St. Sunday Crag and Great Rigg

Saturday 12th May 2018

Throughout my holiday in the Lake District I was trying to reach the summit of all the Wainwright fells that are more than two and a half thousand feet high. There are fifty-six such High Fells and by the start of the last day of my holiday I had completed fifty-one. Unfortunately I would not be able to complete the list because bad weather had prevented me from reaching three of the summits. This was always going to be likely in the Lake District where the weather is notoriously changeable and many other factors can also force a change of plans. So, taking this into account it is astonishing that I managed to do as many as I did and my goal should realistically have been as many of the High Fells as I could. The weather for this final day was amazing, virtually perfect, as I left the Patterdale Youth Hostel walking along the pavement beside the road heading south. I had never taken this route before since I had always assumed there was no pavement so I thought it was better, and safer, to cross the valley and follow the bridleway on the other side. However, to my surprise I was able to safely get to the turning for Deepdale and onto the path that passes several houses on its way into a valley that I had never walked in before. And I found that I had been missing out on a lovely, quiet place with a stunning surround of high fells and a fabulous array of cliffs at the end.

My first goal for this walk was St. Sunday Crag which is usually climbed from Patterdale via the lower fells of Arnison Crag, or more usually, Birks, however since I was focusing just on the High Fells during this holiday I wanted to try a route that avoids these subsidiary tops and ascends straight for St. Sunday Crag. Therefore, after walking along Deepdale for a while, just after crossing Coldcove Gill I headed up the steep hillside on a wide path through dead bracken, beyond which an exceptionally faint path continued up the grassy fell. Slowly I made my way up the fellside in glorious sunshine with some lovely, little wild flowers in the ground, which revealed a spellbinding display that you simply do not see in the more heavily trodden areas of the Lake District. I would like to return in the summer to these slopes when these flowers would be at their best, though it is a shame that the sheep and popularity of the Lake District restricts displays such as these to such quiet locations. Further up, after weaving around rocks and in amongst heather and bilberry, I eventually reached Lord’s Seat where the ground levelled and afforded me with stunning views across the Far Eastern Fells and Birks, while a clear path now appeared directing me towards the striking conical point of Gavel Pike.

A steep climb, including a bit of a scramble, brought me to the top of the deliciously craggy Gavel Pike where the views in the fabulous sunshine were far-reaching and stunning. The top of St. Sunday Crag was now finally revealed, but the most picturesque views were over the top of Birks to the western tip of Ullswater nestled at the foot of Place Fell. It was now a simple matter for me to walk from Gavel Pike across the gently sloping terrain and up to the summit of St. Sunday Crag where the views continued to astound me in this tremendous weather. Fairfield still dominated the view at the head of Deepdale, but as I made my way down the glorious ridge it was the Helvellyn range that now drew my eye. From Deepdale Hause I started the fantastic climb onto Cofa Pike that is very steep, involving some delicious scrambling and it was great fun for me to keep to the top of the ridge over Cofa Pike and up the screes to Fairfield. I had passed over Fairfield a couple of days previously and I couldn’t count it twice, however since I had plenty of time I stood on the edge of the plateau gazing out towards the heart of the Lake District and enjoying the view.

During the ascent the Eastern Fells had dominated the views, but now the rest of the Lake District was opened out before me. I could see the distinctive dome of Great Gable on the horizon and from there I started to name the peaks on either side. This is a great game to play when at the top of a High Fell in the Lake District in great weather and time is not important with the splendid array of fells spread out before you. Eventually I set off once more heading towards the ridge that gradually descends towards Great Rigg, the fifty-third and final High Fell of my holiday. Unfortunately just as I started making my way down from Fairfield I realised that I had left my cagoule in the Youth Hostel. Any other day of the holiday this would have been a disaster, however fortunately it was warm, I didn’t need the jacket at that moment, or for the rest of the holiday as this was the last day so I could get it back at a later date. With this cloud hanging over me I reached the top of Great Rigg and the culmination of my challenge on this holiday. While having my lunch gazing out over the stunning Lakeland scenery I noticed a few people at the top were setting up for some sort of race. I kept out of their way and just as I was finishing the first runners appeared soon followed by others.

I had originally planned on descending to Grasmere over Stone Arthur, but with the weather being so good, and since I had plenty of time, and I didn’t want the walk to end, I stayed high heading south towards Ambleside. As I made my way along the ridge from Great Rigg I was passed by hundreds of fell runners streaming past me on the Fairfield Horseshoe Fell Race while I slowly, dawdling, headed along the ridge trying to keep out of their way. By the time I reached Heron Pike all the runners had passed and I was able to enjoy the fabulous ridge in the glorious weather all the way to Nab Scar and steeply down to Rydal Hall where some of the runners were already passing the finishing line having ran all the way around the nine mile circuit which includes three thousand feet of ascent. By the time I was passing through the grounds of Rydal Hall only the stragglers were left to finish, who had just ran the gruelling course in two and a quarter hours, which is considerably faster than I could have managed. They had amazing weather for the run, and I felt like the Lake District was trying to convince me to stay and, frankly I didn’t need much persuasion, but unfortunately I had no choice.

