Walk 187, Martindale — and the end of exile
April 2, 2021
WALK 187: Hallin Fell (1271′, no. 268), Steel Knotts (1414′, no. 269) and Wether Hill (2210′, no. 270). 8 miles, 2,780 feet of ascent.
117 days have passed since walk 186, during which time Lakeland has been off limits for reasons I’m not going to froth about here — though if you want more of the usual, see the commentary to walk 187, which could finally take place yesterday, 1st April.
Thanks to the Great Fear manifesting itself in waves over recent months, I had managed only four Lakeland walks since the beginning of August, and none since early December. Since then, it’s been the County Tops project that’s sustained me, sticking to walks that have a vague proximity to home. But with the lifting of these stupid restrictions on safe exercise, I could finally return to Cumbria, and took Joe along for good measure.
Martindale is one of the most beautiful valleys in an area of widespread beauty, and the first two summits bagged today, Hallin Fell and Steel Knotts, are low-altitude but very much worth the effort, with excellent views of Ullswater and the fells around.
Wether Hill, the third summit of the day, is a grassy lump and not really something to get excited about in its own right, but it needed bagging and did mark two pleasing milestones: Joe’s 50th Wainwright, and my 600th, if you add my two rounds together.
I have therefore done 270 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, and have 60 to go. Looking at what I’ve got left to do there are at least 23 walks left in the project, maybe up to 25 or 26. No way am I going to get this done by the end of 2021 as I once planned, but finishing some time in 2022 is plausible. And I do want to finish, rather than string it out forever — the transport options, one way or another, are starting to get tiresome and let’s not get 95% of it done (I’m on just over 90% of the double round) then go break a leg, or something.
Read all about today, and see the usual crop of pictures, on the walk 187 page. If the weather is reasonable I will try to go again next week, but even if that doesn’t happen, I intend to return before April is out.
Walk 185: bog, swamp, mud and Watendlath
October 16, 2020
WALK 185: Armboth Fell (1570′, no. 262), Great Crag (1500′, no. 263). 9.25 miles, 2,100 feet of ascent.
For the first time in seven months I took myself to the Lake District by train and bus, instead of car. And it all went just fine. The mental blocks we place in our minds about what we should and should not be doing can be overcome and if anything I now feel somewhat guilty about not having reverted to this state of affairs earlier on. Though some parts of the District (notably Ullswater and Patterdale) remain effectively out of bounds unless I drive myself there, but that’s another story.
Walk 185 instead saw me brave the swamps of what Wainwright calls ‘the swampiest ridge in the District’, at least for a mile or two, to bag Armboth Fell, and then Great Crag, two of the Central Fells. Inbetween there was the magnificent oasis of Watendlath, an Arcadian idyll which was seeing plenty of visitors on this pleasant day in mid-October. The walk might well have been better had neither summit been visited, but at least now I never need to do Armboth Fell again, at least. For reasons why I say this, along with plenty of photos and extra detail, consult the walk 185 page.
As of today, I have bagged 263 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, so have 67 to go. I hope to get back at some point in November, but that really will depend on a largely random coming together of good weather with one of the few available days I will have that month, thanks to work.
Walk 183: a return to Haweswater
September 16, 2020
WALK 183: High Raise (Far Eastern) (2634′, no. 256), Rampsgill Head (2598′, no. 257) and Kidsty Pike (2560′, no. 258). 8 miles and 2,200 feet of ascent approx.
The British climate is not known for its reliability, but there are some aspects of the pattern that can be depended on to some extent. Having a period of fine, settled weather in mid-September is one of its more pleasant traits and down the years has been exploited for walks whenever it appears. 2020’s Mid-September Settled Period has come along right on cue, and a couple of days ago saw me out in the Haweswater district again for walk 183. This bagged three of the higher fells in the Far Eastern region: High Raise, Rampsgill Head, and Kidsty Pike, the latter being the undoubted highlight of the walk. Read all about it and see more photos on the walk page.
This was another walk done without the use of public transport, sadly. There are some signs of life in the train network but many services that were running up until the beginning of the Great Fear in March are still cut. I will continue trying to get to the Lakes where I can, but now I have accepted that while my first round was indeed done without using a car, this second one has had to adapt to circumstances. Never mind.
As of today then, I have bagged 258 of the 330 Wainwrights in my second round, so have 72 to go. I no longer anticipate finishing some time in 2021, but let’s go with the flow. This walk was probably it for September, but hopefully before October is too old I will have returned to the Lakes.
A final walk in the Eskdale trilogy: Harter Fell
July 30, 2020
WALK 182: Harter Fell (Eskdale) (2140 feet above sea level, number 255 of my second round). 9 miles and 2,300 feet of ascent approximately.
