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The dates listing these walks are the dates I uploaded the stories. They are in no particular order, and it doesn't matter because you were directed here from elsewhere!! I hope you enjoy the journey..


Pike of Blisco

Pike of Blisco to Crinkle Crags and Bowfell

8th December 2009.

Map: Landranger 90

Weather: Cold and overcast, walking in the clouds. Rain later as forecast.


A circular walk from Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, up Oxendale to Pike O’Blisco, down and up to the Crinkle Crags, on to Bowfell and back via The Great Slab, Climbers Traverse and The Band: 9.8 miles – as measured by the SatMap


I had arranged this walk via the walking forum, and so was committed to it despite the poor forecast. That’s the only set back to walking with friends as opposed to walking on my own. On my own I can pick and choose the day to suit the best weather forecast. The Met Office now seems to be getting fairly good with their weather predictions a couple of days before the event, and today’s forecast was absolutely spot on. I plotted out the route for this walk the previous day and looked at the elevation data – gulp – about 3900ft (it came out at 4200ft on the GPS). I had put a lot of weight back on over the last six months and was feeling a bit under the weather before we set off, and as I had already done this walk last year I knew what was coming. So I was togged up in my merino wool base layer, which kept me too warm at times, but I definitely needed it up on the higher peaks as it was close to freezing with the wind chill. I met up with Mike at J33 on the M6 and shared the car on the way up to Langdale. Graham was behind us and he had to leave early today to fetch his pooch for the journey home. We were a little delayed on the way, mainly due to flood damaged roads from the recent Lakeland deluges. At the Old Dungeon Ghyll car park (£5.80 for the day) we met up with Ian and Granty and got kitted out for the walk. I felt strangely beat before we set off and knew what was in store for the first few hours – up, up and more up. But I love the Langdales and it is always a delight to be here whatever the weather, and I have always had a view up Mickleden.


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Mickelden with Pike of Stickle on the right


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a misty Great Langdale


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on our way up Oxendale, looking over to the Langdales


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Great Langdale Beck


The eye is drawn to the shapely Pike of Stickle dominating the early view as we walked along to Stool End Farm. Pike of Stickle is the site of a Stone Age tool factory – there is a thin outcrop of Greenstone ( a volcanic Tuff), and you can still find rejects and stone flaked shards on the scree slopes – but they are very steep and I wouldn’t want to venture far down off the top. I’ll be walking up there in 2010 when the weather will allow me some time meandering around the area in search of a big chopper – that’s a Stone Age tool, so stop sniggering. The walk over to the farm is very gentle and a nice little warm up for the legs, and the path winds its way through a very neat farmyard. There are lots of tractors here, so there must be a bit of money in sheep farming apparently. We turned to face Oxendale and the valley sides loomed high above us a bit dark and gloomy. The beck wasn’t a torrent but was bubbling along excitedly over lots of boulders – it looked cold though. We crossed over to the other side via a wooden bridge and we had a momentary piece of blue sky up above.


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a brief patch of blue before disappearing into the murk


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it is steep up the side of Brown Howe


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but as always Pike of Stickle cries out for attention


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from a little higher up


The hard work started here and up we went up the steep slope, but assisted by a well laid path of stepping stones. The first hour of the walk is like a never ending staircase without a banister to hold onto, and I wheezed and puffed my way along. Ian had just got over Swine Flu, but it didn’t stop him making headway. Three of us struggled along at various stages, me more than most, and I was at the back of the field for a lot of the walk – absolutely no energy today. The path eases as we approached Red Tarn, and once on the top we turned left for the route up to the Pike of Blisco. The last few hundred feet weren’t too bad, but we could see up ahead that we wouldn’t have any views of the across the valley to the Langdale Pikes. We glanced back down to our route up occasionally for a rest and to enjoy the views before disappearing into the murk, and up to the summit. However it was another Wainwright bagged, and we were soon at the summit trig point posing for the obligatory picture of the grinning group, relieved to be on the first summit of the day.


