Walk 187, Martindale — and the end of exile

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.

The Nab above Martindale, seen on walk 187.

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.

Joe begins to slightly regret heading for his 50th Wainwright.

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.

Admiring Stickle Pike on walk 186

WALK 186: Stickle Pike (1231′, no 264), Great Stickle (1001′, no. 265), Tarn Hill (1020′, no. 266) and Dunnerdale Fells (920′, no. 267).

Stickle Pike from the south. Green Crag and, in snow, Scafell behind.

The first two weeks of December have not exactly been a productive walking time for me. Partly this is due to how work usually pans out at this time, but the weather is also responsible. This is rarely full winter (2010 was a notable exception, though) but it’s usually gloomy and cold, not designed to encourage the fellwalker.

Happily, 5th December 2020 was a fine exception to the general rule. It started off cloudy but by the end I was walking in full sunshine, and then spent an afternoon in Kendal bathing in more of the same. In the morning, I’d bagged four more Wainwrights: the three summits I had remaining in the Stickle Pike chapter, and then a bonus of the Dunnerdale Fells chapter, as Tarn Hill appears in both and is thus the only Wainwright to count double. Why? Well, it’s a complicated story, but for that you can read the fell pages.

The Duddon Valley (and cyclists), with Whit Fell in the background.

It’s a fine part of the District, though, and worth two chapters. Stickle Pike is surely the best-looking of all the Outlying Fells, and the walking is rugged without ever being difficult. A mountain in miniature, for sure. It’s just a shame that there’s no public transport to the immediate vicinity. Read all about it, and see more photos, on the walk 186 page.

As of today, then, I have bagged 267 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, so have 63 to go. I honestly don’t know whether today will turn out to be my last Lakeland walk of 2020: I’d rather it wasn’t, though it might be. Either way I will post a summary of the year before 2021 — a year I’m sure we’re all hoping will be different, at least — makes its way over the horizon.

Walk 185: bog, swamp, mud and Watendlath

The top of Armboth Fell, seen from the ridge — with a walker on it, amazingly.

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.

Watendlath Tarn, with Great Crag behind. A place to forget one’s worries for a while.

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 184: lots of trees, but worth it

WALK 184: Barf (1536′, no. 259), Lord’s Seat (1811′, no. 260) and Whinlatter (1722′, no. 261).

Walker on Whinlatter, the Vale of Keswick behind.

Each time I now go to the Lakes there are, obviously, fewer options to choose from: meaning that I am becoming obliged to pick up walks that for one reason or another, I’ve been putting off. Whinlatter Forest had become a problematic part of the Lakes for me after a few poor experiences in recent visits — not least getting lost the last time I was there, on Grisedale Pike. And as has happened on several of my recent County Top walks I was not necessarily looking forward to spending all day surrounded by trees.

Happily, my fears were unfounded. Walk 184 was a very good one, surprisingly easy and with plenty of excellent views. The three summits visited, Barf, Lord’s Seat and Whinlatter, are not very high and the latter two undramatic, but all were worth revisiting, particularly as I bagged Lord’s Seat in the mist the first time round. Instead of oppressing it, the plantations give the walk variety, and this is definitely the best of the five walks I’ve done in Whinlatter Forest. Read all the details and see more photos on the walk page.

Barf’s rugged aspect, from the back.

As of today, I have bagged 261 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, so have 69 to go. Thanks to my teaching starting a month later this year, October is a far less hectic month than it usually is, so it would be good to get some more walking done before it ends and things kick off with a vengeance. Autumn is here, though, and though the weather was good for me today it is scheduled to deteriorate. All things considered I can’t be sure when I’ll be doing my next walk, but hopefully it will not be long.

Walk 183: a return to Haweswater

Kidsty Pike, seen on the approach from the west.

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.

May I present the deer couple, Mr and Mrs Slightly-Miffed. Seen near the summit of High Raise.

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

Harter Fell from Eskdale.

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.

Stickle Pike and the Duddon estuary, from Harter Fell.

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.

Walks 180 and 181: Ravenglass and Eskdale

WALK 180: Muncaster Fell (757 feet above sea level, number 253): 6 miles and 800 feet of ascent approximately.

