Saturday 15th July 2017
Last year a colleague at work attempted to do the Three Peaks Challenge by walking up Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, the highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales, in the space of twenty-four hours. This he attempted to do with absolutely no previous experience of walking up mountains, but fortunately my colleagues challenge was well organised and when they came to an impassable stream they didn’t put themselves, and others, in danger by attempting to cross it. They wisely abandoned the ascent of Scafell Pike and settled for climbing the neighbouring Lingmell instead. The consequence was that my colleague had not made it to the summit of Scafell Pike, so this year he asked me if I would go with him for a walk up the mountain that he failed to summit last year.
A date in the middle of July was picked and the day before we drove up to the Wastwater Youth Hostel, but when we got up the following morning we found that the British weather had not been kind. You can never count on good weather in Britain, even in the summer, so if you pick a date a month in advance as we had done there is no predicting what the weather will be like. So it was that on that particular Saturday it was raining all day, but on the following days the weather was perfect with lovely blue skies. Unfortunately we were in the Lake District for just one day so I parked up at the village green in Wasdale Head and we set off towards Scafell Pike. The weather was abysmal as we set off through a field of herdwick sheep and over Lingmell Beck onto the western slopes of Lingmell where the views were non-existent with clouds that were so low that we could hardly see Wastwater. The rain was not heavy, merely a gentle drizzle, so we had hopes that during the course of the day the rain would stop and the weather improve (walkers are always hopeful!).
The path skirted around the lower slopes of Lingmell before coming round to join the main tourist path beside Lingmell Gill. Despite the poor weather there were many people on this very popular path, though most of them seemed to coming down the mountain even though it was only nine o’clock in the morning. We supposed that these were Three Peak Challengers who had climbed Ben Nevis the previous evening and travelled to the Lake District overnight in order to climb Scafell Pike, despite the rain, during the early hours of the morning. They have my pity as I have a low opinion of the Three Peaks Challenge, mainly because of all the travelling in between so I would prefer a challenge walk that takes place in just one area without having to be in a car for long stretches. I have no desire to do the National Three Peaks Challenge, though the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge does have some appeal as it takes place in just one area. Climbing up the path we eventually reached the ford over Lingmell Gill that had been impassable for my colleague last year.
There was no such problem now and we were able to cross the stream and continue our journey up Brown Tongue plunging into the clouds as we slowly made our way up the mountain. I must say the pace was a lot slower than it would have been if I was on my own and on the occasions when I was in front, whenever I looked back my colleague was often a long way back, so I had to stop and allow him to catch up. I am not used to walking with a companion and I was finding it difficult to keep at his pace. For me this walk was rather easy, compared with other walks that I have done, and especially so at this pace and on this good, well-made path. My colleague is not used to walking up mountains and he found the Three Peaks very challenging and this ascent was also exhausting for him. Slowly we made our way up the path with, for a time in the middle of the ascent, no one else around until eventually we reached Lingmell Col.
Now we were accompanied by many other people as we turned right and climbed all the way up the stony path to the summit that we thought we were never going to reach, the top of Scafell Pike. My colleague was overjoyed, raising his hands in triumph at reaching the summit of the mountain that had eluded him last year. It was getting windy and the rain was falling heavier now so it wasn’t long before we turned around and started heading back down to Lingmell Col, but rather than continuing back down the way we had come we turned right and took the Corridor Route. As the weather worsened I was actually beginning to enjoy the walk, as did my colleague, as we scrambled around the stunning rock-filled landscape that surrounds the top of the spectacular gullies of Piers Gill and Greta Gill. This path embodies the best of the Lake District, in a way that the tourist path up Brown Tongue cannot, and provided us with a thoroughly enjoyable walk, despite the worsening weather, along the Corridor Route and all the way down to Sty Head Pass.
There was a strong wind blowing through the pass that made for some really inhospitable conditions, so we quickly battled across and onto the bridlepath that heads down into Wasdale. This path is initially surprisingly scrambly, which in the poor weather required some extra care. I have used this path just once before,
many years ago, in ascent. Eventually the path eased as we crossed the southern slopes of Great Gable with the awesome crags of this great mountain slowly disappearing into the mist. We were now finally able to stop and have a belated lunch before coming back down into the valley and follow the path back to the village green. The weather never improved, and in fact worsened, but although it would have been wonderful to have done this walk in good weather, we still managed to have a fantastic walk. Bad weather does add a certain thrill to a walk that you don’t get in good weather, even though it takes away so much more. A walk in the Lake District is always fantastic and a walk up Scafell Pike that includes the Corridor Route is great whatever the weather.
