Little Hart Crag and High Pike

Saturday 21st December 2019

The previous day I had completed all of the fells that I had planned for this holiday, which left me with an open choice of where to go for my final day in the Lakes. When I saw the weather forecast indicated light winds I decided I would try to climb some of the high fells north of Ambleside so I wouldn’t have to travel anywhere since that was where I was staying. I had enjoyed good, calm weather the day before and based on the forecast I thought the weather for this walk would be similar, but as I left the youth hostel it was a grey, misty day with rain at first, and though this soon stopped the poor weather continued all day. After passing through Ambleside I walked up to Sweden Bridge Road and out of the town on an enclosed lane that is typical of the Lake District. Behind me the view opened out over Ambleside with Windermere in the misty distance while over the wall to my left Rydal Water could just be seen past the wooded surroundings of Rydal. Soon the track passed into beautiful woodland with the Scandale Beck running at the bottom of the valley until eventually I came out of the wood not from from High Sweden Bridge that is described by Wainwright as “one of Lakeland’s most iconic stone bridges”. Despite this I had never seen it before as I had not previously been in this valley.

Scandale is a wide, secluded valley that has recently been planted with hundreds of trees, which I have seen the National Trust do in many other parts of the Lake District. The weather was not great as I made my way up the valley with light rain passing through and clouds hanging low overhead. As the end of the valley approached, the steep ridge of Bakestones loomed oppressively ahead, but fortunately my path took gentler slopes into the clouds and eventually reaching the top of Scandale Pass. I have descended to this pass many times before when crossing between Red Screes and Little Hart Crag, but never before have I taken the paths up to it. When I was last there in 2018 I bypassed the summit of Little Hart Crag, but now I diverted up the windswept, craggy terrain to the summit. After bagging the top I returned to the main path and turning right followed the fence posts that lead towards Dove Crag, however I wanted to take the path up Bakestones. In 2016 while on the Bakestones path I noticed that the path is not clear (the Walker’s Edition of Wainwright’s guide describes it as “intermittent”) so in view of the poor visibility I stayed on the clear path until the terrain steepened.

At that point I turned south keeping to the foot of the rising ground following sheep trods and turned uphill only after I had passed the faint Bakestones path, but taking my own route up Scandale Head. I failed to see the tall Bakestones cairn in the mist, and eventually discovered the now clear path above the cairn which led me to the ridge wall, lined with snowdrift, coming down from Dove Crag. It was bitterly cold at this point with rain and wind coupled with snow on the ground that made the conditions really tricky as I wrapped up against the harsh weather and carefully made my way beside the wall through the snow south. Soon, as I descended, the conditions eased and eventually I reached the cairn at the top of High Pike where I was able to stop and have my lunch. After High Pike the ridge steepens with rocky ground to negotiate, which I found to be a little tricky in the wet conditions. When a sudden upthrust of rock appeared through the mist I realised I had reached Low Pike, so I climbed up to reach the small cairn that marks the top. Continuing down the ridge I came upon a wide marsh where a small sign helpfully warns of a deep bog and recommends keeping to the wall, though this was just as wet.

Even though I had now fallen below the clouds the views were pathetic, but at least the path improved as it diverted around the rock step on Sweden Crag with a good surface underfoot that took me past the turning to High Sweden Bridge and all the way down until eventually I crossed Low Sweden Bridge. Passing through Ambleside I finally returned to my car exhausted after a walk that had required careful concentration to navigate complex terrain in poor weather conditions. There was no chance to relax and enjoy the walk as I had been able to do on the previous two days, but it was still satisfying to have managed to complete the walk despite the weather. Even though this was a very short holiday in the Lake District, it once again reminded me just how much I love this place and why I had gone out of my way to get up there.

