Styhead Tarn with Great End behind and the start of the Corridor route.
As I’m sure many of you know we spend much of the winter in Spain doing guided walks and climbing courses in the warmer and sunnier conditions of this part of the world. However, I do miss the Lakeland fells – they are so familiar and of course nothing beats home territory - so when a recent trip home coincided with a request from Paul and Lynne for a guided walk up Scafell Pike I was all too happy to oblige!
As their accommodation was in Buttermere it made sense to do the Borrowdale route up Scafell Pike from Seathwaite Farm. It was a very quiet Friday on the mountain and so for a change quite unusually, we were able to park close to the farm. We met a few other hardy soles out walking but for most of the day we had the mountain to ourselves, enjoying the peace and quiet.
We walked a ‘lollipop’ route – up to Styhead Tarn then along the Corridor route to Lingmell Col and from there to the summit. Our return route was over Broad Crag and Ill Crag, then skirting Great End to reach Esk Hause before heading down the pretty Ruddy Gill and Grains Gill. Only the short, flat section between Seathwaite Farm and Stockley Bridge is repeated.
As their accommodation was in Buttermere it made sense to do the Borrowdale route up Scafell Pike from Seathwaite Farm. It was a very quiet Friday on the mountain and so for a change quite unusually, we were able to park close to the farm. We met a few other hardy soles out walking but for most of the day we had the mountain to ourselves, enjoying the peace and quiet.
We walked a ‘lollipop’ route – up to Styhead Tarn then along the Corridor route to Lingmell Col and from there to the summit. Our return route was over Broad Crag and Ill Crag, then skirting Great End to reach Esk Hause before heading down the pretty Ruddy Gill and Grains Gill. Only the short, flat section between Seathwaite Farm and Stockley Bridge is repeated.
Great Gable with it's hat on, from the Corridor route.
To make the most of a few days away Paul and Lynne had walked up Red Pike and High Stile from Buttermere the previous day. They’d done plenty of walking before but this was their first big mountain walk and was good preparation for walking up Scafell Pike, having tried and tested their walking boots and other equipment – always a good plan for any big day out in the mountains.
The day was fairly atmospheric with clouds coming and going and patches of sunshine dotting the fell sides in the distance. No views today unfortunately, although the summit had been cloud free when we viewed it from Styhead Tarm, by the time we arrived it was in cloud. There was a little rain later in the day, enough to test out our waterproofs but not enough to get us very wet!
All in all it was a great November day out on England’s highest mountain!
Many thanks Paul and Lynne for your company.
Kate
The day was fairly atmospheric with clouds coming and going and patches of sunshine dotting the fell sides in the distance. No views today unfortunately, although the summit had been cloud free when we viewed it from Styhead Tarm, by the time we arrived it was in cloud. There was a little rain later in the day, enough to test out our waterproofs but not enough to get us very wet!
All in all it was a great November day out on England’s highest mountain!
Many thanks Paul and Lynne for your company.
Kate
Paul and Lynne on top of Scafell Pike
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