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This Monday morning offered one of very few breaks in the rain and cloud which was dominating the month of March. So the long early morning journey to Ennerdale was made much more enjoyable by the bright sunshine on the tops around Keswick.
I chose to park at the Bowness Knott car park on the north side of the lake. It’s a nice parking area with great views over Ennerdale which has the added benefit of being free of any charges.
The route starts easily with a mostly level walk to the lake end before turning right to cross the river and enter the forest. Turn immediately left after the gate, past Moss Dubb, and then head directly south on an uphill path immediately after crossing Low Beck. The path to Pillar departs left after about 400 metres.
This section through the woodland is a little bit difficult at times due to a number of small fallen trees. I emerged onto a forest road / fire break, and attempted to spot the path branching off to the right. There are a number of gaps in the dry-stone wall here so it doesn’t really matter if you miss the actual route, just carry on heading upwards and in a south westerly line towards the clearly visible slopes of Pillar which now begins to tower above you.
The final ‘difficult’ bit on the lower slopes is the crossing of High Beck at the end of the now thinned-out tree line. It was a bit of a torrent when I crossed it which meant balance was essential, and forward movement across the rocks was tricky. From this point onwards it now becomes a steep climb, becoming steeper up the occasionally rock-strewn hillside. This is the type of physical effort where, at my age, you pause every 100 or so metres and consider coffee shops and digital newspapers as an alternative pastime for a fine morning in the Lake District. Nevertheless, just 2.05 hours after leaving the car park, I arrived at the trig point to gaze upon yet another stunning 360 degree view, with Scafell and Scafell Pike dominating the view immediately to the east.
I chose a very simple route from this point, with the clear aim of enjoying a mostly circular walk including four Hewitt tops. Firstly, I dropped down the south-eastern side of Pillar followed by an easy scramble over the rocks to the summit of Black Crag. Take care not to bypass the top on the more obvious lower path which skirts the crag. Then on to Scoat Fell, with a fine aspect of the little ridge over to Steeple, which I chose not to follow. My route continued on over the lower grassy ridge of Great Scoat Fell and the short 300 feet (elevation) climb to Haycock, the final summit of my day.
The descent from the western flank of the hill drops off the ridge accessed by one of two small gates in the dry-stone wall. The path is mostly green to begin with, but then becomes rather more of a line through heather, and probably fern in the summer. Pleasant enough but its quite steep so requires concentration. I was aiming for the footbridge over Woundell Beck where there is a choice of two paths which both lead quickly to the gravel road used earlier in the morning to cross back over the bridge for the return walk along Ennerdale.
It's a classic short ridge walk, with several alternatives and potential additional summits for a more energetic full day round.
