After just four days at work, I was away to the mountains again, this time a weekend with the Gentian Club in Great Langdale. I have a few days of unassigned leave to use, so extended the trip to Friday. Claire travelled up with me, as often before, and we stayed in Mum and Dad’s house in Kendal for Thursday night (although we had it to ourselves as they were away in Eskdale with Ruth, Josh and Chloe!).

Friday’s forecast was for the showers to be fewest in the east, so we opted to walk in Longsleddale, where Claire also had four unbagged Wainwrights. The first couple of hours were mostly dry, as we ascended via Great Howe to Grey Crag and Tarn Crag then followed the broad, boggy ridge to Branstree.

A series of close-together showers passed over as we made the detour to Selside Pike and back, then the brighter conditions returned for the walk back down Gatescarth Pass to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3108499

Thanks to roadwords near Windermere, it took around an hour to drive to Chapel Stile, where our accommodation for the weekend was TocH’s Weirside Bunkhouse. We moved our stuff in and had a cup of tea then, a little later, took a stroll down the river to the shore of Elterwater and back.

Saturday’s forecast was similar: sunny spells and heavy showers. I was feeling optimistic (as usual) and offered a high level walk at the head of Langdale while some others headed to the Langdale Pikes or to Lingmoor Fell. Claire and Sheena joined me and we drove the few miles up to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel where Claire’s NT membership card gave us free parking.

First objective for the day was Pike of Blisco. We ascended the lane for a short distance then followed the well-built path beside Redacre Gill, overtaking a large group near the bottom and pausing higher up to don waterproofs for the day’s first heavy shower.

It was fairly misty as we descended to Red Tarn then climbed back up, west then south, to the day’s second peak Cold Pike, then cleared out nicely when we were on the summit to reveal the views of the Coniston Fells and Dunnerdale.

After a short break, we continued across the broad grassy ridge to the rockier upper slopes of Crinkle Crags, where we enjoyed some grand views of the eastern crags and a little scramble up the Bad Step on Long Top (the Second Crinkle and Wainwright summit) before another heavy shower, accompanied by strong gusts and a little hail, blew in. By the time we’d crossed the remaining three Crinkles, it had dried up again so we found a sheltered spot below Shelter Crags (appropriately!) for lunch.

The final hill for the day was Bow Fell, which we ascended in the dry with more good views back to the morning’s hills and the Coniston and Dunnerdale Fells beyond. There was mist at the top, so only fleeting views. We debated briefly whether to descend via The Band or Mickleden, opting for the former as Claire hadn’t been that way before. The day’s final heavy shower arrived as we got to Three Tarns and it was good to be walking downwind from there. Helpfully, it did dry up for the final 15 minutes down to Stool End and the car, and the breeze did a fairly good job of drying out our waterproofs and bags in that time.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3109273

Soon we were back in Chapel Stile for tea and biscuits, showers and chat, then pre-dinner drinks to celebrate Helen’s birthday. Dinner was carrot and parsnip soup, pasta bolognese, then lemon tart for dessert – good to refuel after a great day on some fine hills.

Sunday’s forecast was dry for the morning, with a band of heavy rain expected by early afternoon. Ned proposed a grade 2 scramble on the south face of Harrison Stickle, which was a good option as we could get down before the rain. Claire, Sheena and Vivienne joined us too (although Vivienne took a detour to Pike of Stickle instead of tackling the scramble). The walk started with a steep ascent of the path north of Dungeon Ghyll to reach the base of Harrison Stickle’s upper crags.

Ned had brought some climbing gear so we harnessed up there (with sling harnesses) just in case, then set off up the crag, always aiming upwards and right. Ned led, followed by Claire and Sheena, with me bringing up the rear. The scrambling was pleasant and blocky in parts, exposed in places, and broken by grassy terraces. We did our best to weave around a few damp lichen-covered bands higher up, getting the rope out at one point to belay Sheena up although the rest of us were comfortable without. We emerged right by the summit of Harrison Stickle to find Vivienne waiting for us there, and took the direct descent route via Stickle Tarn and Stickle Gill, arriving back at the car by 1:30pm.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/3110421

Ned and Vivienne invited us back to their cottage (also in Chapel Stile) for a couple of hours for coffee and chat. A little disappointingly, the wet weather only arrived as Claire and I were setting off home a couple of hours later. With hindsight, we could have included a tour of all the Langdale Pikes summits after the scramble without getting wet – but never mind, still a good day out!

