Borrowdale and Buttermere Castle Crag
Whiteless Pike
Rannerdale Knotts
Castle Crag, the smallest of all the Wainwright at 951ft, you can spend hours exploring it, and we did just that. It is usually climbed from Grange-in-Borrowdale but we decided to start from Rosthwaite. Parking up at the small NT car park and taking the lane past Yew Tree Farm we crossed New Bridge and walked up Lingy Bank to join the old quarry road. We followed the road for a short way untill it started to descend into Broadslack Gill then turned onto a path, around a craggy section and through larches to the foot of the slate spoil heap below the summit.
The flat top of the spoil heap offers a great view of Borrowdale, and has become something of an open air art centre with a lot of slates having been stood on edge to create weird abstract shapes. The path to the summit skirts the quarry on its right but it's worthwhile having a look around it first. The quarry bites deeply into the summit of Castle Crag which is an ancient hill fort and gives the valley its name.
We descended back to the mine road and extended the walk by following it down Broadslack Gill, turning right where it joined the Derwent and walked through the woods along its bank through the Jaws of Borrowdale, exploring a few of the old quarries on the way. Wainwright described this as the loveliest square mile in the Lake District. Eventually we rejoined our outward path near to New Bridge and had a look at the extensive repair work that has been done to the river banks following the great flood of 2009. It was late in the afternoon when we got back to the car park so we had to leave quickly to drive over Honister Hause into Buttermere to bag the next Wainwrights.
3.5 miles
1,100 ft. of ascent
Castle Crag (left) and King's How (right) from Rosthwaite
Borrowdale from Lingy Bank
Castle Crag from the head of Broadslack Gill
The crags of Low Scawdel
Borrowdale from the quarry spoil heap
The summit of Castle Crag
Borrowdale from Castle Crag
Derwent Water from Castle Crag
Descending Broadslack Gill towards the River Derwent
And so to Buttermere . . . We started from the NT car park passing by Crag Houses on the main path to the Sail Beck valley before veering off it left when Whiteless Pike came into view. The path continued on up Low Bank to the saddle at the head of Rannerdale. As it was late in the day most people were coming down as we proceeded along the western side of Whiteless Breast to the col beyond it where the view opened out to the head of Sail Beck.
It was turning out to be a beautiful evening as we made our way up the final climb to the summit. We spent some time on the top enjoying the view, which was very clear with hardly a breath of wind, but we eventually had to leave and descend back to the saddle above Rannerdale and the start of the long undulating ridge of Low Bank leading towards Rannerdale Knotts.
The sun was quite low now and shone in our eyes as we made our way over and around knolls to arrive at the ultimate rocky top. Anyone who has visited this summit will know that the views are wonderful and well worth the modest effort needed for this climb. Grasmoor and Whiteless Pike formed a high wall across Rannerdale with ridges thrown into sharp relief by the setting sun. We spent a long time on the summit and it was hard to drag ourselves away because it was so peaceful, but time was getting on so we returned back along the ridge to the head of Rannerdale and the wide green path back to the valley. Just as we reached the road we stepped into the Earth's shadow as the sun set behind Mellbreak.
4.7 miles
2,340 ft. of ascent
3 wainwrights done ..... 13 to go
High Crag and High Stile from the Sail Beck path
Mellbreak from above High House Crag
Whiteless Pike from Whiteless Breast
The valley of Sail Beck from Whiteless Breast
The summit of Whiteless Pike
Buttermere from Whiteless Pike
The High Stile ridge from Whiteless Pike
Descending to Whiteless Breast
Crummock Water above the ridge to Rannerdale Knotts
Rannerdale Knotts from the col above Squat Beck
Rannerdale Knotts along the Low Bank ridge
Grasmoor from Low Bank
Looking back along the Low Bank ridge
Whiteless Pike from Low Bank
Looking back from near the summit of Rannerdale Knotts
The summit of Rannerdale Knotts
Grasmoor from the summit
Crummock Water and Loweswater
"I always think of this valley as made by Heaven for summer evenings and summer mornings: green floor and purple heights, with the sound of waters under the sunset, or lit with the north-eastern sun into pure colour above, and the greyness of the dew upon the grass" [W. G. Collingwood]