walkhighlands

This board helps you to share your walking route experiences in England and Wales... or overseas.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

A top day on top of England!!

A top day on top of England!!


Postby mamoset » Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:47 pm

Wainwrights included on this walk: Great End, Scafell Pike, Seathwaite Fell

Hewitts included on this walk: Great End, Scafell Pike

Date walked: 05/03/2012

Time taken: 8

Distance: 17.5 km

Ascent: 1049m

4 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).


our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts


As Monday was looking the best day of the week, we set off at 6.30 (a bit late as I'd been on nights!!) for Seathwaite. My son, Darren, who had been with me to Ben Nevis in the past, joined us for a walk to Englands highest. Easy walking quickly brought us to Stockley Bridge, where Taylorgill Force could be seen in full spate.
Scafell Pike 001.JPG
Seathwaite Fell & Taylorgill Force.
We crossed the bridge and headed up the flanks of Seathwaite Fell and passed the 1000ft boulder, which, according to my GPS is a little higher :lol: . Following a Styhead Gill up, Scafell Pike & Lingmell came looming into view.
Scafell Pike 012.JPG
Scafell Pike & Lingmell.
We passed Styhead Tarn and decided to use the Corridor Route as our ascent.
Scafell Pike 018.JPG
Broad Crag, Scafell Pike & Lingmell from Styhead Tarn.
Scafell Pike 020.JPG
Hope we don't need this today!!!
The Corridor Route is a fairly straightforward path, leading beneath Great End and Broad Crag and ending, I guess, at Lingmell Col. The views were starting to improve as we made our way along.
Scafell Pike 026.JPG
Red Pike & Kirk Fell.
Scafell Pike 033.JPG
Great Gable, Green Gable & Base Brown.
These are among the finest fells in Lakeland, and they didn't disappoint today, with the cloud slowly dispersing, views would improve as the day wore on. We soon reached the head of Piers Gill, a great cut in the landscape beneath Lingmell.
Scafell Pike 039.JPG
Lingmell, Kirk Fell & Great Gable from Piers Gill.
Instead of carrying on to Lingmell Col, we opted for the more direct route under Broad Crag to the Col between Scafell Pike and Broad Crag. The snow was soft here and being on top of scree, was a bit harder going than we'd thought.
Scafell Pike 041.JPG
Route up to the Col.
From here, it's a 100m or so to the top of England.
Scafell Pike 081.JPG
Darren on Scafell Pike.
The views were impressive from here, though the wind chill had picked up and it was quite cold :shock: .
Scafell Pike 071.JPG
Scafell, with Lords Rake in good view.
Scafell Pike 073.JPG
Great Gable with Northwestern Fells beyond.
Scafell Pike 075.JPG
Red Pike, Scoat Fell, Pillar, High Stile ridge & Kirk Fell.
After a short lunch stop, we headed over to Broad and Ill Crag. It never ceases to amaze me the number of walkers who ignore these tops, presumably because they aren't Wainwrights. On a summers day, Ill Crag affords some wonderful views.
Scafell Pike 104.JPG
Bowfell and Crinkle Crags from Ill Crag.
Scafell Pike 105.JPG
Scafell & Scafell Pike from Ill Crag.
Scafell Pike 110.JPG
Clough Head to Fairfield from Ill Crag.
We left Ill Crag and headed across the lunar-like landscape to make for Great End. The gullys still have quite a bit of snow in, so we wouldn't be descending via one of them today :lol: Unusually, Skiddaw wasn't capped in cloud today.
Scafell Pike 122.JPG
The Skiddaw range.
Scafell Pike 126.JPG
Sprinkling and Styhead Tarns, looking north from Great End.
Scafell Pike 127.JPG
The top of Central Gully looking across to Glaramara.
From here, we headed down Calf Cove and skirted Esk Hause to make our way to Seathwaite Fell.
Scafell Pike 129.JPG
Langdale Pikes from Calf Cove.
We decided to visit the actual summit of the fell, before making our way across to the Wainwright point at the "front" of the fell.
Scafell Pike 138.JPG
Sprinkling Tarn with Esk Pike in the distance.
Scafell Pike 155.JPG
Blencathra and Borrowdale from Seathwaite Fell.
We made our way off the front of the fell and re-joined the path near the 1000ft boulder where we re-traced our steps from this morning back to the car.
mamoset
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1674
Munros:256   Corbetts:6
Donalds:1
Hewitts:115
Wainwrights:214   Islands:5
Joined: Feb 12, 2011

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby morag1 » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:02 pm

Lovely photos and a great day out in the English countryside . always wondered what Scafell peak was like -now I know :D
morag1
 

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby garyhortop » Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:11 pm

A great report and superb pictures Mamoset...actually looks like you almost had the place to yourself!!! Looked like a great day out!! :D
garyhortop
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 313
Munros:3   Corbetts:1
Fionas:2   
Sub 2000:8   Hewitts:34
Wainwrights:14   
Joined: Sep 18, 2011

