Tuesday 23 August 2016

Central Lakeland part 3



Grasmere and the Langdale Pikes


25/05/16

Introduction my third mission on working my way through Alfred Wainwright's pictorial guides, The Central Fells and here I am near the end of book three, and in all the fells in the book the Langdale Pikes are the cream with some of the highest fells and the most popular group of fells in the book. My last mission was the Thirlmere Valley and at the head of that valley is Steel Fell where I am planning to start my first walks from Grasmere and my base for my walks will be the campsite in the village of Chapel Stile.

Day 1 Evening walk; Silver How from Chapel Stile


An evening of sunny spells as I and Sam the dog left Chapel Stile for the gentle climb out of the valley. I love my first walk of my holidays as it prepares me for the days ahead of fell walking and the views start to open and I get the familiar look of the rugged and craggy fells  I knew I was glad to be back.

Chapel Stile

I got a nice view back down Megs Gill to Great Langdale, I reached the plateau and admired the water in the bogs because of reflections, then it was on the path up to the summit and some good views of Grasmere and Helm Crag, few yards from the summit I got a view of Grasmere and Rydal Water. Had a nice rest enjoying the views naming the fells is always a good practice because they do look different from whatever point of the compass you view them at, and the distance they are at.
In Wainwright books, he always gives you a summit view with all the names of the fells. The how in Silver How is derived from the Old Norse word haugr for a hill or mound: The return walk was by Spreading Crag and Raven Crag back into the village.


26/05/16, 7.53 miles.

Steel Fell, Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag from Grasmere


I parked up on the A591 and walked into the village of Grasmere to start my walk on this cloudy morning, after checking out the village shops I took to the river path and then by road to the foot of Steel Fell and started my climb as usually, the views start open up across Grasmere to Loughrigg Fell a lovely view. As I reached the summit two other walkers turned up. There was a low cloud on most summits, Thirlmere was in view in the valley and with this view, I stopped for a short break and chattered with some fellow walkers.

Thirlmere
The next section was to Calf Crag a level walk following a fence line going around boggy areas, before I climbed to the summit I stopped to admire the view down Far Easedale.  I started the climb for Calf Crag summit, what was now in a low cloud so I did not hang about up and over I came down Calf Crag heading for Gibson Knot I came out of the cloud with clear views to Gibson Knott, Helm Crag and beyond.
And I made my way down to Gibson Knot and the summit, the views improved around me leaving the cloud still covering most fell summits. Only a brief stop on the top of Gibson Knot, before I was on the move to Helm Crag, along this ridge.

Calf Crag and Gibson  Knott
Helm Crag rocky summit was reached first was the large protruding rock known as the Howitzer, this being the highest point on the summit but not the end as you walk along the ridge you come to the second group of rocks known as the Lion and the Lamb. The view to Grasmere and beyond is good, and as you descend you get this great view and this will be memorised as one of my top views. AW wrote of Helm Crag.
 “The virtues of Helm Crag have not been lauded enough. It gives an exhilarating little climb, a brief  essay in real mountaineering, and in a region where all is beautiful, it makes a notable contribution to the natural charms and attractions of Grasmere”
Howitzer

The Lion and the Lamb

From the summit, it was down to Grasmere and the end to a good walk, pity about the low cloud on parts of the walk.

Helm Crag

Grasmere, Rydal evening walk.

After a long rest in the village of Grasmere, I decided I still had the stamina to do an another walk or a saunter around the water bodies of Grasmere and Rydal. I left Grasmere by road and was deep in thinking, there is something about the pace of walking and the pace of thinking that goes together. Wordsworth was a walker; his work was bound up in walking in the Lake District.  Walking requires a certain amount of attention but it leaves great parts of the brain open to thinking. It helped Wordsworth with creatively writing as it helps many artists today.
Back on the walk going around Grasmere Lake, I leave the road for footpath known as the Loughrigg Terrace and this where you get good views to Helm Crag and the Dunmail Raise.

Grasmere Lake
This volcanic area is very complexed with several fault lines running through the area, the Coniston fault line is just one of them. As you leave the terrace you get the first glimpse of Rydal water as you head towards it, there are two paths lower one to the shore of Rydal water the upper one to the quarries and caves this is the one I was taking. Rydal Water is one of the smallest lakes of the ribbon lakes.
Next stop was Rydal Cave a man-made cave and was part of the quarry supplying slate to the local area. A series of stepping stones leads over water what is full of fish.

Rydal Cave
I crossed the River Rothay to the main road and crossed this also to Dove Cottage, this William Wordsworth’s first home in the lakes. And I also passed Rydal Mount onto a track is known as the Coffin Route, going through a nice wooded area of oaks with glimpses of Rydal Water through the trees. You come to White Moss and the car park on I went to Grasmere going through more woods to finish off my walk back in Grasmere.