Our drive back to Hilton took just under three hours with some short queues on the M6 near Warrington and Stoke. Another great weekend in the hills, but perhaps it will be good to spend a few weekends at home now after a several consecutive trips away!

My full photo album can be viewed here.

I haven’t found time for much hillwalking this year so it was great to get away to the Lake District for the Gentian Club’s April meet at the Rydal Hall bunkhouse. Claire and I travelled together again, leaving my house just before 6:30pm, and had a good drive up the motorway, arriving soon after 9. I was glad I had investigated the location of the bunkhouse on the aerial photo as it would otherwise have been tricky to locate in the dark! With this trip surprisingly not very well subscribed, there was plenty of space in the large hut, and plenty of bottom bunks to choose from despite being the last to arrive.

I was up early on Saturday as I was on breakfast duty for the trip and had to make the porridge and lay the table ready for the appointed breakfast time of 7am. We were keen to get out promptly on what was a sunny day after a largely sunny month! I had looked at Claire’s Wainwright bagging list in advance and planned a circular route from Grasmere village that would visit some quieter places and four new Wainwrights. Sheena decided to join us too.

After a short drive from Rydal, we parked in the large layby on the main road and walked through Grasmere village and up into Easedale. We followed the main track up to Easedale Tarn, which looked lovely in the sunshine with Tarn Crag above. That was one of the hills on our route, but we took an indirect route, first ascending southwest onto Blea Rigg, which looks more impressive from that side than when approaching up the ridge from Silver How! The summit rewarded us with fine views towards the Coniston Fells and over Langdale, and back over Easedale towards Helvellyn and Fairfield.

We headed up the ridge of Blea Rigg a bit then dropped down over easy but pathless ground to Codale Tarn. There we picked up a small path that led up easily to Tarn Crag, perhaps the highlight of the day and a place I have not visited many times. Another passing bagger took our photo on the summit.

We then followed small paths and trods west up to Codale Head, from where it was only a small detour to visit Sergeant Man (not on our original plan) for first lunch. Then we continued up to the broad whaleback summit of High Raise. There were extensive views over most of the Lake District (although hazy in the distance) with the panorama towards the Scafell range looking particularly fine. The ridge north to Ullscarf gave easy walking on short grass, not at all boggy after the prolonged dry weather.

We improvised a rough and fairly steep descent of Green Comb into Wythburn Head, finding a large group of red deer by Greenhow Crags, and pausing for second lunch half way down. Once across the stream at the bottom, it was just a short climb back up onto the ridge of Steel Fell, our final Wainwright of the day. We descended by the southeast ridge, then the lanes back to Grasmere for an ice cream before returning to the car and bunkhouse by around 4:30pm.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2940579

The others had also had a good day tackling the Fairfield Horseshoe, and got back a little before us. After a few cups of tea and a shower, I took a short stroll around the grounds of Rydal Hall before dinner. We enjoyed Simon’s vegetable soup, Martin’s chicken curry, and Claire’s lemon tart, then chatted until late-ish.

A few light showers fell overnight, but it was bright again by the morning. I prepared breakfast again, which was followed by the daily meeting to discuss plans. Sheena had left early for a choir reunion, and surprisingly, most others were not up for another full day out despite the good weather. Consequently it was just Claire and me for my proposed ‘Inverted Hartsop Horseshoe’, starting at the top of Kirkstone Pass, reached by just a few minutes of steep uphill driving up The Struggle from Ambleside!

