After climbing Ben Nevis last July, my 11 year old son was keen to add Scafell Pike to his list of mountains climbed, and the opportunity arose in October whilst we were on holiday in the SW Lake District. We stayed in a delightful old house above Eskdale, almost 400 years old, handy for the hills, pubs and for visiting family.
Copyright Ordnance Survey 2019After consulting the forecast for the next few days, we tentatively chose Monday 15th October for our attempt. The day dawned bright and sunny, so we drove over to Wasdale and parked on the green at Wasdale Head. Beautiful views of Great Gable with the morning sunlight throwing the cliffs into sharp relief, surely one of the most photogenic mountains in Britain.
Great Gable in the morning sunlight The Corridor Route was our chosen route, so we crossed the meadows at the head of Wasdale, the lane bordered by remarkable dry stone walls, in places thicker than they are high. We joined the Sty Head path and climbed out of the valley, traversing across the screes below Great Gable. I tried without success to pick out Napes Needle amongst the crags above.
Mouintaineering dog We met several groups of people once we got to the head of the pass; thankfully most had other objectives in mind. Initially the Corridor Route descends somewhat, traversing below the crags of Spout Head, a spur of Great End. We crossed Skew Gill, an easy scramble up the far side, and then the serious climbing started. Good views across the valley to Great Gable, and behind to Blencathra, another highly photogenic mountain, in my opinion - sadly my phone camera doesn’t really do it justice. Skiddaw also came into view, as did the distant northern Pennines.
At one stage we had to scramble down a crag and traverse around the head of a steep sided ravine, a tributary of Greta Gill, and I had to help the dog down. The climbing continued, but the path leveled off somewhat as we approached the head of Piers Gill, passing a small tarn with Great Gable reflected in it (Middleboot Knott Tarn?). A lovely spot for a wild camp.
Great Gable reflected in Middleboot Knotts TarnAfter passing the head of Piers Gill, the terrain changed, becoming a lot stonier as we met the tourist route coming up from Brown Tongue; also a lot more people around as we climbed. The summit of Lingmell fell away behind us, the ground started to level off, and there it was - the summit plinth, with perhaps 30 people on or around it.
The views were fantastic - we could see over the top of Helvellyn to Cross Fell and the High Pennines. To the South East we spotted Ingleborough, and to the South, Heysham power station and the coast Lancashire coast beyond. To the North, we could see Criffel across the Solway Firth, and some higher hills in the far distance. We found some rocks to sit on to the south, and enjoyed our sandwiches and Lidl ‘Alpengut’ dried sausage in the sunshine.
Great Gable, Skiddaw, Blencathra, northern Helvellyn range, with Sty Head Tarn in the centre. Another fine view to the North, Criffel in the distance far left, Derwentwater to the right.Pillar and Grasmoor, with tantalising glimpses of the Galloway hills beyond, and the top of Lingmell just visibleAfter descending towards Lingmell we took the tourist path down towards Brown Tongue. More lovely views - this time of Wastwater laid out below us.
Wast Water far below.The path turns into a tedious rock staircase lower down, necessary I know for erosion control, but hard on the knees, especially when you have an over enthusiastic dog dragging you downwards. Shortly after fording Lingmell Gill, an interesting distraction from the descent, we branched off to the right, taking a path that traverses across the lower slopes of Lingmell, back towards Wasdale Head. Much easier going, and a pleasant end to the walk.
Pillar and Kirk Fell, from the path traversing below LingmellGreat Gable in the late afternoon sunshine. A pint was called for, so into Ritsons Bar after a brief peep into the small outdoor shop. Beautiful views in the late afternoon sun necessitated several 'camera stops' as we drove back to our house.
Scafell Pike and ScafellLooking back up Wast Water.The ScreesAlmost back. What an array of mountains in the fading sunlight!