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby ChrisW » Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:44 pm

Lovely stuff Mamoset, great report with stunning pics, where was everyone else, work maybe ......the fools :lol:
User avatar
ChrisW
Rambler
 
Posts: 4941
Munros:18   Corbetts:5
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:6   
Joined: Jan 25, 2011
Location: Cochrane- Alberta - Canada

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby mamoset » Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:20 pm

garyhortop wrote:A great report and superb pictures Mamoset...actually looks like you almost had the place to yourself!!! Looked like a great day out!! :D

Got to say, it was the quietest I've seen Scafell Pike, usually like a High Street :?

morag1 wrote:Lovely photos and a great day out in the English countryside . always wondered what Scafell peak was like -now I know :D


Thanks Morag :D

ChrisW wrote:Lovely stuff Mamoset, great report with stunning pics, where was everyone else, work maybe ......the fools :lol:

You could be right there Chris. Work? Who'd have it??!!! :lol:

Chris.
mamoset
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1674
Munros:256   Corbetts:6
Donalds:1
Hewitts:115
Wainwrights:214   Islands:5
Joined: Feb 12, 2011

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby SusieThePensioner » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:35 pm

Wow, what a day you had and some fabulous photos of those wonderful views :thumbup:

I particularly like
mamoset wrote:Great Gable with Northwestern Fells beyond.


Great to see the top of Scafell Pike again and, no queues for the cairn :lol:
User avatar
SusieThePensioner
 
Posts: 1543
Munros:6   Corbetts:3
Fionas:4   Donalds:7
Sub 2000:3   Hewitts:107
Wainwrights:156   
Joined: Sep 7, 2011
Location: County Durham

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby mamoset » Sat Mar 10, 2012 10:16 am

SusieThePensioner wrote:Wow, what a day you had and some fabulous photos of those wonderful views :thumbup:

I particularly like
mamoset wrote:Great Gable with Northwestern Fells beyond.


Great to see the top of Scafell Pike again and, no queues for the cairn :lol:


Thanks Susie, lack of queues was unusual :lol:

Chris.
mamoset
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1674
Munros:256   Corbetts:6
Donalds:1
Hewitts:115
Wainwrights:214   Islands:5
Joined: Feb 12, 2011

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby JGKES » Sun Mar 11, 2012 9:43 pm

Very interesting report and some wonderful photos. The view north from the vicinity of Broad Crag ridge as in one shot is in my opinion the second finest view from a hill in England, the number one for me being the panorama south from Skiddaw. I completely agree it's strange how few visitors to the summit of the Pike actually bother with the tops of Broad and Ill Crag, which as well as being at 3000 feet plus are in addition magnificent viewpoints.
JGKES
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 50
Munros:51   Corbetts:8
Fionas:1   Donalds:3
Hewitts:140
Wainwrights:214   
Joined: Mar 6, 2011
Location: Sheffield

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby JGKES » Sun Mar 11, 2012 9:43 pm

Very interesting report and some wonderful photos. The view north from the vicinity of Broad Crag ridge as in one shot is in my opinion the second finest view from a hill in England, the number one for me being the panorama south from Skiddaw. I completely agree it's strange how few visitors to the summit of the Pike actually bother with the tops of Broad and Ill Crag, which as well as being at 3000 feet plus are in addition magnificent viewpoints.
JGKES
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 50
Munros:51   Corbetts:8
Fionas:1   Donalds:3
Hewitts:140
Wainwrights:214   
Joined: Mar 6, 2011
Location: Sheffield

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby JGKES » Sun Mar 11, 2012 9:43 pm

Very interesting report and some wonderful photos. The view north from the vicinity of Broad Crag ridge as in one shot is in my opinion the second finest view from a hill in England, the number one for me being the panorama south from Skiddaw. I completely agree it's strange how few visitors to the summit of the Pike actually bother with the tops of Broad and Ill Crag, which as well as being at 3000 feet plus are in addition magnificent viewpoints.
JGKES
Mountaineer
 
Posts: 50
Munros:51   Corbetts:8
Fionas:1   Donalds:3
Hewitts:140
Wainwrights:214   
Joined: Mar 6, 2011
Location: Sheffield

Re: A top day on top of England!!

Postby mamoset » Sun Mar 11, 2012 10:06 pm

JGKES wrote:Very interesting report and some wonderful photos. The view north from the vicinity of Broad Crag ridge as in one shot is in my opinion the second finest view from a hill in England, the number one for me being the panorama south from Skiddaw. I completely agree it's strange how few visitors to the summit of the Pike actually bother with the tops of Broad and Ill Crag, which as well as being at 3000 feet plus are in addition magnificent viewpoints.

Thanks JGKES, agree with your sentiments there, though I've never had the best views from Skiddaw, always seems to have a cloud cap on :shock:

Chris.
mamoset
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 1674
Munros:256   Corbetts:6
Donalds:1
Hewitts:115
Wainwrights:214   Islands:5
Joined: Feb 12, 2011

4 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Outside Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests