Blencathra via Sharp Edge & Skiddaw

WEATHER:- (according to Met Office Lake District Mountain Area Forecast)

A few early mist and fog patches in the valleys otherwise another dry, sunny and warm day with little in the way of cloud, so plenty of water and suncream is advisable.

VISIBILITY:-

Very good or excellent with good panoramic views from the summits, although locally poor with fog patches in valleys at first.

HILL FOG:-

Not expected

MAXIMUM WINDS ABOVE 500M:-

East or southeast, 20mph or less.

TEMPERATURE:-

Valleys Plus 8 Celsius rising to plus 24 Celsius

900m Plus 12 Celsius.

DURATION:- 7.5 Hours (SATMAP10)

DISTANCE WALKED:- 16Miles (SATMAP10)

TOTAL ASCENT:- N/A

Below was our original route for the day. I was with Mike and Paul from the UK Walking forum.

It was a linear route so two cars were needed to complete the journey. Paul parked at the start in Scales and I left my car at Dodd Wood's public carpark at the end of the route. The only changes to the origial route was the blue line through the forest back to the car. (map provided by Mike). Our aim was to tick off as many Wainwrights as possible in a day.

Plenty of water was needed for today and I had at least 3Litres of the stuff. I was about half a litre short. It was definitely a shorts day, but I had on Montane Terra pants which were thin, lightweight and cool, they also stopped midges bitting my legs plus no need for sun lotion on those parts!

I also gear testest my La Sportiva Korakoram boots, with sorbothane double strike insoles. These were great, a little on the heavy side and less stiff compared to the Cristallo GTXs for scrambling but did a great job traction wise on steep scree stuff on descents. I have found the sorbothanes were not as good compared to superfeets, sometimes my feet were sliding inside the boots too much on uneven ground and felt a little too soft where cushioning was not required.

Start of the walk, at Scales. Picture shown is the White Horse Inn right by the side of a busy A66. There is also an outside toilet that the landlord kindly allowed me to use before my trek.

We're on our way, a very long day ahead! We all met up at Scales and started the walk at 10am.

Slowly ascending the side of Scales Fell through Mousthwaite Comb and just taking a quick snapshot of what we'd climbed.

Ahead we could now see the first sign of the distinctive Sharp Edge and Blencathra.

The path gets a lot steeper here, on our way to Scales Tarn.

After a short break by the side of the Tarn we start the ascent of sharp edge.

Scales Tarn. We were supprised that it wasn't too crowded up here considering the superb weather conditions.





Vapour trail!

The ascent was steep and the conditons were getting hotter!



Approaching Foule Crag at the top end of Sharp Edge.

Looking back onto Sharp Edge

On our way up! The conditions were perfect for scrambling.

Not advisable in windy conditions! There was not a hint of a breeze up here.

Paul on edge, Sharp Edge!

Pure scambling fun on Foule Crag.

Scales Tarn looking a lot smaller from here.

Most of the route, the slabs were very polished. So in winter conditions it would be a serious proposition.

An easier path up the the summit of Blencathra (868m).

Halls Fell Ridge, one of the great ridges of Blencathra. One that I would consider doing on a circular route in the future.


A view from the summit.

Lonscale fell (715m), Littleman (865m) and Skiddaw(931m)

Looking back onto the north face of Blencathra. The descent was fairly steep but the zig zag path down was very grippy.

Brisk descent across Mungrisdale Common, Blencathra in the distant, heading toward another Wainright, will it be worth it? The grass was long, ground was very soft and still boggy in some areas.

There we go! The summit stone of Mungrisdale Common (633m). A peaceful and quiet summit compared to Snowdon!

The way ahead, Skiddaw to the far right.

A house in the hills, perfect! (here is a little more info from skiddawhouse.co.uk)

YHA Skiddaw House is a century-old cottage, formerly used by shepherds & gamekeepers. It is the highest hostel in Britain - at 1550 feet above sea level - and is three miles from the nearest road.

It opened in May 1991 to provide simple accomodation for walkers & cyclists, and after a period of closure, mainly due to the Foot and Mouth outbreak, has now re-opened to offer users a unique accomodation experience. It is located in the shadow of Skiddaw, and near Keswick, in the English Lake District National Park.


After Burnt Horse this was a long slog up along the fence to Lonscale Fell, extremely energy sapping. We had about 4 or 5 rest points on the way up!

Looking across we can see Lonscale Fell.



Little Man (865m)

Skiddaw from Little Man.


Derwentwater and the town of Keswick from Little man, Cat Bells to the right.

Looking back at Blencathra.

Summit plateau of Skiddaw.

Mike, Me, and Paul on Skiddaw Summit (931M)

Skiddaw the fourth highest mountain in England, third if you count Scarfell Pike and Scar Fell as one mountain.

The descent from Skiddaw down this scree zig zag path is both steep and loose. It was also extremely dusty with the speeds we were going!

Carl Side(746m), Long Side(734m), Ullock Pike(692m). All Wainwright Fells and part of the Skiddaw group.

Looking back onto Skiddaw and it's scree path

On Carl Side looking toward Long Side.

Stonehenge!

Ullock Pike.

Bassenthwaite lake.

A tree lined walk back to the car park through Dodd Wood. The last stretch of our journey. We were all completely knackered at the end. It was a longer day than I expected and also extremely enjoyable.