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Skiddaw and a kitten

Skiddaw and a kitten


Postby mrssanta » Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:42 pm

Wainwrights included on this walk: Bakestall, Carl Side, Long Side, Skiddaw, Ullock Pike

Hewitts included on this walk: Long Side, Skiddaw

Date walked: 24/08/2016

Time taken: 5

Distance: 11.5 km

Ascent: 800m

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OK so the kitten did not come up Skiddaw with us but it got you reading!
CWH has been on a work experience placement with a Vet practice in the Lakes and was due to be collected on Wednesday evening. Along with the stray kitten she has persuaded us she must bring home.
14114737_10205407551948821_254014591_o.jpg
oh what a cutie


Anyway Wednesday being my day off I thought a sneaky trip to bag a Wainwright or two would be in order and asked number 2 son if he would like to join me. Skiddaw was the suggestion he made, so Skiddaw it was.

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


For a munro-bagger, Wainwrights are such fun, you get to add more ticks for your effort.
By the time we had bought essential kitten items, it was nearly ten o'clock. We got to the layby at the start of our walk at about noon. The forecast had promised high cloud and almost inevitable cloud free summits, with minimal chance of rain and exxcellent visibility. It was hot.
We set off pretty fast up the ridge, and I struggled a bit to keep up, but my companion was very patient and stopped every so often to wait for me.
P8240944.jpg
You start by following a faint but easily visible track over a few fields

P8240945.jpg
Looking back over Bassenthwaite lake

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Looking northeastish

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Skiddaw from the way up Ullock Pike

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Bassenthwaite and the Solway coming into view

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Looking back down the ridge from nearly the top of Ullock Pike over towards Bassenthwaite Village and Binsey

P8240954.jpg
Long Side from nearly the top of Ullock Pike


We reached Ullock Pike after a hot steady climb up the ridge which was very pleasant, no difficulties there. Ullock Pike has one false summit but the true summit is not very much further. We thought of stopping on the top for lunch but there were a lot of people on the top, so we decided to move on to the next top. A short stroll over to Long Side where we stopped for a brew and lunch. We shared the summit with a couple, and a man with two dogs. It was warm and a little breeze appeared which was very welcome.
P8240957.jpg
the wierdly named Barf from Long Side

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Ullock Pike from Long Side

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Happy Mugs and Mr G on top of Long Side looking up over Derwent Water on his left and the Scafell Pike bit on his right

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Cairns on Long Side summit

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From Longside to Skiddaw left, Little man centre and Carl Side right. You can see the diagonal path through the scree which is fine. There is a less distinct straight up path as well.

It's not far from there to Carl Side and a third tick but we decided to miss out Little Man otherwise we would be late in picking up CWH and the kitten. So next stop was Skiddaw Old Man the summit. The climb up is diagonally up a scree slope but the going is good, a wee bit loose at the top but no real difficulty.
P8240968.jpg
Me on Carl Side top.

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top bit of the scree path, G waiting patiently at the top.

P8240975.jpg
on the ridge identifying all the features on the other side.

There were dozens of people milling about on the top including a five year old sitting on the trig point who had walked all the way up on her own two legs. It was about 3pm and we decided it was worth it to take a wee detour to Bakestall, not that we are bagging Wainwrights or anything but it was not far out of our way and a top we were unlikely to come back for.
P8240976.jpg
top of Skiddaw, Little Man behind

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top of Skiddaw, carl side and long side behind

P8240979.jpg
Blencathra

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Such a tricky climb up to Bakestall

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Summit photo on Bakestall - but really it could be anywhere

From Bakestall we contoured round the side of the hill aiming to pick up the top of the track at NY254297 but we came across a path not marked on the map which seemed to be descending steeply in the direction we had intended, so we took this as it was much easier going than fighting through the heather. This was pretty steep and then pretty boggy as it crossed Barkbeth Gill, but it was easily followed to the bridge over Southerndale Beck and thence back to the car.
P8240984.jpg
Going off piste around the side of the hill. could be worse!