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Pike of Blisco summit


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Not the MRT despite the colour co-ordination


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Wetherlam beyond Red Tarn


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just before we disappear in the clag


It was cold and we had a long climb ahead of us so it was a quick return back down to the col before heading up to Great Knott. It was a slow plod up a steady incline, steep enough for me, but because we were in the mist now, it wasn’t too exciting. By the time we were up above Great Cove I was absolutely bushed and was distinctly lacking in va, va, voom, so it was time to load up with some fuel. The wind was whipping over the tops, so we sat on the lee side of the crags and quickly consumed some lunch – soup and sarnies for me, and quickly got chilled as well. But I felt better for it for a while and we started off on our journey up to the Crinkle Crags and the ‘Bad Step’. Graham and I strode off up front chatting away - after waiting for Ian to catch us up – I think he’d had a call of nature and had taken a few minutes burrowing in his ‘long johns’ – well it was cold. We missed the ‘Bad Step’ as we didn’t spot it in the mist and the regular path leads away around and below it, but Granty caught us up quickly and turned us around. Ian and Mike had already climbed up and over the not so bad step, and were waiting for us. There is a small nobble of polished rock to step on, then a stretch for a good hand hold, and up and away. Ian said well done, just like an old pro....more like an old tart I replied.


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a fine spot for lunch up on Great Knott


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just after the 'Bad Step'


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a hint of clear sky at the Crinkle Crags


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looking back to the Pike of Blisco from the Crinkle Crags


We were soon up on the top, and up and down along the Crinkles, but the trouble was we didn’t (me) pay attention to the route and it was very easy just to follow the path along, which took us West along Long Top, instead of North. Luckily Mike asked ‘did we want to walk to the Scafells?’, so we retraced our steps across the slopes and up to the last Crinkle – well spotted that man. We dropped down off the Crinkles and up to Shelter Crags where we were rewarded with a brief view of the Langdale valley far below, and back to Pike of Blisco and Red Tarn. We never did see the summit of Bowfell, just the scree path up the lower slopes. There are superb views from here on a clear day, but now it was just clag above us and misty below. We could see down to the Three Tarns at Bowfell Links, and across to our return route down the Band. The route down to the Three tarns is on a clearly defined path, but if you go up on all of the crags the route down takes you over a boulder field. At this stage of the walk I felt absolutely whacked and new that it was going to be a grind up to the summit – I offered to race Mike if he gave me an hour’s start, but even then he might have beat me to it.


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the best view we had all day of the Great Langdale Valley




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Three Tarns at the base of Bowfell


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the rubbly path up to Bowfell


Down below us I could see a couple about to start the ascent up the scree path, and I thought they were elderly. Imagine my horror as they caught me up and soon passed me on their way to the summit – thank goodness they were a lot younger than I thought, so I didn’t feel so bad. The others set off at a rate of knots, while me and another plodded up, and at least I had some company – I had a can of Red Bull but it didn’t give me wings. But at least I had some interesting looking geology to look at – the same convoluted bedding as can be seen over on Pen below Scafell Pike. Besides the Great Slab there are a fair few other slabs tilting down towards Mickelden far below. But I never ventured across for a look as it’s a long way down to the valley floor over the buttresses, although looking back up from below I think there would be a way up or down a few of these. Eventually I staggered up near the top where a posse of fellow walkers pointed me to the summit.