Dalegarth station, terminus (usually) of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.

and WALK 181: Boat How (1105′, no. 254): 5.5 miles and 1,000 feet of ascent.

Back in January we booked in for a weekend at the Brook House Inn in Eskdale, linked to a weekend that Clare was trying to organise with other members of her family.  As the Great Fear took hold, I kept waiting for the inevitable email of cancellation, but it never came, and in the end we decided to not just fulfil the booking but make it our primary summer holiday of 2020.  Eskdale is a beautiful spot and also a great jumping off point for several key Wainwrights that are otherwise tough to reach.

The estuary at Ravenglass (at low tide).

Plans have not yet come to full fruition however. Our first day here, Friday 24th July, was sunny and pleasant, and the walk we did up Muncaster Fell — walk 180 — a fine little prelude to what was intended to be further explorations up Scafell, at least.

And that peak was my intended destination for walk 181, yesterday (Sunday 26th), only this became one of the few targets I have had to abandon due to revolting weather, becoming lost and soaked in the Eel Tarn/Stony Tarn district. Still, I at least managed a face-saving bag, of Boat How. It wasn’t a bad walk — but it could have been a lot drier. As ever, you can read all about the details, and see more photos, on the two walk pages.

Stony Tarn. The sheep, like me, wonder what I was doing there.

We are here for a couple more days yet, although there won’t be any walking today (Monday) because it’s throwing it down. The forecast for Tuesday is OK though and then it would be good to get up some bigger fells — two Outliers alone would be a somewhat meagre return from several nights in Eskdale. But hey, in the end, it just gives me an excuse to keep coming back.

As of today then (27/7/20) I have bagged 254 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, and have 76 to go.

Walk 179: discovering Longsleddale

Deep in Longsleddale.

WALK 179: five summits in the Bannisdale Horseshoe (two unnamed [1771′ a.s.l., no. 248 and 1819′, no. 249], Capplebarrow [1683′, no. 250], Todd Fell [1313′, no. 251] and Whiteside Pike [1303′, no. 252]). 10.5 miles and 2,000 feet of ascent approximately.

It’s still proving very difficult to get to the Lakes by public transport.  All useful morning services heading north from Preston have been cut, for arbitrary reasons that if you ask me have nothing to do with ‘public health’ in the slightest.  Anyway, that’s a moan you can read on the walk 179 page if you really want to.  Either way, this ongoing problem obliged me once again to book a car out of the pool and drive, this time up the narrow lane that is the valley of Longsleddale’s only link to the outside world.  And this really is a time capsule, surely looking much the same as it did a hundred years ago or more.  It’s very much worth a visit, as long as you have the patience it takes to get there, even with a car.

Looking down to Whiteside Pike, from point 1771′.

The five summits I bagged today were the last ones I had remaining, not just in the Bannisdale Horseshoe chapter, but in the whole swathe of land east of Longsleddale and Haweswater. If you had asked me some years ago which major sub-region of the Lake District I would first complete on my second round, the Shap Fells would not at all have been my prediction — but this is what has happened. I reckon there are 38 Wainwrights east of Gatescarth Pass and after today, I have now rebagged them all. It’s a fantastically lonely part of the world, and you very much need good weather — but this is land well worth exploring.  And it will certainly get you away from people, which is the point at the moment, I guess. (As well as the Bannisdale Horseshoe see also the Naddle, Crookdale, Wasdale and Wet Sleddale Horseshoes, Howes, and the Seat Robert chapters.)

View across to Lamb Pasture, on the other side of Bannisdale.

There will be more Wainwrights bagged very shortly as I’m soon off to Eskdale for a few days, a trip booked well before lockdown and which seems to have miraculously survived it.  As of today, though, I have bagged 252 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round (Capplebarrow being number 250), and thus have 78 to go.

Walk 178 round Mardale Head

WALK 178: Branstree (2339′, no. 246), Harter Fell (2552′, no. 247). 7.75 miles and 2,300 feet of ascent approximately.

Drowned buildings in the reservoir of Haweswater.

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.

On the descent of Harter Fell. Small Water immediately below.

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

Joe on Great Sca Fell summit.

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.

On the approach to the old mine at the bottom of Roughton Gill.

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.

View over to Skiddaw. The walker is approaching the (less than prominent) summit of Great Sca Fell.

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.