A few weeks after re-bagging its namesake in Mardale, Tuesday’s climb of the very beautiful Eskdale Harter Fell brings to an end this little trilogy of walks completed during our stay in the Brook House Inn, Eskdale. (Or, if I add the walk I undertook in Longsleddale last week, a quadrilogy.) The weather was still rather dubious but this time that was not the reason why only one fell was bagged on the walk, as it was always planned to be done this way. It’s a very fine fell, with a remarkable summit (one of Wainwright’s ‘Top 6’, and rightly so), and superb views of the Scafell group above the valley head and the Duddon Valley, all the way down to the estuary.
On the other hand, this is not an altogether easy climb. Paths are not as prominent as you would think going on a study of the map, and there is an ocean of bracken to negotiate lower down in the summer. But it is worth the battle, and it was important to pick this one up during this trip as without spending time in Eskdale, it’s difficult to reach. Read all about it and see more pictures on the walk 182 page.
Three summits is, perhaps, not a huge return from the time spent here but they all needed doing. As of today, then, I have bagged 255 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, and have 75 to go. For various reasons, including the lack of suitable trains from home at the moment, but also having to recommence work (it happens…), I can’t see myself returning to the Lakes during August. But four walks over a nine-day period has been enough of a fix, and September — with, hopefully, its usual better weather — is not so far away.
Walk 178 round Mardale Head
June 9, 2020
WALK 178: Branstree (2339′, no. 246), Harter Fell (2552′, no. 247). 7.75 miles and 2,300 feet of ascent approximately.
Although most Britons seem in a perpetual state of denial about this fact, the weather is almost always worse in early June than it is in May. So it has proved this year: the sunshine of my last walk turning into a greyer, more somber vibe for yesterday’s trip into the Far Eastern Fells. Walk 178 was a circuit round Mardale Head, bagging Branstree and Harter Fell. The views of Haweswater were very fine, despite the large tidemark caused by the water level having dropped in the recent dry weather: enough to reveal some of the buildings higher up the valley, remnants of the village of Mardale Green that was here until 1935. Small Water, pictured here, is another highlight, being one of Lakeland’s best little mountain tarns.
Once again I cannot claim to have done this walk by public transport. It would be lovely if a daily ‘walkers’ bus’ ran from Penrith station and who knows, if it did perhaps there would be less of a parking problem at the head of Mardale. But even in normal times, this is just a fantasy I’ve been having. In the end I’ve decided that during this time of disruption I will use a car, but only to bag walks that are otherwise impossible by train or bus. That’s my self-rationalisation anyway.
Nearly halfway through 2020 and I have only bagged 10 Wainwrights, which is well down on my usual pace. I could say the reasons are obvious but actually it’s more that my walks have only been bagging one or two tops at a time. As of today then, I have bagged 247 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, so have 83 to go. It would be nice to get another trip in June but we will see how it goes.
Walk 177: the Great Sca Escape
May 26, 2020
Walk 177: Great Sca Fell (2136′, no. 244), Brae Fell (1920′, no 245). 6.5 miles and 1,500 feet of ascent approximately.
Time to get out. My tolerance for sitting at home with a head like Munch’s The Scream has ended.
This is not the ‘new normal’, it is a horrible bout of paranoia that we need to learn our way out of pretty fast if it’s not going to devastate much of what gives life meaning and pleasure. But the fells are still there, even if The Fear has made it currently impractical to live up to the promise of this blog and reach all walks on public transport. I drove to walk 177 yesterday, that I admit, but that also allowed Joe to easily accompany me on his first Lakeland walk in about a year. Together we bagged two of the Northern Fells, Great Sca Fell and Brae Fell. Smooth, grassy slopes for the most part but great views, and the ascent of Roughton Gill added roughness and interest. Read all about it and see the usual crop of additional photos on the walk 177 page.
There were plenty of people out on this public holiday, even in this relatively remote and hard-to-reach part of the Lakes. And I can no longer see that as anything other than a good thing. Sadly it cannot be expected that the present government will do anything other than bumble about public transport and try to brush it under the nearest carpet as an inconvenience — why change policy when there is a ready-made scapegoat for failure? — but I have decided that for now, I will pick up walks which I could not otherwise do on trains and buses. I hope that normal service will be resumed soon, but it’s way out of my hands.
As of today, then, I have bagged 245 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, and have 85 to go. I no longer expect to complete this by late 2021, partly because of all this chaos and also because the County Tops have taken over some of the burden of keeping me fit and sane, and I don’t want to go through all my available day trips too quickly. The situation is now open-ended. But weather allowing (and we are overdue some rain), paranoia permitting, I hope to be out again at some point before June is too old.