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Pike of Blisco a bit further away now


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interesting convoluted bedding - the same as on Scafell


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The Great Slab of Bowfell


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descending at the side of the slab


So I wandered up to the top where I couldn’t see anything and came back again. We hopped down some boulders back down towards the Great Slab, again with limited or no views which is always a shame having made the effort to get up there. At the top of the Great Slab it didn’t look so bad as we couldn’t see the drops far below to Mickelden. Initially we tried to walk on the slab but it was very slippery after the prolonged wet period we have had, and hence very mossy. We stayed over to the left side of the slab where there was a little remnant of snow, which proved just as treacherous to walk on. So our last option was to walk down the boulders, which were generally ok, but I had a near ankle snapping moment when my foot disappeared down a hole. The best way down off the slab is to veer around to the left at the base, otherwise it’s a drop off about 10ft down a steep mossy bank down to the climbers traverse below - the path is a good one, and we couldn’t mistake it for anything else. There was a wonderful flow of cool clear water out of the moss in a mini cascade. I filled my water (filtered) bottle and it tasted wonderful. Ian and Granty imbibed freely directly from the moss and neither of them suffered any after effects. The climbers traverse path obviously leads climbers up to the big buttresses of Bowfell, but for us it led back to The Band, gently undulating as we went along.


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Mike doing his Spiderman impersonation


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The traverse below the Great Slab


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some impressive butresses even in the gloom


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walking along the traverse to the Band


I will definitely return this way to walk up to Bowfell once more for the stunning views across to the Scafells. The traverse meets up with the route down to The Band and as we made our way down the path is clear. It is stepped to death here and it interrupts the stride pattern – it’s either too short or too long a stretch which isn’t good for aching muscles and joints. A reminder to self and anyone else who is reading this is to check your laces before dropping down off a steep slope – my toes really suffered today due to lose laces and that rarely happens to me normally. It’s a long relentless decent, but at least we were now down below the clouds. The weather forecast rain at 3pm and so it did – but at least the prevailing wind was at our backs. Every time I stopped to take a picture I got further behind, but the others kindly waited at the bottom of the hill for me. Once back to the valley we returned the way we had come, through the farm and back to the car park at the ODG. All that was left was to change out of a sweaty top or two and nip into the Old Dungheon Ghyll Hotel for a very satisfying pint of Black Sheep – well earned and well worth it – another brilliant day.


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the walk down The Band


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Almost back at the start

Skiddaw

Skidding up Skiddaw

16th December 2009.

Map: Landranger 90

Weather: Cold, low cloud, sleet, snow, and not much sunshine.

A circular walk from Milbeck up to Dodd, then on to Carl Side, Long Side and Ullock Pike. Back along the ridge and up to Skiddaw summit, down to Little Man. Down to Latrigg and return to Milbeck: 13.4 miles – as measured by the SatMap


I felt a little better than I did last week and didn’t suffer as much with the climbs today, although it was still tough going. Today’s walk was designed as a Wainwright bagging exercise to collect 5 on this round, but we altered the route along the way and bagged 7 altogether. To be honest I hadn’t really looked closely at the route until the night before and after a quick chat with Ian we decided to start with Dodd as opposed to going straight for Carl Side. This was a good decision as it took the sting out of the steepest sustained routes up to the top. The weather forecast for today wasn’t brilliant and it proved to be in footballer’s parlance – a walk of two halves. Up above 500 to 600m our world was various shades of white and grey, below was grey, but at least we could see some views. There seems to be a lot of building work going on in Milbeck and we were lucky to get two spots in the lay-by right next to the start of our route. Ian, Andy and James had set off from Nottingham way about 5am – now that’s dedication and the reason why we were going to walk here whatever the weather. Andy is an ex-footballer and relatively youthful, which meant he was impressive going up the inclines today – his secret was that he has been using the stairs at work and not the lift – there’s a lesson there somewhere for us all. Ian wasn’t far behind while Granty and self enjoyed the scenery but not the cold.

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Looking back down to the start of the walk - not great weather


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The view over to the Derwent Fells - Catbells is prominent, as is the flood water


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The marker stone on Dodd summit


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The drop down before the up to Carlside


The main thing to remember about the landscape around these parts i.e Blencathra and Skiddaw is that they are massive lumps that rise swiftly from the surrounding area – no easy ways up here, and they dominate the surrounding hills. They are also made up of shales as opposed to the volcanic rocks a little further South, and that gives them a different appearance to many of the Lakeland fells. Once we were kitted up there was no gentle introduction, it was up and more up – it just varied in its steepness. The initial pull was straight uphill after a couple of 100yds along the hillside, and then crossed over through some woodland before levelling out on a forest track. Fortunately we had some views down over to Catbells and the Newlands round, with the big boys Grasmoor and Crag Hill heads up in the clouds. Generally it was pretty gloomy, but we weren’t and once we got to easier ground we had a good natter.


