My first three ridge routes featured walks around
Buttermere, Wastwater and Grasmere. The
final three cover Haweswater, Helvellyn and Ennerdale. Whilst all in the Lake District, they are
very different areas with Haweswater and Ennerdale being quite remote in the
far east and far west of the Lakes and Helvellyn being very central and
popular. These ridge routes continue
again the wonderful feeling of being on top of the world with ever changing
views that are stunning in any season and (in my view) whatever the weather
(although clearly there are less views to be had on misty and cloudy days!)
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| Rolling mountains and ridges under a beautiful sky |
So the fourth ridge route is from Mardale Head and up Kidsty
Pike and then a glorious tramp across High Raise and Rampsgill Head. Mardale Head is at the end of a no-through
road and it feels like the end of the world...you get to the car-park at the
end and are faced with the imposing massif of Mardale Ill Bell, Harter Fell and
High Street and you would think there was no way to scale those heights. I have conquered those fells but this route
took me around The Rigg at the foot of High Street and the
edge of Haweswater Reservoir and up the grassy slopes of Kidsty Pike. It was another beautifully sunny day and the
view down to Haweswater was superb with the sun catching the water as it lapped
the lake edge, making it look like champagne bubbles (but then I have champagne
on the brain!) All the hard work was in
the ascent of Kidsty Pike and as it is part of the Coast to Coast walk from St
Bees in the west to Robin Hood Bay in the east, I met several people doing that route.
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| View along Haweswater Reservoir |
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| Kidsty Pike in snowy December |
Once on top of Kidsty Pike, it was just a wonderful stroll
around the summits of Rampsgill Head and High Raise (not to be confused with
the High Raise of the Langdale Pikes) with beautiful views towards High Street
and the fells beyond and out towards the Pennines to the east. On this occasion, I walked back down Kidsty
Pike the way I had come but next time I do this route I will continue to High
Street and descend the ridge back to Haweswater or continue even further over
Mardale Ill Bell and down beside Small Water.
I have not climbed High Street since I was eight years old so I am sure
it would be a nicer experience as an adult!
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| Helvellyn & Catsycam from Hartside |
The Helvellyn range is not for the faint-hearted! I did the range in the summer of 2010 with my
husband from Dollywagon Pike to Clough Head – that includes the 10 peaks of
Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike, Helvellyn, Helvellyn Lower Man, Raise, White
Side, Stybarrow Dodd, Great Dodd, Watson’s Dodd and Clough Head. It is about 13 miles all told from end to end. We went up from Dunmail Raise ascending the
beautiful Raise Beck with the cascades and waterfalls crystal clear and
certainly not as frozen as in the Seat Sandal episode! Helvellyn was busy in spite of the mist and
it was the first time I saw the plaque marking where a light aeroplane landed
in 1926. Rather them than me and really not to be recommended! The views were not the best for the first
three fells owing to the mist but after we left Helvellyn, the mist cleared and
Striding Edge looked striking and the views opened out to Thirlmere and the
towards Keswick with each glorious step.
All the hard work is in the first fell and there is never more than a
few hundred feet of ascent for any of the others – just a happy grassy stroll.
My parents were on holiday in the Lakes the same week and
fortunately, they picked us up from the bottom of Clough Head and drove us back
to Dunmail Raise. This was fortunate as
after about 13 miles and over 4,000 feet of ascent, the thought of walking the
six or seven miles back to the car was not appealing! I confess this was not the first or the last
time I have prevailed upon their taxi services in the Lake District! I have also climbed Helvellyn via Striding
Edge but that story is for another day and whilst I am glad I completed that
challenge, is not one I would rush back to do again so has not made it into my
top six ridge routes!
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| Ennerdale Water |
The final ridge is a new one for me that I only did at the
end of March in the amazing warm sunshine that engulfed the Lake District (and pretty
much the rest of the UK) all week. This
was the first of two days I walked to complete the 214 Wainwrights. I started at Bowness Point on the shores of
Ennerdale Water. I had not been to
Ennerdale for many years and had forgotten how beautiful it is. The walk took me along the lake shore for
about two wonderful miles with woods on one side and the blue still lake backed
by Crag Fell and Caw Fell on the other.
My mission was Caw Fell and Haycock.
It took me longer than usual to reach the foot of Haycock as I kept
stopping to take photos (honestly, it is becoming an obsession) but the path up
through the woods and across streams and then up a heathery path to the ridge
was delightful. The fells of Steeple
(one of my favourites) and Pillar and the Buttermere fells (including the ridge
route of High Crag, High Stile and Red Pike from Part One) were surrounding me
on the ascent and I marvelled again how close everything is in the Lake
District!
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| Looking back to the Haycock ridge |
I reached the summit of Caw Fell first and the views to the
Wastwater fells were stunning and you could see out to sea for miles towards
the mountains of Scotland and the Isle of Man with a thin wisp of cloud between
the base and the summits. Inland, miles
and miles of rugged and grassy mountains stretched out like a painter’s
canvas. The ridge to Haycock was
wonderful with the views of the Wastwater fells (including my favourite
Yewbarrow) becoming more magnificent with each step and the Scafells were
basking in the sunshine. The top of
Haycock was one of the best views I have seen from a mountain top and given it
is not one of the most popular fells by any stretch of the imagination, this
was unexpected. I would go back to that
ridge route again and again however.
Seriously breathtaking and with the summit of Haycock reached, I had
only three fells to go to complete the 214 Wainwright’s so I was euphoric!
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| Sunshine in the woods - just because I like it! |
These are my personal favourites. Some of you will wonder why some of the most
popular ridge routes do not feature here.
Until I climbed Haycock, the route from Arnison, St Sunday Crag and
Birks was going to appear but Haycock has overtaken that one now. I had a disaster climbing Crinkle Crags and
Bowfell (a story for another occasion but let’s just say it was before I had GPS
and anyone can confuse mountains in the mist in the early days of walking...!)
so that has not made it and whilst it was marvellous being on Scafell Pike and
the highest point in England, I would not rush back to it over others. I like the Fairfield Horseshoe, the Coledale
Horseshoe and the Coniston fells and the ridge route
from Middle Fell, Seatallen and Buckbarrow from Wastwater. It is all about personal preferences and
choices and probably more importantly, the emotions you remember at the time of
climbing. I love hearing about the
favourites other people have so do please share them....