We walked clockwise, starting with the ascent of Red Screes on the good path that weaves between the crags. There was a cold breeze on the top so we didn’t linger long before continuing down to our next objective, Middle Dodd. We traversed around to Scandale Pass and reascended a little to Little Hart Crag, which gives wonderful views over the head of Dovedale, then continued down the ridge to High Hartsop Dodd and on down to Brothers Water. The distant views were much less hazy than the previous day, presumably thanks to the overnight showers, and there had been plenty of sunny spells.

We made our way through the pretty hamlet of Hartsop, then ascended very steeply up the north ridge of Hartsop Dodd, pausing near the top for first lunch with a view over Hayeswater Gill and Patterdale.

A few spots of rain fell as we passed over the summit of Hartsop Dodd, but were not enough to need waterproofs. We continued up the gentle ridge to the indistinct summit of Stony Cove Pike, visiting various candidates for the high point before continuing to the west top, Caudale Moor, with its large cairn. That just left an easy descent along the ridge to St Raven’s Edge – I bagged the Dewey as I don’t think I had ever actually visited the highest point before! – then steeply back down to the Pass. Surprisingly we had only passed around a dozen other walkers all day!
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2941659

The drive back to Derby was mostly free flowing, again taking around 2 hours and 45 minutes. Another really enjoyable weekend with the club, with very scenic walks and good company on the hill and at the bunkhouse. It was great that the good weather continued even on the Sunday when showers had been forecast. Next up for me, a long Easter weekend in Angus!

You can find more of my photos from the weekend here.

The second Gentian Club trip of the year went to the High House bunkhouse in Seathwaite, right at the head of Borrowdale – a place very familiar to me after eight January visits with CUHWC between 2004 and 2012! Due to the great location and fairly long drive, I decided it was worth taking the Friday off work and getting an extra day in the hills. Claire travelled with me again, meeting at my house at 7pm on Thursday to head up to my sister’s house in Natland for the night.

On Friday, we had arranged to meet Sheena for a walk in the Newlands valley. Arriving at our start point near Little Town at the appointed time of 10am, we were surprised to find her not already there waiting, until I read her text message saying she’d had to return to Ambleside to pick up an item left behind at the hostel and would walk separately. So we got our boots and waterproofs on in the light drizzle and set off up the path beside Rigg Beck.

Ruth had suggested the stream might be tricky to cross after the previous day’s rain, but her concerns proved unfounded as it was easy to locate a spot where we could simply take a large stride across. Then came a steep, grassy ascent onto the ridge and up it to the windy and misty summit. The drizzle was easing though, at least, and we had some excellent views over the Newlands Valley on the way up.

As we continued towards Knott Rigg, the cloud lifted a little and we were rewarded with views down towards Rannerdale Knotts. Another steep, grassy slope led us down to Newlands Pass, where we paused for lunch in a relatively sheltered spot overlooking the Moss Force waterfall. Then we continued back up onto High Snockrigg – with good views of Crummock Water – and across the boggy shoulder to reach drier ground on Robinson (back in the mist).

We continued along Littledale Edge and back up to the summit of Hindscarth, then began our descent north, soon dropping back out of the cloud and gaining views down the valley. The small rocky steps on Scope End added some interest to the route, before the final section across fields to Gillbrow and back along the lane to the car.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2553331

Although the drizzle had returned intermittently, we were pleased to finish the day with our waterproofs only a little damp. I opted to take the scenic route to Seathwaite, over the Newlands and Honister passes, and we arrived shortly after opening time at 4pm. Most of the others were also there promptly and after a cup of tea and a hot shower, we soon settled down to the typical Gentian evening of conversation, dinner and drinks. I had accepted Vivienne’s offer of veggie chilli, and very tasty it was too!

Saturday looked much the best day of the weekend, especially in the morning, so we moved breakfast half an hour earlier than normal in order to get out promptly. I offered to lead a long-ish horseshoe walk from Stonethwaite around the Langstrath skyline, which would take in several hills I hadn’t been to for many years! Mike, Claire, and new member Eric opted to join me, while other groups headed to Scafell Pike and High Spy.

