Rambling Pete's Day Walks

Jacks Rake, the Langdales

2010-08-07T07:19:00.002+01:00

Harter Fell & Hard Knott

2010-08-07T07:18:00.002+01:00

Gowbarrow Fell

2010-08-07T07:16:00.002+01:00

Bonscale Pike

2010-08-07T07:15:00.002+01:00

Harthope Burn, Northumberland

2010-08-07T07:14:00.002+01:00

Routin Linn, Northumberland

2010-08-07T07:12:00.004+01:00

Steeple from Wasdale

2010-05-29T10:17:00.000+01:00

Ben Ledi in the Trossachs

2010-05-23T17:40:00.001+01:00

Tarn Crag & others

2010-05-09T09:09:00.002+01:00

A walk from near Grasmere up to Tarn Crag, High Raise, down to Sargeant Crag & Eagle Crag. Cross the valley and up the C2C by Lining Crag and Greenup Edge. Up to Ullscarf then steeply down into the valley and up the other side to Steel Fell, returning to the start.

Story later - enjoy the pictures of a fantastic day...14.5 miles and over 5000ft of ascent...ouch

Holm Fell and Black Fell

2010-05-04T09:32:00.000+01:00

Seat Sandal

2010-04-26T08:57:00.006+01:00

...

Raven Crag

2010-04-26T08:57:00.005+01:00

...

Moel Siabod

2010-04-24T10:27:00.001+01:00

Whinlatter and friends

2010-04-21T19:39:00.001+01:00

As the weather forecast was OK for today 20-4-2010, and I still hadn't heard from work, I decided to nip up to the lakes and do a low level walk - too windy to go up high. I walked from near Darling How in the Whinlatter forest, up to Graystones, then onto Broom Fell, and Lord's Seat. Then it was a wind down through forest rides and across to Whinlatter to finish - that's another few Wainwrights done and to my eternal shame I didn't get any Brucies - couldn't find the self timer :-[

It was a cold wind blowing on the tops, but nice and warm in the sunny spots. Apart from the initial haul up to Graystones, which had my legs howling in protest (no warm up), it was a fairly easy stroll which my dodgy knee managed. But despite walking on my own, I still finished last...

Here's a few pics...and nows the time to visit all the boggy wainwrights if you wan't to keep your feet dry

Helvellyn - Catsty Cam

2010-04-14T16:58:00.001+01:00

Another pending story of derring do....soon

Attermire Scar - Yorkshire

2010-04-08T11:18:00.000+01:00

Settle down now

2010-04-05T10:03:00.002+01:00

Story to come soon....

Lingmoor Fell

2010-04-01T11:12:00.002+01:00

6 miles with 1800ft of ascent - typical Manchester weather :(

Four of us ventured out to the Lake District yesterday - Self, Dixie, Cogstar and Peakbagger. The forecast wasn't great and as we sat in the car at 09:30 with sleet coming down, we discussed our options - as in shall we go home now. Cogstar and me were up in Ambleside the day before, and as Prince Charles was rumoured to be in town, Paul made me drink 5 pints..

Mountain Mike was a little later than expected due to the traffic, and as the weather was forecast to be a little snowy we decided to do a small walk a little lower than planned. We drove down to Chapel Stile and got ready - we had a vague route that entailed walking to the far end of Lingmoor Fell, up to the top and walk along and back down to Chapel Stile.

Simple enough, and off we went. Now my eyesight isn't brilliant without my glasses.....and who decided that I would be routemaster, I've no idea....Up the road and into the quarry we went, only slightly away from the real path. We kind of knew we were in the wrong place when we had to scarmble up a mossy bank, and then boulder hop a little while...then the quarryman appeared asking us if we'd like a little help :-[, I was only slightly embarassed as he led us across to the real path - I knew it was there but no one would listen...