Usually after a fortnights holiday I’m ready to come home, but not this time. The Lake District is a really special place and given half a chance I would go there every holiday I get. I have to force myself to go somewhere else, because there is nowhere better in England. In the right weather there is nothing better than being at the top of a Lakeland fell and this holiday reminded me of that fact and it is going to be even harder to stay away.

Stony Cove Pike and High Street

Friday 11th May 2018

My target for this walk was to bag all seven summits in the Far Eastern Fells that are more than two and a half thousand feet high. Therefore despite overcast skies I set off from the Patterdale Youth Hostel heading along the eastern side of the valley until I got to the village of Hartsop where I joined the footpath that follows the main road as far as Brotherswater Inn. At that point I took a path that heads up the steep hillside towards Caudale Moor on a climb that I had never done before but I had wanted to do it for many years because Wainwright proclaimed that “of the many approaches to the summit, this is by far the best”. Many grooves in the steep hillside provided me with routes up, but it was difficult for me to find the right one until eventually I succeeded in finding a groove that took me onto the developing north-west ridge which leads to the disused Caudale Quarry. This is a fascinating place with a few openings into mines and shafts that delve deeply into the hillside. After a brief look around I continued on a path up the ridge into cold, southerly winds which were blowing over Caudale Moor. Wainwright gave the name Caudale Moor to the whole fell, but the Ordnance Survey gives the summit, in bigger typeface, the name of Stony Cove Pike, and so that is how I always think of this High Fell.

Making my way east across Caudale Moor in the strong winds I reached the large cairn that marks the summit of my first High Fell of the walk, Stony Cove Pike, also known as Caudale Moor. Continuing along the path I made my way towards Threshwaite Mouth with my next High Fell, Thornthwaite Crag, clearly in view ahead of me, but initially hidden from view was the sharp drop down to Threshwaite Mouth that involves a good bit of scrambling. This is a great, craggy traverse, though it was rather tiring, especially when climbing out on the other side. While trying to recall the last time I had made this traverse I had to go all the way back to 2009 when I climbed over ten Wainwrights around the Kirkstone Pass. Eventually I reached the large and impressive cairn that sits at the top of Thornthwaite Crag and from there I crossed the severely windswept slopes above the Kentmere valley and bypassing below Mardale Ill Bell I joined the path that leads down to Nan Bield Pass. To my right, in the valley, I could see that the Kentmere Reservoir was empty, drained of water, apparently for maintenance. It didn’t make for a good picture with better views to my left over Small Water to the still full Haweswater Reservoir in the distance.

On the other side of the Nan Bield Pass, the wind was stronger than ever and it took a lot of effort for me to battle through the cold winds climbing the craggy ridge until I finally managed to reach the top of Harter Fell. Due to the strong winds at the summit I sought shelter on the northern slopes, but I didn’t really succeed and towards the end of my lunch my now empty lunch bag blew away in the wind. I tried to chase after it, but increasingly steep ground prevented me from following as it soon blew over the cliff-face. It pains me to litter the countryside like this, but I had no choice so after finishing what was left of my lunch I made my way back against the ferocious wind that had assailed me on my way up to Harter Fell and now back down to Nan Bield Pass. With noticeably quieter winds on the other side I made my way up the path to reach the top of Mardale Ill Bell even though it is not a High Fell. It misses out on that honour by a mere four feet. A heavily manufactured path took me from the summit across the depression and up to the wall that passes over the top of High Street, the highest fell in the Far Eastern Fells. With now little wind to impede my progress I easily walked across the top to the summit of my fourth High Fell of the day, and on to the top of the Long Stile ridge where the views stretched all the way down to Haweswater with mist covering the fells beyond.

I continued along the edge of the cliffs above Hause Crag making my way down to the Straits of Riggindale where I joined the route of the Coast to Coast Walk as it makes its way around the windswept Head of Riggindale Beck and up to the small top of Kidsty Pike. There I left the Coast to Coast behind and battled the winds again while crossing the slopes of Rampsgill Head and up to my sixth High Fell of the day, High Raise, which was notably my fiftieth of this holiday, an amazing achievement. There is another High Raise in the Lake District, the highest point in the Central Fells, which is exactly two and a half thousand feet high, and since the defining characteristic of my challenge on this holiday was fells more than two and a half thousand feet high, it doesn’t qualify. It is, in fact, the highest fell not to qualify, but the real reason it was not to be included on my challenge was because it would have been too inconvenient to have visited it, as it would be the only High Fell in the Central Fells. After reaching the summit of the Mardale High Raise I turned my face into the wind and headed back down dull, grassy slopes and up to my final High Fell of the day, Rampsgill Head, barely stopping before rejoining the Coast to Coast route and when I finally turned my back on the wind I breathed a sigh of relief.

It was very windy on all the south-facing slopes on this walk with those final three High Fells being almost as windy as anywhere else on this walk. My descent passed by many tops and on all my previous visits to this area I have always diverted off the main path to bag them, but since they are less than the required height I decided I would stay on the Coast to Coast route on this occasion all the way down into Patterdale, which is something I had never actually done before. This walk was quite a challenge in places as I battled against strong winds under grey, overcast skies that unfortunately don’t lend themselves to photography. Nevertheless I always had views and when I was sheltered from the wind this was quite a lovely walk as I bagged all seven of the High Fells in the Far Eastern Fells.