Rydal Water and Silver How.


27/05/16, 9.28 miles.

Day 3 Tarn Crag, Sergeant Man and Blea Rigg from Grasmere

Back to the same parking spot this morning and the weather had improved from the grey overcast sky of yesterday to a morning of sunny spells as I set off into Grasmere village.
I left Grasmere with a big beef pasty in my bag, not had one like this in years, back in the days of doing the South West Coast Path, I use to live off these then.
Back on my walk and heading into Easedale. The climbing started in Easedale with the climb up Sourmilk Gill, where do these names originate from?

Sourmilk Gill
There some nice waterfalls along this section, I stop for a short rest at Easedale Tarn, enjoying the sunshine and the view to my next destination Tarn Crag. Easedale Tarn as all the evidence of a glacial corrie all the classic features were around me from an arete ridge to moraines.

Tarn Crag
The climb up to Tarn Crag was pathless but easy going up to Gateshead Crag where I picked up a faint path up to the summit of Tarn Crag. And a rest stop to tuck into my pasty and share it with my dog Sam and enjoy the view on this sunny day.


Next stop was Sergeant Man and the going was straight forward as the summit came into view. So far on this walk I have not seen any other walkers till Sergeant Man came into view I could see people on the summit.

Sergeant Man
Wainwright's description;
“Sergeant Man is merely a rocky excrescence at the edge of the broad expanse forming the top of High Raise”.
I made it to the summit and sat there taking in the views.



The next part of my walk was along the wide ridge to Blea Rigg, the way was very rock with my path fading hear and there but the summit of Blea Rigg was in view and some nice views also of Pavey Ark.



I made it to the summit of Blea Rigg and a shortstop to look at AW book about the summit and a spot of map reading to find my path back to Grasmere and Easedale Tarn, it has been another good walk and some great views, so by the time I finished the walk in Grasmere I went back to the campsite at Chapel Stile.


Day 4 Langdale Pikes backpack

28/05/16, 11 miles.

You save the best till the last and that’s what I have done  with the Langdale Pikes. These are Loft Crag, Pike o Stickle,  Harrison Stickle and Pavey Ark.


And the weather was on my side, this sunny morning as me and Sam the dog left the campsite to walk the valley bottom to Old Dungeon Ghyll and then start the uphill climb. From the valley the Langdale Pikes rise spectacularly, their volcanic domed tops stand proud. I reached Old Dungeon Ghyll and it was busy with walkers on this Saturday morning with many parked cars. The Langdale Pikes  is a popular walk , so I started the climb up, It seemed a long climb up, was this because of the extra weight I was carrying? On this warm sunny morning, there were plenty of other walkers also out today as they pass by me. I stopped for a rest on a small grassy plateau and sat there enjoying the views. The last push up between Loft Crag and Thorn Crag and I was on the large plateau with the main climbing done, one short climb to summit of Loft Crag, from the summit I could see several other summits which I was intended to visit and you could see how busy it was up there with other walkers on other summits.


Pike O Stickle

It was in this area that the Langdale Axe Factory was discovered, these stone axes were taken from this area, and archaeologists have found these axes all over the British Isles. Made from greenish Borrowdale volcanic stone, 11 inches long, with roughly parallel sides about 3 or 4 inches wide, made during the Neolithic period, 4 to 3000 BC.
I came off Loft Crag and headed for Pike o Stickle along the ridge with the pyramid pike in view, I climbed to the summit, it was busy with walkers coming and going. Pike o Stickle was the most prolific site for the stone axes, found just below the summit on the scree slope.
The view from the pike was extensive to north, east, south and west.

Loft Crag


It was time to move on, so back down to the plateau and across the boggy area to Harrison Stickle and up to the summit for a great view of Pavey Ark and the tarn where I intend to camp tonight.





From the summit it was back down to the plateau and head for Thunacar Knot, Thunacar Knot was nothing special not even as a viewpoint just pile of stones to mark the summit. I was off again on the path now to High Raise. A steady uphill walk with plenty of people still coming and going as it was now late afternoon.
High Raise is regard as Lakeland’s most centrally situated fell. As I reached the busy summit and the views north and north-west are splendid with all the central fells in a view from the Ordnance Survey trig point In AW book the Central Fells, High Raise is the highest fell in the book. From the summit you have a good all round panorama, you may be dwarfed by the higher fells but it is still a great view, I sat down to rest and enjoy it all on this late sunny afternoon with only a light breeze.



