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After a fairly gentle start yesterday, we felt capable of something a little bigger today - the plan was to head up Caiston Glen to Scandale Pass, then decide based on energy levels which out of Red Screes, Middle Dodd, and High Hartsop Dodd to climb. These three were my last remaining Wainwrights in the Eastern Fells area, and my hope for the week was to have ticked them all off.
A lovely day as we set off up the road towards the Caiston Glen path.
Kirkstone Pass RoadThe walk up Caiston Glen is very pleasant - nice views behind, gentle gradients, and a nice little stream with small waterfalls and the occasional glimpse of a dipper.
Caiston GlenWe reached Scandale pass without feeling like we had had to work TOO hard.
Scandale PassTo the right was Little Hart Crag - not on the agenda today even though we would pass pretty close to its summit.
Little Hart CragWe decided that we should start with the largest of the three, and set off up towards Red Screes.
On the ascent there were nice views over towards the Coniston fells.
Coniston FellsAnd a little further up the hill the Scafell group came into view.
Scafell etcThe climb up towards Red Screes was not too challenging, and the final approach levelled off quite nicely. The summit itself opened up a whole new set of views over to the east.
View from Red Screes summitA pleasant little tarn at the summit too - the dogs would have loved it.
Tarn atop Red ScreesNo sign of the huge cairn rumoured to be at the top of Red Screes though - perhaps it has been turned into this wind shleter?
Red Screes wind shelter
Red Screes summitLooking down at Middle Dodd from Red Screes was a bit concerning - the plan at this point was to pop over to Middle Dodd and back before descending via High Hartsop Dodd, but the amount of height being lost (and thus presumably having to be regained) did not look like good news. Would we feel like coming back for High Hartsop Dodd once we got to the Middle Dodd Summit? If not it would be simple enough to just carry on down the ridge and leave High Hartsop Dodd for another day.
Middle Dodd from Red Screes
Red Screes from Middle DoddThe descent to Middle Dodd was simple enough, all the time looking out to see if there were any paths to the left that might cut across the shoulder and save us the ascent back to Red Screes.
Middle Dodd summitWe had spotted a path that looked possible, and consulting Wainwright suggested that such a route was possible though he does not show a path on his maps. So we decided to go for it. Sometimes routes like this that try to follow a contour around the side of a fell can be unpleasant - feet always at an angle, lots of boulder fields to cross, etc - but this one was actually much better than I had feared, and reasonable well defined all the way.
Looking back after we rejoined the main path up Red Screes it didn't look like a promising route at all though!
The contour pathFrom Scandale Pass, we had to decide whether to descend via Caiston Glen, or over the top of High Hartsop Dodd. We had some slight concerns about how steep the latter descent might be, especially after meeting a walker who said "Ah yes, over the cliff edge" when we said where we were going, but decided to go for it.
Descending from High Hartsop DoddIt turned out to be far better than we had feared - yes, it's steep, but there's a good path, with good grip underfoot almost all the time, and it certainly scores good points for being a direct route home.
Brothers Water from High Hartsop DoddWe arrived home feeling satisfied (though tired), and knowing that I had completed the Eastern Fells and passed 200 Wainwrights. Well on course for my target of completing them before I am 60...