We parked just before the village and, after a short walk up the valley, struck off to the right to ascend beside Big Stanger Gill. I had spotted that the route was well-used on Strava, despite not being marked on the OS map at all, but was not expecting it to be an old and well-built stone-pitched path! The steep, wooded and mossy slopes were very attractive to pass through, and offered excellent views back down Borrowdale.

Soon we were on the plateau of Rosthwaite Fell and managed to find our way through the mist to the top considered by Wainwright to be the summit, Bessyboot. There were glimpses of blue sky above so we remained hopeful that the mist would eventually lift off the hills as forecast. That didn’t happen during our traverse up the ridge to Glaramara though! We skirted around Rosthwaite Cam then west below Combe Door to reach the main path, and a short, straightforward scramble then led us up to the summit tors.

The cloud did begin to break as we continued south towards Allen Crags, revealing intermittent views of the distinctive outline of Great Gable. By the time we reached the summit of Allen Crags, pretty much all the hills had cleared, except for Scafell Pike.

We continued up to Esk Hause, which gave excellent views down Eskdale. Mike opted to take the main path to Angle Tarn while Claire, Eric and I went via the summit of Esk Pike – another fine viewpoint over Bow Fell and Langdale, as well as down Langstrath. We met back up with Mike at the outflow of the tarn and paused near there for lunch.

Our next objective was Rossett Pike, quite a quiet hill despite being just off the main path up from Langdale. Bang on schedule, a few spots of light rain began to fall as we continued northeast down to Stake Pass, and you could see that the cloud was starting to drop onto the higher hills. We therefore opted to traverse across the grassy slopes of High Raise rather than going via its summit. Although it was a little rough and boggy in places, I am sure it was the quicker route route to Sergeant’s Crag, as well as keeping us below the cloud to enjoy the views over Langstrath.

From Sergeant’s Crag, it was only a very short distance down the ridge to our final Wainwright of the day, Eagle Crag, a fine vantage point over Borrowdale. We followed the obvious trodden path north and down some increasingly-awkward and exposed rock steps through a cliff band, almost deciding at one point to head back up and find an easier way down. [Checking the Wainwright guide later on revealed that there’s a better way, looping around the crags further west!]. We got down unscathed though, and the rest of the descent to Greenup Gill was steep but straightforward. That just left a short walk back down the valley to Stonethwaite.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2553334

Back at the bunkhouse, we hung up our damp waterproofs in the drying room and enjoyed a few cups of tea and a hot shower before dinner. Mike provided a deliciously rich venison casserole for the meat-eaters. Drinks and conversation around the fire continued until bed (but disappointingly the old pot-bellied coal burner has been replaced with a more standard – probably safer – multi-fuel stove that pumps out a lot less heat!).

Sunday started damp, but by the time we’d finished washing up after breakfast it looked like it was brightening up. I offered to lead a walk from the bunkhouse up to Base Brown, then around the Gillercomb skyline to Great Knotts, then down to Honister Pass and back along the valley. Vivienne, Sheena, Eric and Claire decided to join me this time.

Conditions were fairly pleasant as we made the steep ascent up the pitched path – as slippery as it always is – beside Sourmilk Gill. It began to rain as we continued up past the Hanging Stone to Base Brown though, and it was pretty wet walking upwind from there to Green Gable! We were relieved to turn north at that point and have the wind and rain on our backs for the continuation to Brandreth – needing a little compass work to be sure of taking the right line – and Grey Knotts.

The rain eased again as we dropped down the very wet path/stream to Honister, and we gained some views into Borrowdale. We had a short lunch break as we descended the Coast-to-Coast route, parallel with the road down to Seatoller, but didn’t delay long as it was starting to rain again. The final stretch along the lane to Seathwaite was very wet, and we were happy to get back to the bunkhouse and get changed into dry clothes before the journey home.
Route map: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2553338

Claire and I were packed up and on the road soon after 2:30pm and had a good drive back down the M6 and A50 to my house, arriving soon after 6pm.