After my rest I started the walk to Sergeant Man an easy walk over the plateau with Sergeant Man coming into view, this time, I did not visit the summit but bypassed it to pick up the path for Blea Rigg, so far along the Blea Rigg path I turned off to pick another path up to descend down to Stickle Tarn, as I descended you get great views of the bulk of Pavey Ark.
I made it to Stickle Tarn and found a spot to set up my wild camp for the night and to relax and  to sit and stare up at Pavey Ark while cooking, there still was a few walkers about this evening and  also I was not the only one wild camping next to Stickle Tarn.
 I sat there have something eat while staring up at the towering cliff face of Pavey Ark and tracing the path of Jack’s Rake, feeling anxious  because Jack’s Rake is a grade one scramble as a rock climb  AW description of this climb.
Nonetheless, as a walk it is both  difficult and awkward in fact, for much of the way the body is propelled forwards by a series of convulsions unrelated by normal walking, the knees and elbows contributing as much to progresses as hands and feet.
I watched a father and I presume his daughter of around 10 years of age, walk by heading for Jack’s Rake I watched them climb, and I could follow them as they ascended Jack's Rake from where I was sat. I made my mind up and put Sam in the tent and went for it.


 Evening mission, Pavey Ark. 121.92 meters of ascent, 400 feet.

Jack's Rake


The first section was up the scree slope to the start of the rake at Easy Gully  and then the climbing starts, as you are looking for polished hand holds to pull you to the next section, this was going well so far till I could not find a hand hold, I stopped to think things through and look at the view, the only way I could see around it was over to my left and very close to the edge. And that’s where exposure got to me, because so far I was in the comfort of the rake, but now I had to go back down a section and then up again out of the rake and very close to the edge, with my heart pounding away I went for it and made it up to the next section and found a grassy ledge to rest and take a few photos, so far I was about half the way up.

Stickle Tarn
The next section was up another gully and onto another ledge, I started to feel the exposure again, I could see my tent it looked so small next to the tarn.
I will be glad when I have reached the top, so I moved on again from the ledge to a gully and made it to the top so pleased that was over and pleased with myself for doing it, I made it to the summit of Pavey Ark and had a good rest while taking in the views.
Nobody was to be seen anywhere on the summit, I set off across the top looking for the path known as North Rake, this was going to take me back down.I found the well-used path and made my way down. I was pleased   to see Sam the dog and he was pleased to see me, I looked back to the cliff face of Pavey Ark and looked at what I have just achieved feeling pleased with myself .

29/05/16

Day 5 Homeward bound.

I woke up to a beautiful sunny morning; I sat there having my breakfast looking up at Pavey Ark what was in full sunshine. I was now thinking about how the Ice Age had carved out this bowl where Stickle Tarn now sits, and the hanging valley what looks into Great Langdale at the edge of the tarn where I was heading next.
But first I started to pack the tent up, and then made my way around Stickle Tarn and picked the path up for Stickle Ghyll, and I started heading down into the valley. It was a busy Sunday morning with lots of walkers passing me on their way up  As I got lower into the valley it got hotter,  I made it to the Dungeon Ghyll new hotel and crossed the road for the valley path back to the campsite.
I had a rest at the campsite, there was nothing else to do as everything was packed away so after my rest and a spot of lunch, I left the campsite and the Lake District. It's been another good holiday, but I had plans for one last walk so I took the car to Leighton Moss.


Yealand walk.

I arrived at Leighton Moss car park, but this time, I was not visiting the nature reserve, but going on a circle walk to look into prehistory.
The early hunter and gathers from 6,000 years ago would have been keen bird watchers, they would have been hunting the birds, you could image them hunting in the tall reedbeds.  I walked along the main track through the nature reserve with the tall reed beds around me. The Moss was a sea inlet 4,200 BC surrounded by dense woodland. Mesolithic settlers would have come hunting for ducks and deer as there were plenty of resources for them.
I left the nature reserve as the track started the climb to Leighton Hall and on through the site, then the path starts to climb more steeply up to Summerhouse Hill where I came across a seat and I took advantage of this because of the view from the seat looking over Leighton Moss at 400 feet above sea level.
Summerhouse Hill
From this point I moved on through some trees on a flat area, dotted with limestone blocks, these stones are said to be the remains of a stone circle.  Also nearby is cairn consisting of an oval mound and is kerbed, and was excavated in 1778 which recovered a human skeleton, a large glass bead and an urn contained human bones, both cairn and stone circle are from the Bronze Age.
The whole site sits on a ridge with the village of Yealand Conyers so you have views to the west and east, magical place to let your imaginations take over and see it as some special place to the people of the Bronze Age.
The next section of the walk follows the ridge through some lovely woodland with brief glimpses of views east, I came to the village of Yealand Storrs. Archaeologists have unearthed a structure of sockted wooden planks believed to be part  of a causeway, they also found pieces of flint, dated to around 4,200 BC, the end of the Mesolithic period, local farmers have also found Stone Age tools.
I went through Yealand Storrs and on the path for Trowbarrow Nature Reserve. I passed through the  reserve and through Trough to end the walk at Leighton Moss. And also the end of the holiday and another successful mission.