I met Ann and Carl from the Isle of Man at the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale for a guided walk up Scafell Pike. We went prepared with all our waterproofs, expecting to get very wet as the weather forecast was for heavy rain and strong winds for most of the day! Luckily for us the forecasts sometimes get it wrong and although we did have a few showers, they never lasted long enough to wet us through!
A bonus of a bad weather forecast is that fewer people are out in the mountains and so until we reached to Esk Hause where the path from Borrowdale meets up, we saw very few people and mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet of our beautiful surroundings with only the local Herdwick sheep! There was cloud down on the higher peaks but we had super views until we started ascending Ill Crag. The strong winds also hit us at this point continuing up to the summit of Scafell Pike. On reaching the summit we found a sheltered spot on the north side of the big summit cairn and had a welcome spot of lunch before heading back the way we had come.
The route goes over some very rough and stony ground and there are two sections which require some 'boulder hopping'. For some these areas are no problem but for others they cause quite a bit of difficulty. Ones needs a good sense of balance, confidence in your footing and lots of concentration. Ann and Carl were naturals and we covered the terrain easily.
We soon found ourselves back at the top of Rossett Ghyll for the steep zig-zagging descent into the valley of Mickleden and then the long flat walk back along the valley to the finish. After a long day out when you're feeling a little tired this is often the toughest part of the day!
Well done Ann and Carl and many thanks for your company!
Kate
A bonus of a bad weather forecast is that fewer people are out in the mountains and so until we reached to Esk Hause where the path from Borrowdale meets up, we saw very few people and mostly enjoyed the peace and quiet of our beautiful surroundings with only the local Herdwick sheep! There was cloud down on the higher peaks but we had super views until we started ascending Ill Crag. The strong winds also hit us at this point continuing up to the summit of Scafell Pike. On reaching the summit we found a sheltered spot on the north side of the big summit cairn and had a welcome spot of lunch before heading back the way we had come.
The route goes over some very rough and stony ground and there are two sections which require some 'boulder hopping'. For some these areas are no problem but for others they cause quite a bit of difficulty. Ones needs a good sense of balance, confidence in your footing and lots of concentration. Ann and Carl were naturals and we covered the terrain easily.
We soon found ourselves back at the top of Rossett Ghyll for the steep zig-zagging descent into the valley of Mickleden and then the long flat walk back along the valley to the finish. After a long day out when you're feeling a little tired this is often the toughest part of the day!
Well done Ann and Carl and many thanks for your company!
Kate
Langdale Pikes and Mickleden
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