In conclusion, another excellent weekend in the hills, making good use of the days despite mixed weather. Claire bagged 15 new Wainwrights and I enjoyed returning to them too! More photos of the weekend are available here. I look forward to my next trip with the club, to Glen Shiel in May for some big Munro days (hopefully!)

Only a week after my previous visit, I headed back to the Lake District for another weekend, this time with the Gentian Mountainering and Hill Walking Club. Coincidentally, all my previous weekend meets have been in Wales, so this was my first time with them in the Lakes. Using up another left over day of 2022 annual leave, I again took the Friday off work to enjoy an extra day in the hills. Thursday had been a snowy day in northern England, so I had been worried that the evening drive up to Ruth’s house could be difficult, but it turned out that the roads were totally clear, with nothing worse than sleet falling.

I had advertised my intention to walk on the Friday to the other trip participants, and was pleased that Mike had accepted the invitation. We had arranged to meet in Staveley, with a view to then popping up the valley to Kentmere village for a walk around the horseshoe. He texted me when he arrived at Wilf’s cafe, having got an early start and driven up from Coventry, and I headed across from Ruth’s, via Asda to refuel, while he had his breakfast. Heading up the valley, we found that the farmer had helpfully ploughed the lane all the way, so there was no difficulty reaching the small car parking area by the Kentmere Institute.

It was a perfect, blue-sky day with a good covering of snow at all levels. As we got our boots on, we decided that it was not worth carrying an ice axe or crampons as we would not be crossing any really steep ground and the snow would be fresh and soft. Soon we were heading up the Garburn Pass track, which provides an easy route to the ridge. Continuing gently up to Yoke, we found that in many places the wind had already scoured the path entirely of snow, and progress was consequently fairly easy, except through the occasional deep drift.

The ridge from Yoke to Thornthwaite Crag, via Ill Bell and Froswick, is one of my favourites in the Lake District, and did not disappoint. The light covering of snow nicely accentuated the crags, and with excellent visibility we could see clearly as far as the Coniston Fells, Langdale, Scafell Pike, Fairfield and Helvellyn to the west. We had first lunch in the disappointingly-ineffective shelter of Thornthwaite Beacon, not lingering on before getting moving again to warm up.

The next section of the walk, over the shoulder of High Street to Mardale Ill Bell, had the deepest snow covering of the day, with at least six inches most of the way and deeper drifts in places. As always, the views back to Ill Bell and its neighbours were magnificent. Crossing Nan Bield Pass to Harter Fell, we gained spectacular vistas north over Small Water and Haweswater, and paused in a relatively sheltered spot for second lunch.

I had expected more deep snow on the long, gentle ridge to Kentmere Pike and Shipman Knotts, but that proved not to be the case, with the stony path blown totally clear most of the way. Nevertheless, it felt like quite a long way down the ridge, particularly as we ended up taking a rougher line than intended down to the bridleway at Stile End. From there, it was just a couple of kilometres along the lanes back to Kentmere village. A perfect winter day in the sunshine!

I dropped Mike back to his car in Staveley, then continued via Ambleside and Dunmail Raise to our accommodation for the weekend, the Blencathra Centre, above Threlkeld. Most of the others had already arrived. It was quite a luxurious bunkhouse, with small en-suite bedrooms and a comfortable lounge-dining area with panoramic views over the Vale of Keswick, Once I’d said my hellos and taken a few minutes to settle in and make my bed, a few of us set off down to Threlkeld for a hearty pub dinner at the Horse and Farrier. Once back at the bunkhouse, we had time for a glass of wine and some more chat before bed.

On Saturday, I offered to lead a walk around the horseshoe to Blencathra from Mungrisdale village. I was surprised that Mike was the only one to sign up, with many preferring to walk directly from the bunkhouse even though Howard’s route (also up Blencathra) was longer, and a few others heading to Skiddaw. Nevertheless, the two of us set out again, and I drove us the 15 minutes or so to our start point. We were not sure to what extent the partially-thawed snow at lower levels would have re-frozen into hard ice overnight, so opted to wear winter boots and carry crampons, although not ice axes. It turned out the snow remained soft at all levels and no winter gear was necessary.