Then it was on through the woods, passing by a road sign ???, on a good track to the end of Lingmoor Fell - where I pointed out that we should go around the end a bit....but it appears the others took that as 'lets go up this way' - so we did. It was steep, and wet and snowy, but we made good ground up to near the top. We found ourselves in amongst some Juniper scrub and took time out for some refreshments. At this level it was pretty windy and the ground had a fresh snow cover of a few inches - it was great for snowballs btw.

After some snap someone set off up the hill and we ended up in the middle of a veritable forest of Juniper >:( - thankfully it doesn't grow really thickly and the branches yield to a bit of shove - all the better for letting go and batting the person behind. It was a tiring battle though, but we came out of the other side. No more excitement for a while as it was a plod along some very boggy ground - thankfully snow covered. No real views to be had, behind us we saw Pike of Blisco once, passed by a small tarn and followed the wall along, even though the path was on the other side - we wondered what the stile was for. ::)

Then it was just a case of a gentle walk down the end of the hill back to Chapel Stile - gentle for three of us, but a resounding splat for Cogstar - hence he's a little bit broken. He does need to get down to KwikFit for a retread of his boots, as constant slipping is not good for the muscles..

A great little walk that was 100% better than we thought it would be, and the pub was open for a pint as well. Thanks to all and it was nice to meet up with Dixie - a real gent and good company.

Here's a few pics - not good due to the weather (

Stone Arthur

2010-04-01T11:10:00.003+01:00

Troutbeck Tongue

2010-04-01T11:08:00.000+01:00

Illgill Head & Whin Rigg

2010-03-09T16:49:00.002Z

Binsey

2010-03-09T16:47:00.002Z

Northern exposure....

Styhead

2010-03-09T16:42:00.002Z

Arnison Crag

2010-03-09T16:40:00.002Z

A quick walk up Arnison Crag from Patterdale....why did he pick this one?

Hartsop Dodd

2010-03-09T16:37:00.001Z

Wasdale Views

2010-03-09T16:33:00.000Z

Sale Fell and Ling Fell

2010-03-09T16:29:00.001Z

Pictures from a Wasdale weekend

Sallows and Sour Hawes

2010-03-03T17:44:00.000Z

Words fail me at times what a great day out

Sty Head, Yewbarrow and Red Pike

2010-03-03T17:39:00.002Z

Story to follow....will I ever get it written....?

Hindscarth, Dale Head and Robinson

2010-01-30T19:12:00.003Z

Hindscarth, Dale Head and Robinson

29th January 2010.
Map: Landranger 90
Weather: Cool, early sunshine giving way later to a blizzard, then clear again.

A circular walk from just past Little Town, up Hindscarth, over to Dale Head. Back to Robinson, and then down to Newlands Hause. Up to Knott Rigg and on to Ard Crags returning down to the car park: 11.6 miles – as measured on SatMap

This walk was arranged a few weeks ago at the time of Ice Age Britain. I finalised the route after I’d bought an ice axe and crampons, thus ensuring a rapid thaw ensued. A week ago I had walked the adjacent crags and looking across I fancied walking up here next to bag a few more wainwrights, and get a good look back to the adjacent fells – there’s always an adjacent crag in the Lake District – well almost everywhere. The Derwent Fells are a distinct group of ridges all with a strong west-east trend, shaped by periods of glaciations in the last ice ages. The weather forecast was good, cold but good so we were all hopeful of a good day out in the hills. Paul lured me up to Grasmere the night before the walk to an offer of a cheap B&B at the Red Lion and much refreshment. Six pints of Dent Aviator Ale and a chicken pizza later I was really ready for a walk – not an ideal preparation for a stomp up the hills. I thought staying up in the lakes the night before would be an added advantage & reduce my driving times. It is certainly more relaxing, but I have to remember that there are no motorways around here and breakfast starts at 8am. Despite this I had a steady drive over from Grasmere, taking the long way around to the meet point, I made it in time just, and so did everyone else.

