Wainwrights: Birkhouse Moor, Catstycam, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon Pike, St Sunday Crag, Birks, Arnison Crag.
Ticked off:four five
Distance: 13.5 miles
Ascent: 1500m
Duration: 8 hours
Weather: clear and sunny, bit cloudier later
Things seen: lots of people, woman with iPad, some more people.
We set off from Patterdale at about 9:30, collecting our substantial lunch from the village shop (open every day) and headed up the valley, along with some quite big groups of people. The clear path goes up to the Hole in The Wall, but we peeled off to contour round and follow the sheep trod (or old path no longer seeing much use) to the wall and up. And more up, to Birkhouse Moor. As we approached Red Tarn under Helvellyn, we stopped for elevenses and watched the queues of Striding Edgers making their approaches. A brief visit to the top of Catstycam, where it wasn't as windy as expected, and we dropped back down to ascend Swirral Edge. An excellent scramble (mostly one handed) and we were up on Helvellyn. It was very busy. There was a woman taking pictures on her iPad.
Across the tops, where we had lunch looking over the valley at Harrop Tarn and stopping at Dollywagon Pike, as there was some doubt about whether we'd actually been right up to the summit previously (which turned out to be a bloody good thing, as later investigation proved our last excursion up here in 2006 had followed the path skirting around the peak and not up to the top at all), before dropping down to Grisedale Tarn. We followed a narrow path to Deepdale Hause, very clear but steep towards the top, and along to St Sunday Crag. Here a couple asked us what the path was like and where it went before they set off down. Obviously our answer of 'it's alright - a bit scree-y' was sufficient for them.
The rocky ridge path heads over St Sunday Crag and down, where we left the main path to cross the grass towards Birks. We found our own way down the grassy fellside to Arnison Crags, which is very pretty and knobbly. The path meets up with a deer park wall, where a chap asked which hill was Arnison Crag (erm, the one in front of you) and down a rather deceptively knee jarring path down into Patterdale. Here we witnessed some cows stalking some unwary walkers down on a valley track, which was very entertaining.
Ticked off:
Distance: 13.5 miles
Ascent: 1500m
Duration: 8 hours
Weather: clear and sunny, bit cloudier later
Things seen: lots of people, woman with iPad, some more people.
We set off from Patterdale at about 9:30, collecting our substantial lunch from the village shop (open every day) and headed up the valley, along with some quite big groups of people. The clear path goes up to the Hole in The Wall, but we peeled off to contour round and follow the sheep trod (or old path no longer seeing much use) to the wall and up. And more up, to Birkhouse Moor. As we approached Red Tarn under Helvellyn, we stopped for elevenses and watched the queues of Striding Edgers making their approaches. A brief visit to the top of Catstycam, where it wasn't as windy as expected, and we dropped back down to ascend Swirral Edge. An excellent scramble (mostly one handed) and we were up on Helvellyn. It was very busy. There was a woman taking pictures on her iPad.
Across the tops, where we had lunch looking over the valley at Harrop Tarn and stopping at Dollywagon Pike, as there was some doubt about whether we'd actually been right up to the summit previously (which turned out to be a bloody good thing, as later investigation proved our last excursion up here in 2006 had followed the path skirting around the peak and not up to the top at all), before dropping down to Grisedale Tarn. We followed a narrow path to Deepdale Hause, very clear but steep towards the top, and along to St Sunday Crag. Here a couple asked us what the path was like and where it went before they set off down. Obviously our answer of 'it's alright - a bit scree-y' was sufficient for them.
The rocky ridge path heads over St Sunday Crag and down, where we left the main path to cross the grass towards Birks. We found our own way down the grassy fellside to Arnison Crags, which is very pretty and knobbly. The path meets up with a deer park wall, where a chap asked which hill was Arnison Crag (erm, the one in front of you) and down a rather deceptively knee jarring path down into Patterdale. Here we witnessed some cows stalking some unwary walkers down on a valley track, which was very entertaining.
No comments:
Post a Comment