Our route started over Souther Fell, which always offers excellent views of Bannerdale Crags and Blencathra to the west – views in fact of our route for the rest of the day! I thought Souther Fell was a quiet hill but we found at least a couple of dozen others making their way along the ridge, so perhaps it has become a popular route. Deservedly so, in my opinion!

A gentle descent was followed by a long, gentle ascent over Scales Fell to the summit of Blencathra. This offered great views of Sharp Edge and Scales Tarn to the right, and improving views over the very snowy Dodds, less snowy Central Fells, and beyond, to the left. There was only the odd sunny spell, the weather being mostly overcast, but the air clarity was still excellent.

Turning north, we continued over Atkinson Pike then descended (with great views back to the snowy side of Sharp Edge) and reascended over easy ground to Bannerdale Crags, where we paused for lunch. The ridge onward to Bowscale Fell gave easy walking with a light covering of snow, before the final descent into Mosedale via the attractive Bowscale Tarn. That just left a couple of miles of easy track and road walking back to the car.

We were the first back to the bunkhouse, so I was able to enjoy a couple of cups of tea and a shower before the others began to return. We enjoyed discussing our excellent, snowy days on the hill over the preparation and eating of dinner – spag bol for the carnivores. In common with the others, I got a fairly early night, but did not sleep well – not sure why!

On Sunday, I again offered to lead a walk, this time up the Ullock Pike ridge southwest of Skiddaw, but did not get any takers. So instead I joined Howard’s walk from Mosedale village over Carrock Fell and High Pike, in the northeastern corner of the Northern Fells, behind Blencathra. Mike, Marie, Simon and Jayne also came along, but unfortunately Jayne left her boots behind so she and Simon had to return to collect those and ended up doing a similar route separately, a little later.

Almost all the snow had melted with a rise in temperatures and some heavy rain overnight, so the ground around Bowscale Tarn (looking up the valley) had changed from white to brown. Howard led us up a small and attractive path that I didn’t know existed, directly up the end of Carrock Fell from the southeast. In the past I have always used the one marked on the map on the northeastern side. Winding through the heather and past a few sheepfolds, we soon reached the old fort at the summit.

The winds were pretty ferocious in the immediate vicinity of the cairn, so we didn’t stop there, dropping down to the west and continuing along the flat ridge over Milton Hill. We had seen a couple of race marshals near the summit, and were soon being overtaken by the leaders in the Carrock Fell Race, and thereafter by progressively slower fellrunners further back in the sizeable field! I did not envy them racing in shorts and singlets in the strong, cold wind while I was comfortable in base layer, micro-fleece and two jackets!

When we reached the junction with the Cumbria Way, the others opted to skip the small detour to High Pike and head south directly. I thought I’d have a quick yomp up to the summit and back, and catch them back up on the descent. It proved a good decision as the mist lifted off the top as I ascended to leave good views in all directions, with even Blencathra and Skiddaw clearing for a bit.

I found the others having lunch in the ‘Lingy Hut’, a small MBA bothy on the side of Great Lingy Hill, offering welcome respite from the wind. Once we’d eaten, we continued down the Cumbria Way into Mosedale, past the old tungsten mines and down the lane to return to the cars. A little light rain fell in the final half hour, later than had been forecast, but wasn’t enough to make us significantly wet.

Having said my farewells, I drove an hour and a quarter or so to High Bentham to visit my parents for dinner and a chat. After that, the drive south was very wet but not delayed, and I was home by around 9:15pm.

Maps of my routes can be found at these links:
– Kentmere Round
– Blencathra
– Carrock Fell
More photos are available on Google Photos here.

To sum up, another fantastic weekend in the hills with some welcome late-winter snow conditions. I look forward to the next Gentian meet, in the Brecon Beacons next month.