This
is a walk where we could see the route from our bedroom
window! In the far distance the Great End - Scafell ridge is on
the right, with Glaramara and Rosthwaite Fell on the left.
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Seathwaite
Farm,
our starting point at 9.30am. The cars were already parked
300-400 yards back along the road...
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Stockley
Bridge, a
favourite of the dogs, who were already feeling rather warm and paddled
happily in the pools near the bridge. I'm not sure how the
water
turned green, though...
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Looking
down Borrowdale from above the Stockley Bridge-Styhead path.
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Climbing...
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Now
at the top of Seathwaite Fell - which, on reflection, proved a more
energy-sapping climb than Great End which was to follow.
Maybe it
was just too early in the morning...
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That's
where we are aiming: Great End, from the northern end of Seathwaite
Fell.
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Getting
closer.
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Great
Gable, from Seathwaite Fell. You can see not only the main
track to the summit and the Windy Gap gash on the right, but also the
path in the valley up from Styhead Tarn, out of sight on the right,
which we left in order to climb Seathwaite Fell.
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Great
End, from Sprinkling Tarn - the wettest place in England, but not
today!
In this picture you can (?) see our path up Great End. We cut
up from the Styhead - Esk Hause path to meet the Great End path from
Styhead more or less where the sky and fell meet on the right of the
picture.
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Looking
back down on the Styhead - Esk Hause path, from about 200 yards before
we met the Styhead path.
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Styhead
Tarn and Great Gable. Yes, the path was a bit steep just
here...
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And
this is Sprinkling Tarn, Seathwaite Fell and Borrowdale.
I was expecting the path to be faint or non-existent, but it was
surprisingly easy to find and follow, even for a person like me who
loses his way with remarkable ease. And, as I said earlier,
the climb itself (about 1000ft with a zig-zag) felt easier than the
struggle up Seathwaite Fell, which was less than 600ft but straight up.
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Gable,
from the north-west cairn on Great End.
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Lingmell
on the right, and you can see the rightly famed Corridor Route, cutting
up from Styhead towards Scafell Pike, out of sight on the left.
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This
is the highest ridge in England, with Scafell Pike in the distance with
its stone shelter, behind Broad Crag.
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The
dogs looking justly pleased with themselves at the summit of Great
End. The north-west cairn is in the background.
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And
that's where we're going next: Allen Crags and Glaramara.
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Ill
Crag on the left, with Scafell Pike on the right.
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Great
End, seen from the path down to Esk Hause
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The
distinctive shape of the Langdale Pikes, from above Esk Hause.
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Up
from Esk Hause to Allen Crags, whence you can easily see the Langdale
Pikes. |
and
Great Gable beyond Sprinkling Tarn
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not forgetting
Great End itself. |
The
mile between Allen Crags and Glaramara (and beyond to
Rosthwaite Fell) is dotted with numerous little tarns, ideal for hot
dogs...
The two pictures below are both of Samba at the same tarn: on the left
in July 2006 and on the right in about 2001, before she had her litter
- which turned her coat much darker.
The mud has not changed colour at all! And it cakes on, of
course...
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The
top of Glaramara. It was a pity the visibility was so hazy,
you couldn't see much of the view north, which is terrific - as you can
see from the next two pictures, taken in about 2001, in winter.
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The
best we could do today...
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From
the north and west, Glaramara protects itself with these ramparts,
which provide some good scrambling. Today we came down the
middle of the picture.
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Rosthwaite
Fell extends over a wide area, with lots of bumps and hollows.
These are just some of them.
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The top of
Bessyboot, the highest point around here. Glaramara in the far
distance.
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Tarn at
Leaves, just below Bessyboot. It was about here that my water ran
out...
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Some 3 miles
later, we were very glad to see our destination, Seathwaite Farm, come
over the horizon.
A long, hot but very enjoyable day!
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