Walking Forum
Regions - Trip reports, destination advice, recommended routes, etc. => Lake District => Topic started by: tompy89 on 20:47:21, 08/04/19
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I am visiting scafell pike in May we are staying in the village of bootle . Me and 3 of my friends climbed Snowdon last year via the Watkin Path and we really enjoyed it. We are doing scafell pike this year and ben nevis next year. I am looking for advice on what route to take for Scafell Pike, I want it to be challenging but I want it to be do able for all of our party. We are all fairly fit (not mountain climbers!) but keep fit and we did Watkin Path fairly easily. I am liking to look of the corridor route at the minute but i am looking for advice on what route people suggest? I would like a bit of screed and if there are any routes of a similar difficulty to the Watking Path with beautiful views please can you let me know! O0
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We did all Three Peaks last year, Snowdon in May, Scafell Pike in July and Ben Nevis in September. For Scafell Pike, we walked from Borrowdale, parking at Seathwaite. We walked up via Esk House and Broad Crag, returning via the Corridor route and Sty head, about 10 miles. A varied path with good views, can recommend. Snowdon we had gone up by the Rhyd ddu path.
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Lots of great routes to get you to the top, just make sure you take in Wasdale Head if you time permits O0
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Corridor Route or Piers Gill are probably the best routes from Wasdale Head, which is not too far a starting point from Bootle. Both involve some very minor scrambling, but this is short and very easy. Beware descending Piers Gill in the mist - stick to the path on the eastern side of the ravine and do not be tempted to follow the stream into the ravine!
Brown Tongue (the tourist route from the National Trust campsite) is a slog, but does give you good views of the Scafell cliffs. Maybe better as a descent - you can go down Brown Tongue and then traverse across the lower slopes of Lingmell along a path that will take you back to Wasdale Head (free parking). If you like scree (!) then the north side of Mickledore will give you plenty. Personally, I would avoid.
The approaches from Upper Eskdale are long, and Borrowdale/Langdale are a long way to drive from Bootle!
PS - welcome to the forum, tompy :)
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Here's some Scafell Pike Trip Reports that may be of interest:
http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=37764.0 (http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=37764.0)
http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=38005.0 (http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=38005.0)
http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=36891.0 (http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=36891.0)
http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=37013.0 (http://www.walkingforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=37013.0)
Enjoy!
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... we are staying in the village of bootle ...
... not too far a starting point from Bootle...
Bootle as in the area of Liverpool? Or Boot as in the village in Eskdale? ;)
If you are starting from Boot, the most direct approach to Sca Fell and Scafell Pike is to follow the River Esk into Upper Eskdale.
As you head up the valley you'll be ringed by the highest mountains in England - from west to east Slight Side, Sca Fell, Scafell Pike, Broad Crag, Ill Crag, Great End, Esk Pike, Bowfell and Crinkle Crags. There are ascent routes to these peaks from the head of Eskdale.
The drawbacks are the long-ish walk in and the 'mosses' (boggy areas) of the valley floor. The advantages are the magnificent scenery, the comparative remoteness of the approach, and not having to drive or park the car - you can start the day's walk direct from your base.
Here is a relevant trip report that may help you decide - it is from Walking Forum member Dave:
http://allthegearbutnoidea.blogspot.com/2018/07/scafell-pike-scafell-via-eskdale-pen.html (http://allthegearbutnoidea.blogspot.com/2018/07/scafell-pike-scafell-via-eskdale-pen.html)
And another:
http://allthegearbutnoidea.blogspot.com/2016/08/an-eskdale-round.html (http://allthegearbutnoidea.blogspot.com/2016/08/an-eskdale-round.html)
Or, as Richard says, you could drive round from Boot to Wasdale Head and start from there. Although it's only about 12 miles allow at least 30-40 minutes as the roads are narrow and slow going.
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Cumbria has a Bootle, out near the coast:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootle,_Cumbria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootle,_Cumbria)
So either Wasdale or Eskdale for routes as others have said.
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Exactly the Bootle that I had in mind, Percy.
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Bootle as in the area of Liverpool? Or Boot as in the village in Eskdale? ;)
Bootle as in the village between Ravenglass and Silecroft in SW Cumbria. ;)
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Bootle as in the village between Ravenglass and Silecroft in SW Cumbria. ;)
Blimey! You live and learn. Pass me that humble pie . . . :-[
If staying in Bootle (Cumbria) you could still approach the Sca Fell massif from Eskdale (you'd have to drive there, of course). Alternatively, a few more miles driving would allow a start from Wasdale Head.
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No problem, Skip - my in-laws live not a million miles from Bootle, so I know the area pretty well.
Upper Eskdale is lovely - one of the wildest and remotest valleys in the Lake District - but it is quite a long approach.
