The walk began at the Wasdale Head campsite. Myself, Imogen and Lorna had stayed overnight following the trip up from Kendal the night before. It was a fine spring-like start to the day, with bright sunshine pouring into the amphitheatre like surround of peaks at Wasdale. I was soon on ascent up towards the high, barren ground between Illgill Head and Scafell, pounding up the bridle way, down to just a t-shirt and wondering why I'd packed a bag full of winter clothing! After passing by Burnmoor Tarn, I was soon on descent into Eskdale and the Dalegarth terminus of the L'al Ratty (Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway). Unfortunately, no trains were to be had for me today, but I was pleased to stroll into the car park at 10:30 and meet Andy, who had just himself arrived from Whitehaven. The two of us had a good catch up in the sunshine whilst awaiting the arrival of the LUHC minibus from Lancaster. It was a good rest for me waiting for all the walks to be announced and officialdoms of pink sheets to be filled out. I decided to join one of the hiking groups heading for Harter Fell in order to continue on my quest to reach the third valley. It was a fine walk through the wooded valley following the River Esk upstream. After Whahouse Bridge, it was down to just Jim and myself for the start of the long-haul up onto Great Moss. This was to be my first visit to one of England's largest bogs, and a fine time to do it as there had been very little rain for the past two weeks so underfoot it was probably about as dry as it gets. Surrounded on all sides by Lakeland's highest and craggiest peaks, the Moss is a spectacularly grandiose setting, bounded with the fine rock scenery of the Scafell range to the north. Just after Cam Spout Crag, Jim headed off up How Beck towards Scafell, whilst I continued the gradual easterly romp across the Moss until I reached the very upper reaches of the River Esk. I followed this through an exciting, part snow filled, canyon like feature until the beck was no more and I emerged triumphantly onto Esk Hause, the highest point for the day! Unfortunately by this time, the cloud cover had increased to a blanket greyness, and it was quite cold in the brisk wind, so I didn't hang around. With 1 hour 25 minutes to go until the early bus from Seatoller, the prospect of a cup of tea in Keswick got me going downhill at a brisk rate. I was heading for Grains Gill and Seathwaite via the direct route from Esk Hause (not Ruddy Gill). This provided the excitement of a steep snow bank, which made the carrying of the ice axe and crampons worthwhile as I was able to get the metal out and descend in speed and style!
Upon reaching the flat part of Borrowdale at Stockley Bridge, and with about 25 minutes to go until that early bus, it seemed unlikely that I'd cover the remaining 3km without some sort of mad sprint. With around 2km on Tarmac ahead, this did not seem appealing, so I slowed to a more leisurely pace and enjoyed the Borrowdale scenery along to Seatoller. The later and indeed last bus turned up on time and I was able to sit back and enjoy a very smooth trip back to Lancaster via Keswick and a quiet Pendolino from Penrith.
A fine day in Lakeland, whoever said it was all about getting to the summits?
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| Up towards Scafell and Scafell Pike from Wasdale |
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| Great Moss and surrounding hills, looking east |
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| The headwaters of the River Esk |
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