Published at 15:41, Wednesday, 07 July 2010

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MAP: OS Explorer map OL4 and OL6 (both are required).

START/FINISH: Seathwaite in Borrowdale, GR NY235123. The roadside parking leading to Seathwaite fills up early, so walkers may need to park in the National Trust pay and display car park in Seatoller, which is 1.2 miles from the start of the walk.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Bus 79, the Borrowdale Rambler, and 77/77A, the Honister Rambler, both stop in nearby Seatoller (telephone 0871 200 2233).

REFRESHMENTS: Yew Tree Country Restaurant, Seatoller.

DISTANCE: 9 miles

TOTAL ASCENT: 3,400ft

TIME: 6-7.5 hours

GRADE: Hard

OVERVIEW: Cumbria Outdoors has been running for seven years this month, so it seemed about time that we had a go at the big ’un – Scafell Pike. Starting from Seathwaite in Borrowdale, we take one of the classic routes – up to Esk Hause via Grains Gill and then along a broad, rocky ridge to England’s highest mountain. The descent uses the Corridor Route to drop down to Styhead Tarn and then back to Seathwaite.

If you’re looking for solitude on the fells, then give this one a miss. But if you’re looking for a long day out in the finest mountain scenery that England has to offer, with grand views in all directions, combined with a tremendous sense of satisfaction at having climbed a 3,209ft fell, then go for it!

Although the climbs are reasonably well spaced-out, there are a lot of boulders on the higher sections of the route and it is these that make the going just that little bit harder. The descent is generally straightforward – except for one short section that involves some easy scrambling.

THE WALK: Having parked on the Seathwaite road, walk south and follow the track into the farmyard and out the other end (signpost reads: “Public Bridleway Styhead 2 miles, Public Footpath Esk Hause 2½ miles”). After crossing the humpback Stockley Bridge and going through a gate in a wall, turn left immediately.

A clear path follows Grains Gill upstream, eventually crossing back to the other side via a narrow bridge (1.5 miles from the start). The path becomes considerably rougher and steeper as the gill narrows and deepens.

It’s a tough slog towards the end, but eventually, with Great End’s mighty northern buttress looming over you, the path crosses the gill and then swings left to continue climbing at a more sedate angle. Bear right at an obvious fork. One more short climb brings you to Esk Hause where another amazing panorama of mountains greets you. Turn right at the T-junction here to head into wilder, more rugged country (2.8 miles from the start).

The path quickly climbs out of Calf Cove and up to a fairly flat, grassy area. For a short detour on to Great End (2,986ft), turn right along a faint path at the top of this climb. As the path peters out among the rocks, swing left on grass to join a clearer path along which you turn right to make your way on to the broad summit.

There is little difference in height between the two cairns, both perched on rock piles. The one to the right is marked on Ordnance Survey maps as the highest point, but there is a slightly better view to be had from the one on the left, reached by following a line of cairns.

Having visited the top, follow the line of cairns back across the summit and down the path. This soon cuts across the grassy area above Calf Cove to rejoin the main ridge route, along which you turn right.

The path now climbs through an area of boulders and then continues past Ill Crag, the rocky summit of which is over to the left. After the next dip in the path, you climb the side of Broad Crag and descend once more before starting the final, tough ascent to the summit of Scafell Pike (4.7 miles from the start).

Needless to say, there are magnificent views to be had from the top, some of the best in the whole of the Lake District in fact. The fell tops that you can see from here are too many to mention, but Great Gable is one that stands out from the rest, as is Sca Fell, the Pike’s little brother to the SW, guarded by the formidable rock-face of Broad Crag. On a clear day, the Isle of Man is also visible.

From the summit, take the cairned path heading NW. In 100 yards, bear right at fork. As you reach a particularly large cairn at the edge of the main summit area, your descent begins. It isn’t especially steep, but it’s all on loose stones and boulders, so can be tiresome.

The fell directly ahead of you in Lingmell. As you approach the grassy area at the base of Lingmell, and just before the path swings left, take the narrower path on your right. It’s hard to spot among all the rocks, so you need to watch carefully for it, or else you could end up down in Wasdale.

Having crossed the two arms of the beck feeding into Piers Gill, keep straight ahead (5.3 miles from the start). You get a great view down this dark, forbidding ravine as you cross the head of it. Ignore the path off to the left immediately after the gill.

The Corridor Route continues its generally downward trend surrounded by magnificent mountain scenery. Great Gable often seems to dominate, but turn round from time to time to enjoy the view back to Lingmell and, below it, Piers Gill, which creates an amazing slash in the landscape.

The path is generally straightforward, although you do encounter a ‘bad step’ along the way – a short section of bare rock that will require you to use your hands as you climb it.

About 1.6 miles beyond the summit, just after crossing Skew Gill and before the path begins climbing towards Sty Head, take a faint path on your left. Don’t worry if you miss it – it simply cuts a corner and, whichever route you take, you still have to climb on to the high ground above Styhead Tarn and then turn left along a clear path.

When you reach the stretcher box at a crossing of paths (6.6 miles from the start), turn right. Continue past the tarn on this clear path and cross the beck at a bridge.

The bridleway eventually drops to the valley bottom where it goes through a gate and crosses Stockley Bridge (8.1 miles from the start). Swing left to retrace your steps to Seathwaite.

POINTS OF INTEREST: The summit of Scafell Pike and 40 acres surrounding it was donated to the National Trust in 1920 by Lord Leconfield in memory of the local men who had died during World War One. An inscription on the summit cairn, the highest war memorial in the country, commemorates the men who “fell for God and King, for freedom, peace and right in the Great War 1914-18”. Other large areas of the fell, as far down as the 2,000ft contour, were given to the trust in the 1920s.

For more Lake District walks, try Vivienne Crow’s Walk! The Lake District (North) published by Discovery Walking Guides. Available in bookshops and from www.guideus.co.uk.

Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk