I always like to do circular walks when at all possible and from Seathwaite at the head of Borrowdale this is easy to do.  My preferred route is up via Styhead Tarn and the Corridor route, then up to Lingmell Col to join the main path up from Wasdale.  The return route then heads back via Broad Crag and Ill Crag to Esk Hause and then down the pretty Ruddy Gill.  The distance up and down is roughly the same, five miles each way.

Yesterday I was walking with Kevin and his daughter Becky.  Kevin was attempting to climb all the national 3 peaks over the summer.  This was the second peak as he had already completed Snowdon a few weeks previously with his youngest daughter and next week will be heading up to Scotland to climb Ben Nevis with his eldest daughter.

We started early, the advantage being that we could park close to Seathwaite farm instead of miles down the road!   Also we enjoyed quiet paths until we were fairly near the summit. 

We reached the summit in around 3 hours.  Being a Saturday it was even busier than usual with groups walking for charities, dogs taking their owners for walks, parents and children, runners - including my friend Eleanor reccying the Borrowdale fell race route.  Also moving quickly up to the summit as we were just leaving, was one of our top fell runners, Rob Jebb who was doing his Bob Graham round – I read later on that he had achieved the 2nd fastest time ever in an awesome time of 14 hours 30 mins.

The start of our route back can be viewed from Scafell Pike summit – a rocky path which winds its way below Broad Crag, Ill Crag and Great End before heading out of sight down to Esk Hause.  From there it was down Ruddy Gill with it’s steep, lush, plant covered sides and pretty waterfalls to Stockley bridge, an old packhorse bridge and from there it’s an easy walk back to the farm and the end of our walk.  We were up and down in 6 hours 20 minutes, a good time which included lunch on the summit, stops for photos and also to admire the views.

Thanks Kevin and Becky for a great day out.

Kate

Whilst we walk up and down Scafell Pike on a regular basis, Scafell is a non-regular for us, so today made a very nice change.
Working for Activus Outdoors, I was joined by Neil, who had taken a year off work in order to complete a range of challenge events around the UK and abroad. Last week it was a Lands End to John O'Groats cycle!

This week, it's the Lakeland 3000's, with today being the Scafell range. Following the Lingmell Col route from Wasdale, we encountered a difficult river crossing at Lingmell beck, after some hunting around for a suitable crossing place sure enough we found it.
Through Hollow Stones and up to Lingmell Col before the final push to the summit of Scafell Pike. By now the mist had descended, but visibility was still reasonable.
A brief stop on the summit (it was cold) for photos and we ploughed on towards Mickledore, here we found more shelter from the wind, so stopped for lunch whilst enjoying the spectacular views into Eskdale and of the Scafell crags.

We then continued our descent towards Eskdale until reaching the outflow of Foxes tarn gully, this was in spate, so extra care needed in order to keep dry! Because this ascent involves an element of scrambling, the time goes much quicker and very soon we were on the summit of Scafell, this time the views were far reaching. More photos and a quick bite to eat before our final descent back to Wasdale.

5 hours 40 minutes in total, well done and thanks Neil. Hope you have an equally good day on Skiddaw & Helvellyn tomorrow to complete the challenge. 

For anyone looking for a mountain challenge that's doable within a weekend (or any 2 day period), the Lakeland 3000's  makes an excellent choice. Definitely a proper mountain challenge, has easy access, and involves almost no driving once in the Lakes. Why not give it a try?

​Mark