We agreed to start at 8:30am and that took some dedication from the guys today as they had to travel from afar – Nottinghamshire and Hull in East Yorkshire - they were up and away at 4:30 and 5:15 to get here on time. Today’s walk was well attended by Catherine, Dave, Tony, Micky, Mark and Ian. It was a delight to meet new and old faces and we all had a good chat at some stage during the day. Thankfully they got the weather they deserved and between us all we have some cracking pictures. It was a good parking spot beyond Little Town and the day started out with a guffaw. Some of you may remember when coal was delivered to your door – well Dave got out his daysack and it was much the same weight as a sack of coal, only not so grubby. We all attempted to lift it and didn’t envy him the task of humping that uphill and down dale. Next up was Mark who stood there a little puzzled at how his boots could have jumped out of the car and ran back inside his house, because that’s where they were. He must have had cold feet sometime in the day because he ended up walking in trainers – but he never complained and they sped him to the top of Hindscarth. Off we set into a really pleasant morning, turning into a field full of contractor’s machinery, Lorries and cars. They were there for repairing some snow and ice damage I think, and I’m glad we got parked before they got going – there seemed to be a communal reluctance to leave the warmth of their cabs, reading the papers, drinking some tea and having a tab. I preferred what we were doing though – the early signs were good – blue sky, fluffy clouds, a bit breezy, but all conditions conducive to a cracking walk.

So there we were, 7 of the magnificent variety with a range of walking fitness from the sublime to the knackered – some mountain goats, some not so much (I include myself in the latter category), but we all managed the walk ok. Today’s route was a good one as it had a couple of ‘get out of jail’ cards thrown in where we could cut the walk short if required. I got reminded in the bar last night that we wouldn’t need crampons, but I didn’t remember if that was before or after the six pints. I quaffed a tin of Red Bull and a few oat cakes and we were off crossing the fields to the base of the fell. The Derwent Fells are characteristically steep on the way up and down and the path up to Hindscarth isn’t any different – so if you only walk on the flat it can be a bit of a shock to the system, especially the legs and lungs. We passed by a small farm and cut up the side of the fell to the ridge line, passing a Highland cow and a horse – the horse wasn’t too keen on sharing his hay either and he let the cow know it.

We had plenty of stops along the way as we turned to admire a sunlit Skiddaw behind us and the dusted peaks ahead of us. Mark is in training for the national 3-peaks challenge, so he decided that the early pace was a bit sluggish, and with a quick ‘meep meep’ off he set like the roadrunner. It was the last we saw of him for a little while as he attained the heights of Hindscarth in a mighty impressive 1hr 6mins – mind you he had to hunker down in the summit shelter for a little while to wait for the less fleet of foot. This was the biggest walk for some of us for a while and as we walked steeply up the ridge the group splintered somewhat, but we all made our own way, stopping and admiring the adjacent fells, the summit ahead and a cloud free Skiddaw and Blencathra – a rare event if ever I saw one. The wind was chill, but on the sunny side of the hill it was really pleasant.

About ¾ of the way up to Hindscarth a few of us pressed on to walk over to Dale Head, whilst the others recuperated on the summit of Hindscarth. Once we were up above the snowline the Helvellyn range hove into view over to the south east complete with a fresh dusting of snow to walk on. The conditions were ok with the occasional patches of ice/snow to negotiate. Tony had driven over from Hull this morning and as an ex-marine showed his pedigree by steaming up the last pull to Hindscarth without a bead of sweat appearing. We had a good chat about his upcoming adventure with some cadets, the only downside I could see is the responsibility for a bunch of lads – boys will be boys. I’m looking forward to his stories when he gets back. He was first up the slope and zoomed past the summit shelter and Mark, who was well camouflaged against the dark stones – good job it wasn’t snowing – we’d never have spotted him. He had all his gear on and he must have been a bit chill waiting for us.

