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Lake District 27th to 29th April 2010
Quick links (all this page):
Tuesday: Swirl How from Three Shires Stone
Wednesday: Blencathra from Threlkeld
Thursday: Great Gable from Seathwaite
A small confession: it took me nearly ten months from doing these walks to getting around to putting the original web page up. So my tentative identifications are even more tentative than usual.
Tuesday 27th
As usual I only had the afternoon to do a walk, so I needed somethign relatively short. I chose Swirl How from the top of Wrynose Pass, near the Three Counties Stone. I did this walk again later in the Year on the way up to the Old Man of Conniston (see September), but this was an afternoon walk only, as I arrived at about 13:00.First up, the view down to Wrynose Pass, just after starting:
I think the next picture is the view North - that's the trouble with doing this edit ten months after the event. The view is, I think, towards the general direction of Crinkle Crags.
The view up to Swirl How past Great Carrs, and then the same from further up:
Finally, two views from the top: the first towards the Old Man, and the second towards the North, with Great Carrs on the left and Red Tarn in background (that's the Red Tarn between Cold ike and Pike of Blisco)
Wednesday 28th
A proper walk this time, up Blencathra. Not via Sharp Edge though, as it was very windy. Although I did meet some people on the cummit who had come up that way. Instead I started at the Blencathra Centre to the South-West of the summit, behind Threlkeld. The route up is to zig-zag up Blease Fell to Knowles Crag, then walk along the ridge to Hallsfell Top, and then back the same way. I'm far too old and sensible to go down (as I saw a group doing) via Hall's Fell Ridge. First, the peak in question, from the B5322:
The weather got a lot less cloudy, as you'll see later, but it stayed hazy, so the views weren't great. But here we are; the journey of a thousand miles etc:
The view South towards Clough Head from Knowles Crags. As I said, rather hazy.
Hallfell Top (and thus the highest bit) from the top of Knowles Crags, and then a slightly closer view showing Hall's Fell Ridge running down to the right.
The view South. I believe that the snow you can see is the top of Helvellyn.
Now at the top of the un-named second peak from the left, at 851 metres, looking towards the top of Hallsfell Top again. Never seems to get any closer...
But I got there - this is the view in the opposite direction; from Hallsfell Top back West towards Knowles Crags. Then the view North: this is the Northern limit of the major hills in the Lake District, and it just rolls of gently as you head further up-country.
Thursday 29th
There's only a couple of pictures from this day, because the weather was terrible. Real lakeland stuff: 400m cloudbase, bursts of rain, but mercifully only moderate winds. The route was from Seathwaite, via Shyhead Gill to Styhead Tarn, then up the South-East ridge of Great Gable. Unfortunately, even with a GPS, a compass and a map (there's no such thing as being too safe. OK, maybe), the confusion of paths at Sty Head meant I actually ended up on the made route just East of the ridge. It meant it was a bit sheltered, but with the terrible weather, and as I was only able to see a staircase stretching up the hillside, lost in the murk, all I kept thinking was: "One does not simply walk into Mordor." Sadly I couldn't get a decent picture which showed the effect. But this was Styhead Tarn, to give you an idea of the weather and visibility:
And the view up to the summit, from near the top:
While I was at the top, the sun came through the clouds for about ten seconds, giving a fantastic view down towards Wast Water, but by the time I got the camera out, the clouds had closed over again. I stayed a little while in the hope of a repeat, but it didn't happen so I set off down again. Half-way down, the skies started to clear:
and by the time I was down to Styhead Tarn, that you see there, it was almost completely sunny. But no, I was NOT going back up for better pictures. Actually, experience had taught me (and repeatedly annoyed me) that it's pretty common for bad weather to break mid-afternoon, when I and many other walkers are already descending. Re-doing Great Gable in better weather is still one of my outstanding walks, but i don't know when or if I'll get around to it.