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This is a walk which was far too ambitious for reasons which will become apparent, and which resulted in a whole series of issues and challenges. To be fair, there was only one short deviation from the route in poor visibility but, in retrospect I would question the sense in putting these three peaks together in a single round in winter. From my perspective, there are better options which I will detail below.
So, a little bit of background to begin. This was still early on in my Hewitts journey and the boyfriend of one of my wife’s daughters had expressed a desire to climb England’s highest mountain with me. On a February day, I therefore drove to Preston station to pick him up at about 9.15am. This was the first issue, the late start from Dungeon Ghyll would limit our daylight hours and would inevitably create a potential problem in parking. It was just over an hour’s drive to the starting point from Preston, and I was probably going to quickly on the minor road out from Ambleside, so I hit a pothole, badly. 25mph on this road is more than fast enough given its surface state and the number of blind bends in the road. Sure enough, we arrived at DG at 10.15am to find no spaces available and I therefore continued for about half mile to park on some open grass just past the entrance to Wall End farm.
The temperature was about seven degrees, with cloud settled low over the fells at around 500 metres. No settled snow, but likely rain in the clouds. Rather than approach Scafell Pike on the out-and-back route up the valley, I had made the rather more ambitious decision to head up Bow Fell, across to Esk Pike, before dropping down to Esk Hause to pick up the straightforward tourist route to the top. That would mean that I would satisfy my young friend’s desire to climb SP, but I would also bag two additional high Hewitts.
So, several observations at this point. Firstly, as I was climbing with a companion and an arrangement had to be made, it meant that I had set aside my normal rule of only going out on the mountains on a mostly dry day, with at least a good possibility of being able to see the route ahead. Secondly, we started late at a time of year when daylight was limited. Thirdly, there is a perfectly good option to tackle SP and include minor diversions to take in Broad Crag, Ill Crag and Great End, a total of four peaks in a much more direct line. That is my recommendation for any future reader, it’s a safer, quicker, and more satisfying round which can be attempted from Dungeon Ghyll or, more likely, from Seathwaite.
The route up Bow Fell climbs steadily after crossing Oxendale Beck at Stool End Farm. It follows a section on the shoulder of this big hill known as The Band. It is a well-trodden route which reaches a series of tarns and turns sharply to tackle a boulder strewn approach to the top. We had been walking for some time in quite dense cloud which meant that we had to make some careful judgement on which pile of rocks would constitute the top. All a little bit miserable at the moment, but we were still moving quickly. The top itself was not the most pleasant of places and I had already decided that I would probably make amends and pay the hill due respect by returning on a nice day.
Picking up the path across to Esk Pike is not easy in poor visibility and I needed to make use of a compass at this point to ensure we headed off the rock in the right direction. It is difficult underfoot but the route heads north at first, staying high, before dropping to the left down to Ore Gap. It becomes more straightforward at this point, heading west and bending up to another rocky top, the summit is just to the right of the path. Then carefully downhill to reach a junction of paths at Esk Hause.
The sensible decision in poor February visibility would have been to descend now to Dungeon Ghyll, but although I had satisfied my twin peaks objective, my companion was keen to continue to Scafell Pike and, to be fair, we were still making good time.
However, the route across the boulder fields below Great End is slow and made more difficult when the rock is wet. It was 2.30pm by the time we had reached the top of the Pike, and with no views to be enjoyed, we started back down rapidly to ensure we would complete the long descent to DG in daylight. The next mistake was to miss the descending path from Bield. We were having a good conversation and ended up staying on the near level path which ultimately rises to the top of Great End. It’s no great distance and I soon realised my mistake during a fortuitous break in the cloud cover. We had to quickly retrace our steps, about 500 metres, and pick up the route down to Esk Hause and then on the undulating route past Angle Tarn. It is a long way sharply downhill now to the valley. My companion was finding the descent difficult, indeed, it’s not the first time I have accompanied someone who has had to slow considerably to tackle a section which I regard as a potentially fast descent.
Eventually, we made our way into the valley and the long approach to DG in failing light. No problem there as the underfoot conditions are good, and the route was clear ahead. But it was 5.30pm before we reached the road and another 20 minutes before we finally made our slow way towards the car at Wall End.
With my young friend now just about exhausted, but maintaining his good spirits, I backed the car off the grass, drove a mile down the road to Ambleside, and realised I now had a flat tyre as a result of running over that pothole earlier in the day. And it was dark, we only had a temporary puncture repair kit, and no phone signal. We were due home by 6pm, and it was 6.30 now. The puncture kit was faulty and would not release the foam, so all I could do was pump the tyre up, drive a mile, then pump it up again, until we reached Ambleside at 7.30pm and were able to ring home to prevent wife and daughter calling out mountain rescue.
Eventually, the breakdown people came out and carried out a temporary repair and we reached home at 10.30pm. What a disaster, but it ended well in that we were safe, we had managed a pint and some food, and we had a story to tell.
My final advice resulting from this near debacle, is, as soon as you get a signal on the way back, even at the top, text or phone your loved ones to let them know where you are especially if you are running late. Obviously, the technology relating to communication and flat tyres will vary, so you may not have the same problems.. And it would have been a wiser decision to shorten the walk at Esk Hause given the low visibility.
As far as Hewitt bagging is concerned, Bow Fell and Esk Pike are worthy of their own round and don’t need any additional peaks added, unless you are full of energy on a nice clear day and fancy a big round including all four tops near to Scafell Pike. I might try that in the future.
