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.

Site update completed

Admiring the view from Orrest Head summit

Seeing as there isn’t much else to do at the moment, particularly when it comes to walking, I have spent the last few days of lockdown doing some jobs on the blog that have been pending for a while. Small as these changes are, hopefully they tidy up a few inconsistencies and improve the quality of earlier walk descriptions. I’ve renumbered most of the first round fells, to allow for the fact that a few Outliers (such as Orrest Head — pictured) were bagged within the main 214 first time round. All mileage and feet ascended figures have been made approximate (but more realistic: their apparent precision beforehand was always an illusion), and more links put in walk pages to fell pages. In a few cases I have updated travel information about older walks, where it is no longer possible to do them by public transport in quite the way that I did (e.g. walk 62).

Ullswater from the Brown Hills

I have also updated the Personal Notes in Conclusion and the Records, Lists and Oddities page, to include a few things I have wanted to add for a while, e.g. a section on ‘Lakes and Tarns’ and some first round v second round comparisons.

Once this fiasco is ended — which is likely to be a few more weeks yet — I will do my best to resume the project and bag the remaining 87 fells on my second round, but whether this will all still be done by the mooted end-of-2021 date, that all depends on the potent intermix of infection, fear and paranoia under which we all presently must live whether we like it or not. See you soon I hope.

Walk 176: maybe the last for a while…

Looking south from Clough Head, towards Calfhow Pike.

I have no reason to self-isolate and have a general feeling that getting out into people-free countryside is certainly staying more than 1 metre away from anyone else, so walk 176 duly happened yesterday. This took me up the three northernrnost summits of the Eastern Fells, namely Clough Head, Great Dodd and Watson’s Dodd. It was a walk with fine views, but done into a bitter wind that rather put the chill on the day.

Not as much of a chill, of course, as what now looks inevitable: a basic lockdown of a great deal of the UK’s infrastructure and social activity. The giant experiment in social control that is about to take place will have unknown consequences — the best it seems we can hope for is that, in terms of the virus, it works.

Walker on his way down Clough Head. Keeping his distance….

Whether I will — or should — have the chance to get out and walk again in the next few weeks, who knows. So for now, as of today, I have bagged 243 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, so have 87 to go. More photos and a full route description from yesterday are, as ever, available on the walk 176 page.

Stay safe everyone.

Addendum: This article on UK Hillwalking, by Dan Bailey, makes some sensible points about the safety, or otherwise, of walking and related activities (like camping) at this time. One response I might make is to relax my rule of only going to walks via public transport (although the trains were so quiet yesterday that I was never within 1 metre of any other passengers). Let’s see how it goes.

Walk 175 into Kentmere — and a fox…

View of upper Kentmere from Green Quarter Fell — the scenic highlight of the walk.

It’s been eight weeks since I last ventured into the Lake District. In the intervening time, a combination of other responsibilities, a train line closure and — most significantly of all — pretty terrible weather have kept me away. But the weather yesterday, 4th March, was pleasant enough and I was finally able to move on with the project and undertake walk 175.

This took me up the Kent valley from Staveley, and bagged the two Outyling summits of Green Quarter Fell, notable mainly for the views of the upper Kentmere valley (as pictured here). Other than that it is not a very dramatic walk, but it is an easy and straightforward one.

The fox I encountered on the slopes of Green Quarter Fell.

Northern Rail’s utter shambles of a train service did its best to screw up my day but the walk was done despite them: that was the worst part. On the other hand, the walk did have the bonus of this fox, the closest I have ever knowingly been to such a creature: it sat down when it saw me, quite aware of my presence and presumably keeping an eye on me as it had cubs in an earth in the vicinity.

As of today, then, I have bagged 240 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, and thus have 90 to go. I certainly hope to be back in the Lakes before the end of March but it depends on the weather — and the trains, unfortunately. Until then please do feel free to have a look at the walk 175 page where there are more photos and a full route description, as usual.

Mungrisdale Common gets its chance to shine on walk 174

Taken from the crossing point of Whit Beck.

By any reasonable assessment, A. Wainwright had a definite downer on Mungrisdale Common. He writes on page 2 of the chapter in The Northern Fells that:

“Mungrisdale Common\s natural attractions are of a type that appeals only to sheep… There is little on these extensive grass slopes to provide even a passing interest for an ordinary walker and nothing at all to encourage a visit.”

These days I am old and crotchety enough myself to consider statements like that a challenge, so yesterday, 8th January, I duly set out to conquer the Common — and as the only fell on walk 174, too.

Sinen Gill on Mungrisdale Common, with Lonscale Fell behind.

And my verdict? Is it the worst of all, the pits? To find out, take a look at the walk 174 page which has all the usual detail and several more photos on what was, for sure, a good day for the camera at least.

As of today, then, I have bagged 238 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, and so have 92 to go. This will most likely be my only walk in January 2020 (and Mungrisdale Common thereby gains itself the extra distinction of being my first fell of the 2020s) but come early February I hope to be back among the fells.

Climbing Fairfield over Cofa Pike. St. Sunday Crag behind. Not a bad day…

And Happy New Year to you all, too. I never did say at the end of 2019 (and walk 173) what my highlights of it had been. The standout walk was certainly walk 161 on Good Friday, April 19th [pictured]: spectacular landscapes, glorious weather and a very fine pub at the end, to boot. The two-dayer in Shap, walk 169 and walk 170, was also very satisfying, again for the excellent weather, for being a real breakthrough in getting the Outlying Fells done a second time, and for having the whole lonely, desolate beauty of an area of dozens of square miles entirely to myself for two days. Here’s to 2020 — may you always watch where you are putting your feet.

