The Deepdale Horseshoe

Date: 29/11/2019
Start/Finish: Bridgend/Patterdale
Wainwrights: Birks, St Sunday Crag, Fairfield, Hart Crag, Hartsop above How
Distance: 10.5 miles
Max Elevation: 2864 feet (Fairfield)
Total Ascent: 3415 feet
Time Taken: 6-7 Hours

The Route - Anticlockwise from Bridgend

It was 10 years ago when I last hiked this route. On that day I was clagged in the whole way round and saw nothing. I'd made a mental do it again in fair weather and well …. it was fair weather, so it was time for 'The Deepdale Horseshoe round 2'. This is a classic route. Tougher that the Fairfield horseshoe although not as far. I'd walked it clockwise 10 years ago and remembering the scary descent down Cofa Pike I decided that anti-clockwise would be more prudent, and that does seem to be the most popular way to tackle it.



A 10 minute video of the whole walk

Patterdale

Black Crags

Ullswater

Views over the Grisedale valley

Frosty ground on the path to Birks

The onwards route to St Sunday Crag

I missed the path up onto Birks so had to take a slight diversion back up to its summit.  

Birks

Views to Helvellyn from St Sunday Crag

St Sunday Crag summit

Mist and glare over the Deepdale valley

The onward route to Cofa Pike and Fairfield

Grisedale Tarn

Cofa Pike

It's a steepish scramble up Cofa Pike, unless there is an easier route that I missed. The use of hands was required at certain points.

The Deepdale Valley

Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike and Helvellyn

Looking back over St Sunday Crag

Grisedale Tarn

Fairfield summit views

The path to Hart Crag

Looking down the Rydal valley to Windermere

The head of the Deepdale valley

Hart Crag summit views towards Dove Crag …

...

… and back to Fairfield

The Deepdale valley and the forward path to Hartsop above How

Views back over to St Sunday Crag

Hartsop above How summit view 

The forward view back to Bridgend ...

… and the backward view to Hart Crag

Sun just setting on Angletarn Pikes and Place Fell

Nearly back, in the fading light

When I did this route 10 years ago it took me around 5 hours. Today it more like 7 hours. This may be because I'm now 10 years older and less fit … Or it may be because the ground conditions were quite icy and careful foot placement was required. I'm going with the latter ….

High Rigg from Thirlmere

Date: 12th April 2019

Start/Finish: Smaithwaite Bridge, North Thirlmere

Wainwrights: High Rigg

Distance: 7.5 Miles

Max Elevation: 1224 Feet

Height Gained: 2470 Feet

Time Take: 3 1/2 Hours

The Route : Clockwise from Bridge End (most southern point)

This was first time back in the fells after a 6 month hiatus. I've lost a bit of fitness so decided to peruse the less lofty fells on my Wainwrights 'to-do' list. High Rigg seemed like a nice option. Indeed Wainwright described this very walk as being "... suited to old and rickety fellwalkers long past their best". Perfect for me then! He also suggests doing the walk clockwise so that the lovely views of Blencathra are always in front when on the higher ground. I therefore followed this advice. 

I parked right by Smaithwaite Bridge on the A591. There is a stile and gate within the dry stone wall just north of the bridge where the path heads along St John's Beck. A steepish path then branches off on the left towards Wren Crag. The hillside is littered with uprooted trees following the recent winter storms.

The Stile on the A591

Views down to St John's in the Vale from the upwards path

The first of many uprooted trees on the hill side

Looking back towards Great How

The path up to Wren Crag

Glimpses of Thirlmere behind

Views from Wren Crag looking north - Mart Crag with Blencathra and Skiddaw on the horizon and down along the 'St Johns in the Vale' valley 

A little un-named tarn between Mart Crag and High Rigg

The path up to High Rigg

High Rigg summit views of Blencathra ...

… and back towards Thirlmere

From High Rigg I decided to extend the walk over Low Rigg and Tewet tarn. The path passes the little church and youth centre. 

