I stopped to have my lunch and then returned to the fantastic Trusmadoor. Now I went up the fell on the other side of the pass, Meal Fell, which sports a fascinating collection of cairns and shelters with a few ponds in between. My course continued along the ridge and up the steep, stark, grassy slopes of Great Sca Fell, where any similarity with its more famous namesake is totally absent, for aside from their name, there is absolutely no similarity between them. The weather turned grey and windy as I walked down the hill from the summit of Great Sca Fell and while passing over Little Sca Fell it started hailing. Fortunately the bombardment was short lived and I was able to comfortably walk across to my fourth Wainwright of the day, Brae Fell.

After gazing out at the scene from the top of this fell that lies on the northern edge of the Lake District I set off west down the hillside towards the Longlands ridge. On my way along the ridge I passed over Lowthwaite Fell, which isn't a Wainwright, and Longlands Fell, which is, even though its smaller. I began dropping down from the top of Longlands Fell after just three hour's walking, which isn’t long, but since I’d not started until one o’clock and it was the end of November, the sun was already setting when I left the top. A track down the north ridge took me off the fell and onto a byway at the bottom, which brought me back to my car. This was a nice little walk in a quiet secluded section of the park. Despite the grassy hills, which are not really my ideal walking terrain, I actually enjoyed the walk and I didn't want to stop even though it was getting dark. Nearby was a solitary hill that also happened to be a Wainwright and since I had some time free, even though it was getting dark, I drove to the foot of the fell and walked right up to the top of Binsey. Going up I didn't need a torch but coming back down the track I found that it was essential as it was now really dark. This was a short walk with the sole purpose of bagging a summit, which is quite sad but still satisfying. I was making it my goal to go up all the Wainwrights in the Northern Fells on this holiday (or at least all the ones I hadn’t already been up) so Binsey was still a necessary if rather pathetic climb.