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looking back to Dodd before we disappeared in the murk


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up into the sleet - ouch


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Just about at the top of Carlside


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Nice and warm...


The fields below were still looking very wet from the deluges of the past few weeks, and I can’t begin to imagine how dreadful it must have been for the residents around the area. This was my third walk in a row with inclement weather and restricted views – the moral of the story is to maybe stay a little lower when out walking in November. There was a lot of ascent today but because the route split up into three parts, it didn’t seem so bad. The main attraction to the masses of Skiddaw is that it’s a big hill with relatively straightforward paths, and you should be rewarded by cracking views from the top for your efforts in attaining the summit. Our reward for all the hard work was just the joy of being out and about, in good company – cold or otherwise – the weather I mean. I felt a bit more energised than I did the previous walk up the Pike of Blisco, but that didn’t stop me lagging behind a bit up to the top of Skiddaw – damned camera and taking pictures!


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a brief glimpse of Bassenthwaite below


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not much to see along Longside Edge


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Snowy and icy up the slopes of Skiddaw


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the higher we got the icier it was


The route up to Dodd wound back on itself along the forest tracks and provided a gentler gradient to ascend up to the first Wainwright of the day. Judging by the number of benches up this path, it must be well populated at the weekends with good views down over the surrounding valley and the Derwent Fells. We made good time up to the summit of Dodd, but we could also see the steep path up to Carl Side and the gloom that wasn’t going to shift for anyone. We didn’t hang about on Dodd no matter how tickled we were to be up there, and made a rapid descent back to the col cairn and the start of the path up to the next objective. But that little down path gave us all a breather – not that the others needed it. We did make good time today though considering the conditions, with no real slackers until Skiddaw, and I still maintain that I am at the back of the field to monitor safety and take lots of photos! Shortly after the start of the ascent up to Carl Side the sleet started to slant in, needle sharp and the conversation drifted off to silence and a grimace against the weather. It was like being at the dentist, with a numbing cold on the side of the face despite trying to protect against the prevailing wind. The steep path up meets the ridge path up to the summit cairn – a low pile of stones – and it was a trudge up, but steep gets you up there quicker. Up on the top it became a little bit more of a dusting of snow, but not enough to be slippery. The wind was cold and biting, so we reviewed our options and decided to head down to Long Side and Ullock Pike, which gave us a breather before heading up to Skiddaw itself.


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Even the stones were shivering


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almost up on Skiddaw


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a very cold summit trig point


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telling us what we couldn't see


There isn’t a whole bunch of up and down to Ullock Pike, but when we got there the clouds briefly parted to allow us a glimpse of the scenery further north. But that’s all it was, and we were soon enveloped in the mist again, and bloody cold it was as well – the wind chill was down close to zero or below I’m sure. We retraced our steps up to Long Side, dipped down in the lee of the hill and had a very quick standing lunch. This was no place to be standing still in the bitter wind and it didn’t take long to get some numb fingers. We set off refreshed and Ian steered us away towards the Skiddaw path before we got back to Carl Side, and it veers away to the left passing by Carlside Tarn along a gentle ascent. As we got to the flank of Skiddaw the path rose steeply up into the white ahead. Andy led the way followed by Ian and as we gained height the dusting of snow turned to a layer of snow and ice. Granty suffered a bit here due to his height and didn’t fancy returning down this way again. If it had got any worse we wouldn’t have made it further up the slope as none of us had crampons, and only one walking pole between us – I suppose we could have used it in relays. But soon enough the snow lay a little deeper and the footholds were easier to maintain and kick into secure steps. The others sped up towards the summit ridge while I took a few pictures of the grey out. Eventually I joined the others as the ridge crested out and I made a dash for the summit, to cheat the others out of their glory – not really though I was at the back of the field again.


