High Street

Saturday 17th April 2004

This was the last day of my holiday in 2004 and I felt rather sad about it as I walked over the fells for the last time on this holiday literally walking out of the Lake District. Even though this was only my third ever trip to the Lake District I had already developed such a love for the Lakes that I regretted having to leave. I had a deadline on this walk because of a bus I had to catch at the end of the day that I mustn't miss, so on parts of the walk I went very quickly to ensure I wasn’t stranded. I left Patterdale as early as I could and after heading over the river I walked south along the eastern side of the valley until eventually I reached Hartsop. From the car park on the far side of Hartsop I made a hard slog up the north ridge of Hartsop Dodd, but was rewarded with tremendous views of the surrounding hills and after passing over the top I had a rather uneventful, but relaxing, walk beside a wall across the broadening ridge that led me onto Caudale Moor and the summit of Stony Cove Pike.

Turning left I enjoyed a fun scramble down the rocks to Threshthwaite Mouth and then climbed up the scree slope beyond to the prominent beacon on Thornthwaite Crag. The area around Threshwaite Mouth is fabulous with shattered rock in abundance in an area that is otherwise sparse on scrambly ground. From Thornthwaite Crag I descended slightly to join the bridlepath that heads north following the course of an old Roman road called High Street. This heads gently uphill onto a broad grassy ridge keeping to the western slopes, so in order to reach the top of the hill I veered away from the path aiming for the summit of Racecourse Hill. The name of this fell is usually given by the Roman road that has its highest point on the fell and after lunch at the summit I headed north from High Street down the narrowing ridge to the Straits of Riggindale. Bearing right just after the col I followed the Roman road, High Street, up to Rampsgill Head and around the top of the valley to High Raise.

After a pause at the summit cairn of High Raise I headed in what I assumed was the right direction, but when I saw another ridge on the left I realised that I should have been on that one! Maybe sometimes a compass should be used even in clear weather! On reaching the correct path I followed it at a quickening pace over easy ground with the bus times ever in my mind while the tops of Raven Howe, Red Crag, Wether Hill and Loadpot Hill passed beneath my feet. These are not very interesting hills as the terrain has gradually changed on this far eastern edge of the Lake District from the rugged Borrowdale Volcanic Group, so typical of Lakeland, to the Carboniferous Limestone of the Pennines. Fortunately the good weather that I had enjoyed the day before this walk continued and I remember a thoroughly enjoyable walk in warm sunshine along the ridge all the way to Loadpot Hill.

From Loadpot Hill I continued to follow the route of High Street as it makes its hilltop way towards the fort of Brocavum at Brougham, near Penrith, downhill all the way bypassing the two Wainwrights of Bonscale Pike and Arthur’s Pike to cross Moor Divock. By this point Lakeland geology had been left behind and shake holes, typical of limestone country, started to appear across the flat moorland. High Street is very indistinct at this point and on the ground it was even more chaotic with many paths seemingly going in all directions but many going nowhere. The map indicates that there is a clear path straight across Moor Divock, but this was not the case on the ground. With time quickly passing before my bus soon arrived in Askham, and potentially left without me, I frantically tried to determine where my destination was using my map & compass and desperately headed in that general direction. Once again I found that a compass is necessary even in clear weather.

I made it to Askham in plenty of time for the bus and so I was able to begin my journey home. As I settled onto the train from Penrith I felt very satisfied with my week in the Lake District. I felt that I had come of age on this holiday as I had finally been able to overcome my problems with inadequate equipment and lack of experience to walk in any weather that I encountered, including torrential rain when I successfully walked all the way from Ennerdale to Grasmere. I felt that I would now be able to move on to bigger and more challenging country. Just as two years earlier I had graduated from the Brecon Beacons to the Lake District, and now later in this year I graduated to the Highlands of Scotland. However, I never wanted to abandon the Lake District and I remember thinking that I would be happy to keep coming back to the Lake District every Easter, and more often than not that is what I’ve done.

Helvellyn and Striding Edge

Friday 16th April 2004

After the terrible weather I endured on my previous day's walk I now felt as if I was being rewarded for my achievements as the weather on this walk was perfect and allowed me to complete a feat that I thought I would never be able to do. At the start of the walk I left Grasmere and headed off on the route of the Coast-to-Coast Walk that climbs beside Tongue Gill up to Grisedale Hause. After that gruelling climb I circumnavigated Grisedale Tarn and walked up the steep southern slopes of Dollywaggon Pike. Once I was at the top all my hard work for the day was effectively over and I was simply able to enjoy myself to such an extent that the rest of the day was a breeze; it was pure joy. The early morning low cloud had quickly cleared to reveal a magnificent panorama and tremendous weather for the rest of the day, and soon I was at the summit of Dollywaggon Pike, Nethermost Pike quickly followed and it wasn’t long before I finally reached Helvellyn.

This was only the second time I had been at the top of Helvellyn, and after the low cloud and strong winds of my first visit in 2002 it seemed to be a completely different place. The sun was out this time and there was hardly a breeze; the conditions were so good even the crowds failed to distract me. Carelessly I wandered over towards Striding Edge, but only to get a closer look at it. I have been afraid of Striding Edge ever since I first heard about it, so never thought I would ever dare to walk across it. I thought I was only going to look at it, from afar, but to my surprise, before I even knew what I was doing, I found myself climbing down to the start of Striding Edge. The weather conditions were so perfect I couldn’t stop myself walking across, and by the time I reached the end I was wondering what my problem had been. I guess when the conditions are this good then even Striding Edge is not too difficult.

As I think back now, more than ten years later, about my first trip across Striding Edge I have also been thinking about my subsequent visits and I have made an astonishing realisation. I have only ever been across Striding Edge three times and the last time was at Easter in 2006, which doesn’t feel right, but I can’t remember any other time I have been across that fearfully narrow ridge. Even more astonishing is the last time I was at the top of Helvellyn was second of January 2009, more than six years ago! I remember more recently planning on walking up Helvellyn, most recently in 2013, but I had to change my plans due to bad weather. Helvellyn is a great mountain that doesn’t deserve to be ignored like this, and Striding Edge is such an icon of the Lake District that it is shocking that it has been such a long time since I was on the edge. My plans for this Easter are going to have to be changed!

On my first trek across Striding Edge I had my lunch on the hillside just above the Hole-in-the-Wall and when I resumed walking I turned back towards Helvellyn passing Red Tarn before reaching Swirral Edge. At the start of the ridge I turned right in order to visit the top of Catstye Cam before returning along the ridge and up Swirral Edge back onto Helvellyn. I had heard that the best way to tackle Swirral Edge is to stay at the very top of the ridge and based on my experience on this occasion that seemed to be exactly right as I found it surprisingly easy. When I climbed Helvellyn for the first time two years before, via Swirral Edge, I had some difficulties due to high winds that encouraged me to veer away from the ridge in favour of climbing the perilously steep side of the fell. Conditions were completely different on this occasion and consequently I found the climb considerably easier.

From Helvellyn I walked over to Lower Man and turning north I headed down a short, narrow ridge that led me up to Whiteside and on the other side I began my descent into Glenridding. At Greenside Mine I crossed the river and continued around the side of the hill below Birkhouse Moor to Lanty’s Tarn and down into Grisedale. The youth hostel in Patterdale was reached by walking along the path below Glenamara Park. This was a sensational walk in gorgeous weather and over stunning mountains that deserve to have been climbed more times than I have. When the weather is this good the top of a mountain is a sensational place to be and makes even foot-wide ridges seem easy. Great mountain days only occur when the weather is good, and when those rare occasions happen I never want to leave.