Once we were up on the top of Hindscarth we had a fantastic 360deg panorama, with great clarity of light we could see for miles, as well as a couple of fighter jets flying past us. We did a gentle pirouette and could see much of the Lake District and all the big boys, over to the Isle of Man, and up to Scotland – magnificent and worth the toil. The snow here was only 1 or 2 inches and it was a nice carpet to walk along, but there was the odd patch of Neve here and there which concentrates the mind a bit. It was a pleasant stroll over to Dale Head, stopping to take in the vista now and again and we bagged the second wainwright of the day, albeit at different times. It has a tremendously neat cairn, just right for leaning on to admire the views – from here we could pick out the Langdales and the back of Pike of Stickles head. The Scafells, Bow Fell and the Crinkles were recognisable as was Pillar across Ennerdale. The pointy outline of Catstye Cam could also be seen close to Helvellyn itself – it’s no wonder wainwright spent so much time on his drawings as the hills look so different from this aspect – what a great pastime he had.

We didn’t hang about too long on the summit of Dale Head as the others would be waiting around at Hindscarth and would be getting a bit chill – but Dave being the consummate gentlemen leant Dibs his jumper. Looking back over Hindscarth the sky was ominously grey, but on the plus side it made for a great picture of Micky coming down the snowy slope. We all met up again at the col below Hindscarth and Lexi looked a bit peckish, and waited patiently for some tasty morsels coming her way – what a lovely dog, my Cornish pasty didn’t last too long. I must remember some doggie biscuits next time so she can pull me uphill when needed. I was a bit surprised today as I thought that after last night’s juice I would struggle up the slopes, but I was generally not too bad. A short stop for some refreshments and a look over to the dark lump of Pillar rock, we were ready to move off again. The drop down off Hindscarth was straightforward but all the while the storm clouds were moving in from the north – that’s why the wind was a bit chill, and the cloud base got lower and lower. So we knew we were in for some sort of rain/sleet/snow and snow it did. We were a little on the way up Robinson, self and Dave were busy having a natter at the back of the field when the blizzard came down. It wasn’t too stingy but it pretty well obliterated everything and didn’t look like it was going to go away fast anywhere soon. It was followed by the quiet - with big gobs of snow falling, but still we plodded on and up. Dave wearing his big woolly jumper and with his hat he looked like a Russian storm trooper - snow clad but happy to be out.

In all the meet ups I’ve had over the last year or so I’ve never met anyone yet whose been an arse – maybe they’ll all turn up one day at the same time? Everyone I’ve met has been great and we’re all united by a love of walking and the surrounds – it’s just the occasional steep climb that is the bar steward. The main group went straight up the side of Robinson close to the wall in increasingly white out conditions, while self and Dave chatted away at the back. The others disappeared into the murk and we started to cut across the slope towards the summit – handy these Satmap GPS sets. The others thought that we’d got lost but eventually we all merged together at the summit in conditions that were best described as a little wintery. Up on the summit poor Lexi was wearing a windblown veil of snow and looked none too impressed with the way it was. Here we had a quick talk about continuing the route or cutting it short by walking down off Robinson back to the valley. We all thought that it was best to call it a day in those conditions and started off down the slope, but we didn’t get far before Mark decided he’d like to go and carry on, so we about turned and what a good decision that was. Within a few minutes a patch of blue sky appeared above and with the prospect of 2 more wainwrights we set off to the North West to descend to Buttermere Moss and High Snockrigg.

The ground down from Robinson was the dodgiest we walked on all day and one or two patches of shiny Neve awaited the unwary. Ian and Micky both had a tumble having step in softer snow – and both laughed equally hard at each other. I had a moment of sitting down as well, but Radder with his no grip trainers was fine. There was a very inviting patch to set off and slide down and Ian and Micky were thinking about it, but it would have been a bit too quick down there and it was a bit full of boulders lower down, and nothing to put the brakes on. Out came a touch of sunlight and all was well with the world once more. We had a chat about bagging the last 2 wainwrights, but that involved a long drop down to Newlands Hause and an equally steep climb up to Knott Rigg, and decided that those who could would and those that didn’t wouldn’t. Across the moss the path was a little squelchy, which is why it’s called a moss, but it was ok for a spot of bog hopping. We didn’t go up to High Snockrigg, turning right to the edge of the world. The slope down from the moss is really steep, so we all stopped and had a good feed and drink before continuing. The views down the valley towards Skiddaw were superb, brilliant U-shaped sides carved by glaciations.