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proof we were on Little Man


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out of the gloom below Little Man


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the views of Keswick


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the shale path down off Little Man


The summit area was frozen solid with lots of ice and a nice information plinth that the Queen put up here in her Silver Jubilee year – I wonder if she wore a crown? One of the pointers was to Carlisle, I thought it said Carling and was all for heading off that way. We didn’t mooch around long because it was Baltic and getting a tad windy. We posed by the trig for a group shot, but that turned out a blur due to the spindrift blowing around, so it was a quick about turn and head off to Little Man. We took a heading off the summit as the paths were covered with a thin layer of snow blown into shallow drifts. Granty again struggled with the slippery slope, so he had a borrow of the stick which helped. We went slightly askew o the way down, but stopped when we saw how steep the slopes became. We checked our position and adjusted our route over towards Little Man. The path was easy enough and the gradient easy, but the wind freshened and it got even colder although we were lower down the slope. We stood on top of Little Man, another viewless Wainwright today, and Ian proposed that we take a new route down instead of the return to Carl Side. This turned out to be a much better way down and we hurried off the summit on a good well defined shale path that is the main path that people use to get up to Skiddaw. What a difference once we were below the cloudbase, we finally had something to look over, Keswick down below, Derwent Water and its surrounding mountains a little further away, and the Helvellyn range to the left. Far away below we spotted the Castlerigg Stone circle in amongst the fields, sitting on a flattish platform that has good views of all the surrounding fells. Behind us Little Man and Skiddaw were still in cloud and remained that way for the rest of the day – what a contrast a week later when I walked up Barf (see here).


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the view back to Dodd before we went over to Latrigg


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The Derwent Fells again


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The sheppards cross - as well he might be on a day like this


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Doddy again


The further down the slopes we got the more came into view, including a patch of sunlight further to the north around the Solway Firth, and the Isle of Man to the south of west - suprising really with all the gloom around, but I took a reference and checked it out on the maps when I got home. To the east was the lower slopes of Blencathra and Little and Great Mell fells, so despite the gloom we still had a good vista. On the lower slopes we walked past a decorated Celtic cross that commemorates 2 sheep breeders – strange but I presume they must have been special. As we reached the lower slopes towards a car park Latrigg lay before us and as we had made good time Ian suggested that we bag another Wainwright. It would have been rude not to so we set off across the grassy slopes on a neat and tidy path. Whilst the others meandered ahead, I snapped off a few shots and then took a short cut across the grass – I could sense at least one of the others questioning my parentage as I cut the corner. There is a fine viewpoint over the fells from Latrigg and there is a carefully positioned bench overlooking this fine view – must be very popular at the weekend. Once again we retraced our steps back over Latrigg and Mallen Dodd and then turned along some woodland into a field above Birkett Wood Farm. We had a slight detour along a fence line which was a sheep track, and we all followed like sheep. We were blocked out by gorse bushes so had to walk back up the hill, but at least it was all downhill from there to Milbeck.


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the finish in sight


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Catbells in full view now


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the view from Latrigg summit


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all downhill from here back to the start


We could see the road and a clearly marked path across the fields, passing through Ornathwaite and Applethwaite in the dusk – we started in the gloom and finished in the gloom today, arriving back at Milbeck just in time. We decided a pint in Scales at the White Lion was in order, but when we got there it was closed, so we nipped back down to Threlkeld. Into the first pub we galloped, where a local was sat nursing a pint – ‘Were not open until 5’, so once again it was about turn and across the road to the Horse and Farrier – no blazing fireplace, but the Cumberland Ale was sweet tasting. Another great day & company – more of the same in 2010, but please give us some views at the top.

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Enjoying life. Work in Norway, walk anywhere.

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