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Corridor Route or Piers Gill are probably the best routes from Wasdale Head, which is not too far a starting point from Bootle. Both involve some very minor scrambling, but this is short and very easy. Beware descending Piers Gill in the mist - stick to the path on the eastern side of the ravine and do not be tempted to follow the stream into the ravine!
Brown Tongue (the tourist route from the National Trust campsite) is a slog, but does give you good views of the Scafell cliffs. Maybe better as a descent - you can go down Brown Tongue and then traverse across the lower slopes of Lingmell along a path that will take you back to Wasdale Head (free parking). If you like scree (!) then the north side of Mickledore will give you plenty. Personally, I would avoid.
The approaches from Upper Eskdale are long, and Borrowdale/Langdale are a long way to drive from Bootle!
PS - welcome to the forum, tompy :)
Would there be a route up and down where we could include both the corridor route and piers gill?
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Would there be a route up and down where we could include both the corridor route and piers gill?
Absolutely. Up one, down the other. Perfectly feasible.
Please heed my warning about not going into the Piers Gill ravine though. In fact, if the clouds are down, probably best to return down Brown Tongue.
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Absolutely. Up one, down the other. Perfectly feasible.
Please heed my warning about not going into the Piers Gill ravine though. In fact, if the clouds are down, probably best to return down Brown Tongue.
Thanks for your reply. I am starting to worry now that we may get lost! We went to Snowdon very naive and we just found our way up and down without any issues. Do you have any maps in particular that you recommend? Is it easy to follow the paths up and down? We are climbing on Friday 10th May so i dont anticipate there being as many people we can follow as when we did Snowdon in July on a Saturday!
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Thanks for your reply. I am starting to worry now that we may get lost! We went to Snowdon very naive and we just found our way up and down without any issues. Do you have any maps in particular that you recommend? Is it easy to follow the paths up and down? We are climbing on Friday 10th May so i dont anticipate there being as many people we can follow as when we did Snowdon in July on a Saturday!
Your latest post is starting to worry me a bit, tompy.
The map to get is the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL6, 1:25000 scale map for the English Lakes, South Western Area. Do you have a compass?
The easiest path to follow is the Brown Tongue route that I mentioned earlier. The Corridor Route is a bit more complex, and if you don't have your wits about you it would be possible to miss the start of it at Sty Head.
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The easiest path to follow is the Brown Tongue route that I mentioned earlier.
Yes, I agree.
Here are two links to the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) website. The pages advise on routes up Scafell Pike.
https://www.wmrt.org.uk/the-easiest-way-up/the-easiest-way-up-scafell-pike/ (https://www.wmrt.org.uk/the-easiest-way-up/the-easiest-way-up-scafell-pike/)
https://www.wmrt.org.uk/advice/accident-black-spots/piers-gill-scafell-pike/ (https://www.wmrt.org.uk/advice/accident-black-spots/piers-gill-scafell-pike/)
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Yes, I agree.
Here are two links to the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) website. The pages advise on routes up Scafell Pike.
https://www.wmrt.org.uk/the-easiest-way-up/the-easiest-way-up-scafell-pike/ (https://www.wmrt.org.uk/the-easiest-way-up/the-easiest-way-up-scafell-pike/)
https://www.wmrt.org.uk/advice/accident-black-spots/piers-gill-scafell-pike/ (https://www.wmrt.org.uk/advice/accident-black-spots/piers-gill-scafell-pike/)
Some good advice there, Skip.
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Your latest post is starting to worry me a bit, tompy.
The map to get is the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL6, 1:25000 scale map for the English Lakes, South Western Area. Do you have a compass?
The easiest path to follow is the Brown Tongue route that I mentioned earlier. The Corridor Route is a bit more complex, and if you don't have your wits about you it would be possible to miss the start of it at Sty Head.
Thanks for your help. I have just purchased the map and a compass ready for our climb. I really want to do The Corridor Route so i am going to study the map and spend a lot of time researching so I am confident when we climb as i know the group i am climbing with will have done no prior research and will just turn up to climb.
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Good luck Tompy - the tricky bit is getting on to the start of the Corridor Route from Sty Head pass - there are several converging paths here, and you need to descend quite steeply initially, with the cliffs of Spout Head above you to the left (East), before the route starts to climb, crossing Skew Gill (a short easy scrambly bit here). After that, the path is fairly easy to follow, although you do have to scramble DOWN a short distance before you traverse across to Greta Gill - nothing hard at all, though.
Once you come out at the top of Piers Gill, just keep following the path upwards onto Scafell Pike.
As I said earlier, I recommend Brown Tongue for the descent, pretty easy to follow.
Good luck, and do let us know how you get on :)
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Thanks for your help. I have just purchased the map and a compass ready for our climb. I really want to do The Corridor Route so i am going to study the map and spend a lot of time researching so I am confident when we climb as i know the group i am climbing with will have done no prior research and will just turn up to climb.
. Can you deal with gpx files? I have a trace of the Corridor route.