Kentmere Pike, Tarn Crag and Grey Crag

Friday 20th December 2019

Despite misty, heavily overcast conditions on this day, there was no rain and hardly any wind, which made for a surprisingly good walk. On coming up to the Lake District I had forgotten that I had originally also wanted to go up Kentmere Pike, so when I realised I made a hasty change of plans to include it even though I could have ignored my original intentions, but that would have ruined what I have planned for the future for no good reason. Driving up the narrow road through the water-logged Kent Valley I parked near the church in the tiny village of Kentmere and set off down the road across the river and up to Green Quarter where a path heads across the slopes of Green Quarter Fell. Soon I was so hot I had to take off several layers before venturing across the saturated fields. I took this path in 2004 coming down from the Kentmere Round and now I was going in the other direction while reflecting on the fifteen years that have passed since. I was much younger then, but I have climbed many mountains since and in many ways experience is far more valuable than youth.

The view was limited due to low cloud, however in better weather there must be a fine view, and I had no wind, which felt rather spooky as I walked across the boggy fell as there is almost always at least a breeze on a hill. When I reached the top of the pass I crossed the wide byway and took the path beside a fence, initially passing through bogs before tackling the glorious rocks up Wray Crag and into the clouds. At the summit of Shipman Knotts I found no cairn, however Wainwright informs us the highest point is the other side of the wall on the middle of three rocky knolls, however there is no way over the wall. I did find that three stones have been positioned on the western side of the wall opposite the highest point, which the latest edition of Wainright’s guide, the Walker’s Edition, indicates is intermittent with the stones sometimes being used to repair the wall (and the stones could also have been taken from the wall). Having climbed high there was now a cold, but light wind as I continued north across more mundane, grassy terrain, and as I couldn’t resist the temptation I diverted up to the top of Goat Scar, even though I couldn’t see anything from there in the mist.

From the cairn at the top of Goat Crag I returned to the fence and followed it up the broad grassy slopes of Kentmere Pike all the way up to the summit where a trig point confidently marks the top, although this is disputed by a cairn on the other side of the wall. Having achieved my goal for the day before noon I was now left with a choice of what to do next, but with relatively good, meaning calm, weather I felt I had to take advantage and bag the two fells that I had planned for the following day. These would involve a descent east into Longsleddale, but with snow patches on this high fell and steep crags lining the valley that could be dangerous in these misty conditions. Wainwright mentions a route off Kentmere Pike down Steel Rigg, but only recommends it in clear weather so I decided I would use the security of a wall to descend to the disused Wrengill Quarry. After crossing the Wren Gill I climbed up to an old pipeline and followed that keeping well away from the quarry workings until I reached the clear track over Gatescarth Pass. I had stunning views back up towards the snow-speckled ridge over Harter Fell and down the valley to the distant green fields of Longsleddale.

With a fleeting threat of rain in the air I had my lunch before setting off through the horrendously boggy Brownhowe Bottom while behind me Harter Fell began to emerge from the clouds. The boot-sucking bogs continued all the way up to the top of the pass where I turned right and headed south towards Tarn Crag. Half way up I turned around and saw that both Harter Fell and its neighbour across the Gatescarth Pass, Branstree, which I had climbed the day before, had appeared from the clouds and was producing a stunning sight. Continuing up I eventually reached the distinctive survey pillar that was constructed by the Haweswater Reservoir engineers and sits just a short distance from summit of Tarn Crag. Returning to the fence I could see that the clouds were continuing to lift and afforded me with views east along snow-lined grassy ridges and across Greycrag Tarn. Crossing this marsh with dry feet was going to be a challenge and despite keeping to the fence I had many wet moments to contend with, especially one towards the end when I appeared to be walking on water, upon a thick matt of moss that vibrated and rippled under my feet.

Finally I was across to the far side of the marsh and started climbing into the thickening clouds at the top of Grey Crag. I had previously climbed these fells on the eastern fringe of the Lake District in 2010 in weather that was no better than on this occasion and just as then I was rather thankful to get off these dreary, boggy fells and down increasingly steep terrain until I finally reached the old quarry road at the bottom of the valley. With the weather worsening I climbed through misty rain over the pass from Sadgill to Kentmere, ignoring the turning at the top of the pass onto the Green Quarter path that I had taken on my way up, and continued along the byway to Stile End taking the road from there back to Kentmere. This was an exhilarating walk in weather that was usually pleasantly calm, despite low cloud, even though the ground was horribly wet underfoot. It was most satisfying to have completed all the fells that I had set as my target for this holiday and still have another day left when I could do anything I wanted.