We carefully zigzagged down the slopes to Newlands Hause and thankfully everyone made it without mishap, and here we parted company with Dibs, Lexi and Dave, agreeing to meet up at the end of the ridge. I gave them our planned route and they tooded off to meet us later –only we didn’t follow our route when we got down as we thought that they would be already back at the car – oops sorry guys and gals. Knott Rigg and Ard Crags rise steeply up from the hause and form a sharp ridge between two big valleys – a great big fin shape - and although it looked impossibly steep last week from Eel Crags and Sail it is wide enough on the top to ease any vertigo sufferer’s worries and the gradient eases once up top. We spotted the double D’s down in the valley ambling along the road with Lexi, and the other way was a huge impressive view of Sail, Eel Crag, Scar Crags and Causey Pike. Further behind us Grasmoor peeked out now and again, I’ll have to do that one day soon. The walk from Knott Rigg to Ard Crags was a delight – gently undulating and it was great to stretch the legs, with no ice and the nice crunch of fresh snow to walk on. The cairn on top of Ard Crags wasn’t – just a small pile of rubble really, but from here we could see down into the valley below and the small church and car park at the start of the walk, no contractors at this end of the day.

At the end of the ridge it dropped sharply down on a narrow path, which was about the width of two boots. It went down in a pretty straight line as well, and it was hard not to build up too much momentum – and Mark still stayed on his feet. At the base of the slope the descent eased through some sheep pasture and we nipped down through a field to get to the road and our route to the car park. We’d been keeping an eye out for Dave, Dibbs and Lexi but we couldn’t spot them on the road. So we made the only mistake of the day really – the road beckoned and we took it, as it looked a bit of a trot through unknown fields. We passed by a couple of newly renovated B&B’s and a new build – not something you see very often. A gentle trot down the lanes saw us back at the car park expecting to see the others – but they weren’t there. They waited for us and we waited for them – so I nipped up the road in the car to have a quick look, while they decided to walk back – so we missed each other by minutes. But not to worry because Ian had promised us a fantastic pint in the Farmers Arms in Portinscale – oh yes I thought brilliant – it was shut….so was the next one…and the next one…so we ended up in Keswick for a well deserved pint. What great company, what a great pint and what a great walk. January’s turning out to be brilliant – it’s good this walking malarkey.

Eel Crags and Causey Pike

2010-01-23T09:44:00.003Z

Story to follow

Elidir Fawr

2010-01-16T17:37:00.003Z

Here are the pictures from the walk - story to follow shortly....

Pike of Blisco

2009-12-26T21:10:00.004Z

Pike of Blisco to Crinkle Crags and Bowfell

8^th 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.

Mickelden with Pike of Stickle on the right

a misty Great Langdale

on our way up Oxendale, looking over to the Langdales

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.

a brief patch of blue before disappearing into the murk

it is steep up the side of Brown Howe

but as always Pike of Stickle cries out for attention

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.

Pike of Blisco summit

Not the MRT despite the colour co-ordination

Wetherlam beyond Red Tarn

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.

a fine spot for lunch up on Great Knott

just after the 'Bad Step'

a hint of clear sky at the Crinkle Crags

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.

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

Three Tarns at the base of Bowfell

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.

Pike of Blisco a bit further away now

interesting convoluted bedding - the same as on Scafell

The Great Slab of Bowfell

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.

Mike doing his Spiderman impersonation

The traverse below the Great Slab

some impressive butresses even in the gloom

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.

the walk down The Band

Almost back at the start