Low Rigg over the Youth Cente 

There can't be a more picturesque Youth Centre in the UK ?

Looking back over High Rigg

Skiddaw from Low Rigg summit

Tewet Tarn

I then headed back via Yew tree farm and the main path skirting Rake How and heading towards Low Bridge End Farm following the course of St John's in the Vale Beck. Overall a lovely little walk perfect for blowing off the cobwebs. 

Scafell Pike via the Corridor Route from Seathwaite

Date: 28th Sept 2018
Start/Finish: Seathwaite
Route: Up to Styhead Tarn and then on to Scafell Pike via corridor route. Return over Great End and Grains Gill.
Wainwrights: Scafell Pike, Great End.
Time Taken: 7 Hours





Below is a 3D fly-through of the route 



I've climbed Scafell Pike many times; from Wast Water, Eskdale and Langdale but never from Seathwaite via the corridor route. So this was about hiking a new route up a familiar mountain. I drove up the night before in the camper van and parked in Seathwaite. This way I could get an early start after a good nights sleep. I chose the classic circular route up Styhead Gill to Sty Head and then along the corridor route to Scafell Pike before heading back via Esk Hause and Grains Gill. I made a few small deviations onto Broad Crag, Ill Crag and Great End for the views.

Accommodation in Seathwaite

Seathwaite Fell over Stockley Bridge

Looking back along Styhead Gill

An unnecessarily large cairn near Sty Head

Styhead Tarn

Great End 

The usual wild campers around Styhead Tarn unsurprisingly forgetting the bit about 'always pack up before the day hikers arrive' 

A lone hiker near the start of the corridor route

The corridor route heading towards Piers Gill

Piers Gill

Heading towards Lingmell Col

The top of Piers Gill

Lingmell and Great Gable from the path up to Scafell Pike 

Scafell Pike summit - under cloud

I had lunch in one of the many wind breaks near the summit but unfortunately the cloud didn't look like it was going to lift any time soon, so I headed off down the badly eroded path to the col at the top of little narrowcove before heading up to Broad Crag and then across to Ill Crag.

Looking down little narrowcove gulley

Broad Crag summit

Ill Crag

Looking down the Esk valley from Ill Crag

Bowfell from Ill Crag

Great End

Views down to Borrowdale from Great End

The top of Central Gulley on Great End

Great End summit views over to Glaramara 

Ill Crag, Broad Crag and Scafell Pike now cloud free

Views over Esk Hause towards Esk Pike and Bowfell

Esk Pike from Esk Hause

Views of the route back down to Seathwaite, the Borrowdale valley and Derwent Water beyond

The Langdale Pikes

Great End and Great Gable

The bottom of Central Gulley

Grains Gill and the path back to Seathwaite

Now this is undoubtedly a lovely walk in a stunning landscape but the day was somewhat tarnished by the strange behaviour of some folk along the way. I know it was Scafell Pike on a Saturday with a half decent forecast and so I expected a crowd but there were literally hundreds of people of the mountain, including someone shouting obscenities from the summit at the top of their voice (a lost bet maybe?) when so may folk were around including children. Also, there was a group of 30 ish strewn along a mile section of Grains Gill whose chief method of communication was to repeatedly yodel at each other. Now I'm all for a good yodel in the Swiss alps when needs must but this was ridiculous and just annoying to everyone within earshot.

It also seemed that there was a festival of tissue paper on the mountain today. Every 50 yards or so the path was decorated with the stuff. And then, to add to my disillusionment, I was asked 5 times by different groups where Scafell Pike was. None had a GPS, map or compass. I also encountered folk in jeans & brogues and a girl in a leather bikers jacket complete with tassels, who unsurprisingly looked thoroughly miserable on the Scafell ascent in clag, 30mph gusts and 2 degrees above zero. I really feel for the poor Mountain Rescue Teams who must despair at the sheer idiocy of some people. Ah well. Rant over. It's a lovely area. Just go midweek and early morning, or leave it until winter.