Drew

The last walk of 2019

View north from Hare Shaw

I did not know whether I would get an 18th and last walk in during 2019 but the weather yesterday, 28th December, was decent and I had the chance to get out to Haweswater and bag a few of the remaining Outlying Fells on walk 173 — the five I had left unattained in the Naddle Horseshoe chapter. Not the most exciting walk, but worth doing, as they always are. Read all about it and see more photos, as ever, on the walk 173 page.

In percentage terms I have now done more of the Outlying Fells than any other chapter — a big rise from a year ago — so time to get back to the centre of the District for a while.

The unnamed peak at 1380′, with the slopes of High Raise behind.

During 2019 I have managed 18 Wainwright walks and bagged 63 summits during this time. As of today I have completed 237 of the 330 Wainwrights in my second round and so have 93 to go. I hope not to wait too long before my next walk — early January I hope.

 

Walk 172: glorious November in the Langdales

In Little Langdale

There are two Langdales in the Lake District: Great Langdale, which everybody knows, and the less-frequented Little Langdale, which most people probably just trundle through as they come up or down Wrynose Pass at one end. But it’s an attractive valley in its own right and one I hadn’t visited despite all my previous perambulations around the area.

Walk 172, done yesterday on a glorious (but frosty) November day, filled that gap and along the way bagged two summits, Holme Fell and Lingmoor Fell from book 4 — my first excursion into The Southern Fells for some eighteen months. Not a classic, and a longer walk than anticipated from looking at the map, but nevertheless a fine expedition with some excellent views — like this classic one of Great Langdale.

The classic view of Great Langdale, coming off Lingmoor Fell.

As ever, more photos and a full route description can be found on the walk 172 page.

As of today, then, I have done 232 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, so have 98 to go. It may be that was my last walk of 2019, although there’s always the hope that the gloom of mid- to late December will relent and offer opportunities then. We will see.

Making the most of the last week of summer (buses)…. Walk 171

Gatesgarth Farm — the starting point.

It’s nice to have a job that can sometimes be flexible, I admit that. With the weather forecasts showing that Monday would be one of those late October days that give summer a last hurrah, I worked Sunday instead and took advantage with walk 171. This took me from Gatesgarth (pictured), up over the High Stile ridge in far better conditions than I first did it seven years ago (see walk 60a). Three summits bagged — the eponymous High Stile and its neigbbours High Crag and Red Pike. There were some unpleasant moments on the descent of the latter, but all in all this was a fine walk. Read all about it and see more pictures on the walk 171 page.

Walkers below Seat. Haystacks in the left middle distance, Great Gable on the horizon.

Red Pike is bagged as number 230 of the full list of 330 Wainwrights, which means I have — ta-daa! — one hundred to go. It would be nice to get another walk in around mid-November but around this time of year I am fully dependent on the weather meshing with work timetables, so let’s see how it goes.

September double-header in the Shap Fells

Fewling Stones summit. Don’t forget to look for the comfy chair.

The tradition of the September double-header has held on several of the years I have been doing this project — it’s often a period of decent and settled weather (essential, if committing to two days of walking) and it’s the final chance to grab something before term starts properly at uni. I left it late this year, but last week took my chance to grab walk 169 and walk 170 and it paid off handsomely.

Over two days, I walked around 25 miles and on the fells saw more deer (three) than people (none at all, even at a distance). In excellent weather, particularly on day two, I bagged no fewer than 14 of the Outlying Fells, finishing the Wet Sleddale Horseshoe chapter and bagging the Wasdale Horseshoe, Crookdale Horseshoe and (on the second walk) Seat Robert summits a second time.

Sleddale Hall, a.k.a. Crow Crag

This is all fabulously lonely country, and often tough going underfoot, but put in the work (on a nice day…) and its charms may be revealed. And there’s the bonus of some Withnail and I moments too (like Sleddale Hall, pictured). As usual, many more details and pictures are available on the walk 169 and walk 170 pages.

This two-day orgy of Outliers means that as of today, I have bagged 227 of the 330 Wainwrights a second time, so have 103 to go. The next walk will be in October some time.

Walk 168: great views, once out of the woods

Looking down on Sleet How and the main path of ascent

Yesterday saw me on walk 168, the objective, Grisedale Pike and its very fine view. I did attain the summit, though not without some routefinding trials for the second walk in a row: I try on the walk 168 page to prevent anyone else making the same mistake, because there was an hour in the middle of my walk after which, if I never see another mountain biker or sitka spruce again, I’ll be happy. But I know where I went wrong and in the end, all worked out fine. I even made the intended bus with ten seconds to spare. So ultimately, no real complaints. Grisedale Pike is a very fine mountain and worth a visit even if it is the only peak bagged on a walk, as it was today for me.

In Whinlatter forest, which could do with a few more unequivocal signs like this.

As of today, then, I have bagged 213 Wainwrights. Had this been a round of only the main seven volumes, I would now be just one off completion, but seeing as the Outlying Fells are tacked on to make the full list number 330, I now have 117 to go. I still hope to get a two-day walk in during September but options are limited so it depends on a) the weather and b) me holding my work diary free, in a way similar to how Luke Skywalker & co push out the walls of the garbage compactor on the Death Star. But I’ll just take what comes, as has always been the case.