Esk Pike and Glaramara

Wednesday 2nd May 2018

After it rained all night, I was pleased to walk out of the Elterwater Hostel to sunshine as the rain cleared to reveal a lovely but still cold and windy day walking in the Lake District. The day before I had caught a bus from the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel to Elterwater, but to get back I thought I would take the old fashioned way and walk. There are two different walking routes along Langdale with one that follows the river along the route of the Cumbria Way, which is a route I have taken many times before since my earliest days in the Lakes, while the other is one that I have used in more recent years and once again on this occasion. It climbs above the slate quarry through lovely woodland before passing Baysbrown and is undeniably the better route, which is why it is now preferred. Eventually I joined the Cumbria Way  and followed the trail across the valley past lovely herdwick lambs and, after walking through a National Trust car park, I continued along the Cumbria Way to pass the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel and along a track that heads down Mickleden. My original plan for this walk was to go up Crinkle Crags and Bow Fell, but after the excesses of my first day I was still ahead of schedule having done those High Fells the day before.

Those fells now dominated my view while I walked down Great Langdale and I eventually passed them by to reach the imposing cliff faces below Rossett Pike and the seemingly impossible climb out of the valley. The difficulties were more apparent than real and a good footpath zigzagged cunningly all the way up to the strong winds blowing through the pass. These winds were bitterly cold and forced me to heavily wrap up, though they were short lived, and soon I was sheltered from the strong winds again on the short descent to Angle Tarn. I branched off the main path before the winds returned and climbed the fragmentary path up to Ore Gap, and from there to the summit of Esk Pike. It was at this point that I think the walk changed markedly as my strenuous efforts climbing Rossett Gill and up to Ore Gap were now past and I was finally able to enjoy being at the top of a mountain. Esk Pike is a queen among kings. A magnificent mountain humbled by its presence among some of the greatest mountains in the Lake District that encircle the top of Eskdale. I love Esk Pike because of its humility, and it was now my tenth High Fell on this holiday where I aimed to climb all the High Fells.

The morning sunshine was now fighting against heavy clouds that brought patches of hail or snow over the mountains while the sun shone a short distance away. I was sheltered from the cold wind watching this battle with awe and amusement until finally, and thankfully, the clouds cleared just as I was finishing my lunch to provide me with fantastic views across Esk Hause to Great End and north over Allen Crags and Glaramara towards Derwent Water. A great path passed over shelves of rock while taking me down to Esk Hause, which is the place that I would consider to be the heart and centre of the Lake District where all the mountains and streams radiate. On crossing the pass I climbed the path that heads towards Scafell Pike, but upon reaching the top of Calf Cove I turned right leaving the tourists behind and headed up to the top of Great End. It wasn’t too windy on Great End which enabled me to have a wonderful time as I wandered around the various cairns until eventually I reached the south-east cairn that marks the summit. I was elated at being at the top of this mountain with clear views all around me including across the scattered rocks towards Scafell Pike. There is no better place to be when the weather is right than at the top of a mountain and at that moment I felt on top of the world.

Returning to the top of Calf Cove and back down to Esk Hause I headed to the lower pass and up to the top of Allen Crags, my twelfth High Fell, and, as I began the long traverse to my thirteenth, the sunshine finally lost its battle with the clouds. Despite dull, overcast skies I enjoyed walking along the ridge between Allen Crags and Glaramara on a fabulous path that weaves around the crags and pools slowly making its way along the undulating ridge even when the path is not clear. After a long walk I eventually reached the top of the peak that had been in my sights since leaving Allen Crags only to discover that there was another peak a good distance away. After crossing this lengthy depression I climbed the long slopes and up to the top of the next peak only to find that I had been deceived again. Another crossing brought me to a third summit where there was a cairn, but this was also not the summit. Glaramara is a tricksy mountain, but eventually it delivered and finally I reached the summit and was rewarded with a splendid view down Borrowdale towards Derwent Water, even though it was marred by grey skies.

There is initially a very steep descent from the top of Glaramara down a twenty foot rock step (note the Bad Step on Crinkle Crags is only ten foot) and is a little tricky, but eventually I managed to reach the bottom and made my way past Coombe Head on a rather vague and boggy path that headed down the ridge towards Borrowdale. The path improved during the descent and made the end of this walk a pleasure, despite the grey views ahead of me. This was a good walk over some great mountains in very cold, but often sunny weather. I had been very tired at the start of this walk after my exertions earlier in the week, but I bounced back when I reached Esk Pike where the elation at being at the top of great mountains overcame all my weariness. The views may have been grey and overcast at times, but these mountains never failed to deliver especially when I was standing at the top of Great End. There is nothing better to lift the spirits than standing at the top of a mountain in the Lake District and I was fortunate on this holiday to be visiting over fifty of them. With thirteen High Fells already under my belt I had another forty to go.

