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With the Eastern Fells finished in one extra day, I was at a bit of a loss over what to do with the second one. Plan A was an attempt on Striding Edge, which I've been regretting ever since I didn't do it - but with strong winds forecast again, it wasn't a good idea. Plan B was to do whatever I liked in the Eastern or Far Eastern fells - except that I couldn't think of anything I did like, at least not from Glenridding or Patterdale or Hartsop. So Plan C was to go over the Sticks Pass to Great Rigg or Raven Crag, and once I realised this could be combined with a trip into Glencoyne - where I've wanted to go since I first saw it from the boat, or definitely since I first saw the name 'Seldom Seen' on the map - it seemed like a good idea - the only problem being that I hadn't brought the Central Fells book and the OS map was a bit vague about paths!
- Autumn on Ullswater
The wonders of modern technology solved the problem, and I set off along the lakeside before turning up the first path to Glencoyne, dodging the cyclists coming down, and resisting shouting at them that this was a FOOTpath for walking on with your feet.
At the top of the rise it drops to a track which seems to have been a better road once, and heads up the valley. I'm still not very good at remembering that maps show up and down as well as along, so although I knew I'd be walking parallel to the farm track, I was surprised to find myself so far above it.
- Seldom Seen
The track stops at Seldom Seen, but the path keeps on up the wall, heading towards Sheffield Pike. Where the two paths join I stopped for a rest, and met some people who had come up the lower path, but two headed back down the path I'd come up, and two along the wall between Sheffield Pike and Glenridding Dodd, and I went on up alone.
- Sheffield Pike
After climbing out of the first part of the valley, the upper part opens out ahead. It all reminded me strongly of Swindale and Mosedale further east - the hanging valley and the emptiness and the burn winding through the drumlins - except that here it's the upper valley that has two ways out at the top. I had no idea that these hills had anything like upper Glencoyne - and I would have thought more highly of them if I had!
- Upper Glencoyne
The path keeps on slanting precariously up the hillside, and the higher I got the more stunning I found it. The other side of the valley shoots up even more steeply, and it seems quite implausible that there's a path around it, but I know there is - I badly want to go and walk it, and since my other remaining Eastern Fell wishes are to go up by Striding Edge and down to Dowthwaitehead it's not too unreasonable a desire.
Eventually the path bends up towards Nick Head and the way out of the valley, first the Lower Man and then Catstycam appearing ahead like old friends.
- Coming out of Nick Head
I tried hard to avoid the very wet path down to the wasteland below Sheffield Pike, watching carefully for where the paths split, but only managed to find it instead, so had to cut back over to the path under Green Side. This is another weird place - a great flat emptiness with odd patches of water, which looks deceptively like it slopes up on all four sides.
- The flat place
Above it the valley narrows and the path cuts up the hillside again - from the map I thought it was a straight rise to the pass, but on the ground I had much more of a feeling of curving round the hillside. It felt further than I expected, and I was trying to count off the streams on the ground against the ones on the map - I was surprised that they did more or less match up, and they were impressive with the amount of water coming down.
- Nearing the top
Once I came past the line of the ski tow I knew that I really was nearly there, and not long after that I was out at the top of the pass, looking back to the east behind me, and ahead to the western skyline.
- Looking back
- Looking forwards
- New valleys
The wind had been getting a bit stronger as I came up, and now the rain came on - determined to learn from the day before I stopped to put on waterproofs, but although my trousers were soaked through again by the time I got into my bag to find the waterproof ones, the rain was off again by the time I was sorted out!
The way down the other side led to a very well made sheepfold, with different rooms, and then much more steeply down, so that it went quite quickly from looking like it would never end to feeling as if I was about to fall into the chimney pots of the houses below. I did have a fit of I'll-never-get-down-there at the top of a particularly steep bit, but a few steps on I could see the path slanting down away from it and then running on as a bright green curve through bright brown bracken - still steep, but perfectly doable.
I'd thought I was heading straight for the road, but the gate at the bottom the path suddenly turned off right over the burn and round past the houses to the road. There was more there than I expected - not only a village hall, but a coffee shop, and a sign promising real toilets if I walked along to the car park at Legburthwaite, which helped me to decide that that was a better route than the more direct main road!
- The way down - green path through the bracken in the middle
It had taken me longer than I'd hoped to come over the pass, and it was now about quarter past 3 - but that still seemed like plenty of time to go over High Rigg.
From the car park I headed out to the main road - I knew that the start of the path over High Rigg wasn't far along, but I was surprised just how soon it was. The path started off quite steeply, but it was nice, winding up through trees.
- High Rigg
The top of the first rise seemed a long time coming, and I was then very disappointed to find the ground ahead of me falling off down to to a wall in a dip - I had thought that having got up I would stay up. From the next rise I could at least see that there was another dip coming, saving disappointment, andI could also see Skiddaw and Blencathra ahead, so that I knew I really was on the top.
- The view ahead
It was a bit odd following a path that was clear on the ground but not on the map - I'm used to having the Wainwright map if the OS map fails me, and vice versa. But I could tell roughly how far I'd got by meeting walls and fences, and the small tarn halfway along, which was a bit boggy - I slipped somewhere along there and got new mud on the map.
The next dip turned out to be not so disappointing anyway, and the path was keeping more to the side of the hill, and giving me a good view over to Clough Head.
- Clough Head
The only real problem was the time - I hadn't been keeping a close eye on it, except by the light, but the problem was more that I hadn't realised just how far it was to Threlkeld and the bus - I think because I'd originally expected to keep on over Low Rigg as well.
So I hurried on to the summit, which is one of those climb up and climb down ones, and then got on with hurrying down the hill.
- High Rigg summit
I knew it was quick and direct, but that also made it steep - fortunately a lot of the path was worn into steps. In one place that was very steep wet grass I was quite glad I still had my waterproof trousers on, and could just sit down and slide - my favourite descent method...
By the time I got to the church it was both too late to linger and too dark to take photos, so I just hurried off to Threlkeld, where I found that I had missed the bus I wanted. The next bus got in 10 minutes after the train I was supposed to be on was due - every other train I've got up or down this year has been late, but of course not this one when I wanted it to be. So I had another hour or so to hang around, but at least Penrith has a shiny new waiting room!
So it was not a very useful day in the end, because I still have to mop up Raven Crag, which doesn't really link to anything else, and I want to go back to the church, so it doesn't save me a day in the spring. But I enjoyed it.
And it did take me over the one third mark - the first two books took me so close I couldn't get closer, 71 out of 214. My map is so beautiful that I'm going to save it for posterity, because it'll never be so neat again!
- One third done