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purple heather and grey scree

P8240987.jpg
nearly home
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mrssanta
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 3132
Munros:281   Corbetts:12
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:12   Hewitts:43
Wainwrights:41   Islands:13
Joined: Jul 18, 2011
Location: north yorkshire moors

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby simon-b » Wed Aug 31, 2016 10:17 pm

A classic Skiddaw round that, one of the best ways to do the mountain.
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simon-b
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2347
Munros:282   Corbetts:30
Fionas:7   Donalds:12
Sub 2000:1   Hewitts:155
Wainwrights:214   Islands:4
Joined: Jan 2, 2012
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby basscadet » Thu Sep 01, 2016 2:21 pm

Ah good to see those smiley cups out :D

Should of just taken the kitten :wink: We found a kitten abandoned under a bush at just days old.. Ended up having to take it up Ben Loyal for a compleation as it was too young to go more than an hour or two without feeding - All went well, She just sat in the big front pocket of my Dads rohan top and seemed to enjoy. Of course the top got peed on and dad wasn't happy, but made the day more memorable.. This would be about 1988 I reckon.. Cat grew up to be a mighty beast 8)
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basscadet
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2778
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Wainwrights:17   Islands:21
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Location: Edinburgh

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby mrssanta » Thu Sep 01, 2016 8:33 pm

that's a great story bc.The kitten is growing fast, very bold and is tormenting the resident lazybones cat but he will learn to cope!
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mrssanta
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 3132
Munros:281   Corbetts:12
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:12   Hewitts:43
Wainwrights:41   Islands:13
Joined: Jul 18, 2011
Location: north yorkshire moors

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby johnkaysleftleg » Sat Sep 03, 2016 2:28 pm

Agree with Simon in that it's far and away the best route up Skiddaw. Good to see the smiley cups on an English 'munro'
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johnkaysleftleg
Hill Bagger
 
Posts: 3341
Munros:25   Corbetts:11
Fionas:11   Donalds:3
Sub 2000:7   Hewitts:172
Wainwrights:214   Islands:8
Joined: Jan 28, 2009
Location: County Durham

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby mrssanta » Sat Sep 03, 2016 8:19 pm

Thanks Simon and Anthony. Definitely a lovely circuit. And if it were in Scotland, Skiddaw would "count"!
My happy mug is getting a bit of a wink.
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mrssanta
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 3132
Munros:281   Corbetts:12
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:12   Hewitts:43
Wainwrights:41   Islands:13
Joined: Jul 18, 2011
Location: north yorkshire moors

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby Alteknacker » Sun Sep 04, 2016 8:46 am

Nice report. I've never fancied Skiddaw because of a combination of proximity to Keswick (= lots of folk), and its apparent lack of "character". But on this route you seem largely to have avoided the crowds; and in these pics the hill looks quite a bit more characterful than I'd imagined. Maybe I should give it a try...

It made me smile to see the smiley mugs in England :-)!
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Alteknacker
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Posts: 3473
Munros:176   Corbetts:33
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Location: Effete South (of WIgan, anyway)

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby simon-b » Sun Sep 04, 2016 11:31 pm

mrssanta wrote:And if it were in Scotland, Skiddaw would "count"!

Alteknacker wrote:I've never fancied Skiddaw because of a combination of proximity to Keswick (= lots of folk), and its apparent lack of "character". But on this route you seem largely to have avoided the crowds; and in these pics the hill looks quite a bit more characterful than I'd imagined. Maybe I should give it a try...

Skiddaw definitely counts when you see it from Scotland! It stands out as the most distinctive peak on the English horizon when you look south from the Southern Uplands on a clear day. And there are plenty of quieter routes on and around the mountain away from the tourist track.
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simon-b
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 2347
Munros:282   Corbetts:30
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Wainwrights:214   Islands:4
Joined: Jan 2, 2012
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Re: Skiddaw and a kitten

Postby ChrisW » Tue Sep 06, 2016 6:16 pm

Great stuff MrsS, it's always a good day when out with family but those 'young uns' sure do like to set the pace :roll:
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ChrisW
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