Great Carrs, Crinkle Crags and Bow Fell

Tuesday 1st May 2018

Under low clouds I set off from the Coniston Coppermines Youth Hostel up the valley past the remains of mining towards the encircling fells. I had set myself the challenge of climbing all the hills in the Lake District that are more than two and a half thousand feet high and on my first day in the Lake District, thanks to tremendous sunshine, I had already bagged six of those High Fells. I had only planned on doing two, but the weather was so good I just kept going until I had been to the top of almost all the Coniston Fells. I had planned to do those four extra fells on this day, but that plan for the day was now unnecessary, except for the one Coniston Fell that I had left out: Great Carrs. When I reached Paddy End Copper Works I took a path that climbs beside Levers Water Beck across the scree slopes. There is a track that goes effortlessly up to Levers Water, but I was keen on taking this narrow path that I had never taken before, which passes through dramatic landscape, even though it wasn’t the greatest path in the world and soon me brought to Levers Water. I went around the reservoir and began to slowly climb the steep fellside into Gill Cove until eventually, after plunging into low clouds, I reached the encircling ridge at Levers Hawse.

There I turned right to climb the ridge through the same cold winds that I had encountered the day before, though without the sunshine it now felt a lot colder, and I knew that rain was forecast. After walking along the ridge for a while I came across a tall cairn that I immediately recognized as Swirl How, the High Fell that had been the second one I had bagged on my walk the day before. Unfortunately it doesn’t count towards my High Fells Challenge if I do the same fell twice. I turned left and descended to the top of Broad Slack where, after paying my respects at the memorial to the Canadian crew of the Halifax bomber that crashed at this spot on 22nd October 1944, I made my way up to the top of Great Carrs that sits right on the edge of the cliff above Broad Slack. Continuing along the ridge, I made my way down Wet Side Edge and soon dropped below the clouds to enjoy the view that leads all the way down the ridge into Little Langdale. The clouds were quickly lifting all around me so it wasn’t long before both Great Carrs and Swirl How were also clear.

On my original plan I would have been coming down this ridge at the end of the day, but due to my enthusiasm the day before it wasn’t even midday. Therefore, half way along the ridge I came off to take a path that snakes down the northern slopes to the Three Shires Stone at the top of Wrynose Pass. I was trying to think when I had previously been on this path and I had to go all the way back to 2005, which is tragic as this is a great, little path that follows a terrace clinging to the steep slopes coming down from Wet Side Edge with views behind me along Wrynose Bottom towards Harter Fell. By the time I reached the Three Shires Stone not only had the clouds lifted but the sun had come out which seemed to promise a great rest of the day, but sadly it wasn’t to last as rain was still forecast. Looking towards the next High Fells on my list, I climbed the path beyond the Three Shires Stone up to and past Red Tarn, branching off onto a tedious path slowly climbing between Cold Pike and Great Knott on an uneven, loose rock surface all the way up to the Crinkle Crags. A cold wind was blowing into my face throughout this tiring walk while overhead clouds enveloped the sky to once more leave a grey, sombre cast to the day.

Eventually I reached the first top of the Crinkle Crags and after successfully negotiating my way across I reached the foot of the Bad Step, a ten foot vertical rockface that Wainwright described as “the most difficult obstacle met on any of the regular walkers’ paths in Lakeland”. Except for in 2012, I have never chickened out of the climb, and this was no exception. Any difficulties are very short lived and soon I was climbing the loose scree above the Bad Step and arriving at the summit of the Crinkle Crags. It was very cold at the top so after having lunch my hands were frozen and I kept alternately keeping one of them in my jacket pocket, despite wearing gloves, as I made my way across the remaining tops of the Crinkle Crags. Ahead of me, Bow Fell was looking ominously foreboding under dark, grey clouds as I made my way along the fabulous ridge that Wainwright declared was “Positively one of the finest ridgewalks in Lakeland”. Upon reaching Three Tarns I headed up the screes and across to the summit of Bow Fell where, sheltered from the cold wind, I was able to enjoy clear, though grey, views of the surrounding fells, including Scafell Pike on the far side of Eskdale.

Rather than retrace my steps back to Three Tarns, I thought I’d try to find the path that heads down to the start of the climber’s traverse, but I don’t think I found it. The latest, Walkers Edition, of Wainwright’s guide describes a terrace on the left at a gap in the wall of rocks saying it is not difficult to locate in good visibility. I found no path but instead I made my own way across the top occasionally passing a small cairn until eventually I reached the path that leads to the climber’s traverse. By now there were a few drops of rain in the wind and I knew that the long forecast rain was soon going to make its appearance so I headed quickly down the path and onto the ridge that is known as the Band. Before too long it did start to rain and gradually got heavier as I descended so that by the time I reached the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel at the bottom of Great Langdale I was in no mood to walk any further so I waited for the bus in the Hiker’s Bar. There was a lot of change in the weather on this walk with an ever present, bitterly cold wind, but I still managed to do three of the fells on my High Fells Challenge, and what fabulous fells. The traverse of Crinkle Crags and Bow Fell is a great walk in any weather and if you have a view you need ask for no more.