A High Level Circuit of the Greenup Valley

Date: 9th June 2018
Start/Finish: Rosthwaite
Wainwrights: Eagle Crag (1706 feet), Sergeant's Crag (1873 feet), Ullscarf (2382 feet), Great Crag (1726 feet), Grange Fell (1345 feet)
Distance: 12.5 miles
Time Taken: 8 Hours
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The route: Anticlockwise from Rosthwaite

This is a walk best served hot. Preferably at the end of a long hot summer so the squelchy quagmire around the Ullscarf plateau has had a chance to dry out. I took a gamble today as it's been unusually dry in the Lakes over the past 6 weeks.

I parked near Rosthwaite and walked along the Cumbria Way as far the Langstrath valley, and then followed the dry stone wall steeply up the lower flanks of Eagle Crag. From this side, Eagle Crag looks steep and impenetrable but there is one line of weakness which Wainwright's pictorial guide illustrates in detail and which I had studied the night before. As is happens, the many feet that have since trodden this route have carved a path that is fairly easy to follow. The key to accessing the upper crags is a short, steep gulley which the book describes well. From the top of this gulley, a path then zig-zags along a series of heather clad terraces before emerging onto the craggy summit. The view is good in all directions but especially back down to Stonethwaite, and over to Sergeant's Crag.

Bessyboot over Stonethwaite Beck from the Cumbria Way

First glimpse of Eagle Crag

Eagle Crag from the foot of the Langstrath Valley

Views back down the valley from the early ascent 

First view of Sergeant's Crag

The path along the upper terraces

Superb views along the length of the Langstrath Valley

Eagle Crag summit

Summit view towards Sergeant's Crag

A well used path links Eagle Crag to Sergeant's Crag, as it would be criminal not to visit both summits. Seargent's Crag offers superb views along the length of the Langstrath valley and little grassy patch off to one side made a great lunch spot.

Sergeant's Crag summit, looking back to Eagle Crag

View of High Raise from Sergeant's Crag

I walked over the head of the Greenup valley and around to Greenup Edge before following the path up onto Ullscarf. The summit is a dreary flat peat hag offering reasonable distant views but the foreground is robbed of interest by the expansive plateau.

The path up to Ullscarf

Ullscarf summit

From Ullscarf, Great Crag looks a long way away and the intervening landscape is undulating and difficult to negotiate. I decided to head over High Saddle and Low Saddle and then take a direct pathless route over the peat hags and grass tussocks towards High Crag. In anything but a dry spell, I can imagine this terrain being a boggy torment. Thankfully it was largely dry underfoot but it drizzled for most of the way, which was quite refreshing on this otherwise hot and windless day.

Views down to High Saddle and Low Saddle

Low Saddle views towards Great Crag

Views back over the Greenup valley towards Eagle Crag and Sergeant's Crag

An unexpected gem on this walk was the lovely Dock Tarn. It's a really picturesque little tarn made even more delightful by the clusters of white lilies in flower at this time of year.  

Dock Tarn

A short climb from the main path finds the summit of Great Crag. From up here it seems like a strange name as the crags don't appear particularly 'great'. They are hidden to the summit walker and visible only from the Borrowdale valley below. A more suitable name would perhaps be 'Heather Crag', as the summit is adorned with the stuff.

For tired legs it's a morale sapping view over more undulating terrain towards Grange Fell, which looks a long way away.

Great Crag summit 

Views back to Ullscarf

Unfortunately a larger degree of altitude than hoped is lost between Great Crag and Grange Fell but the walk is made considerably more interesting by the views over to Seathwaite and Great Gable.

A steep climb up a good path finds the summit of Grange Fell, which confusingly is called 'Brund Fell' on the map. OS seem to describe Grange Fell as a triangular kilometre of high ground with 3 separate peaks at each point; Brund Fell, Kings Howe and Ether Knott. Brund Fell is the highest point and therefore represents the summit of Grange Fell. 

Views towards Seathwaite

Brund Fell summit 

I thought I might pay a visit to Kings Howe on my way down as it didn't seem too far out of the way, and this fell is what most people assume is Grange Fell when seen from the road along the Borrowdale valley. 

Kings Howe summit views over Derwent Water

Castle Crag and High Spy

Views over Borrowdale towards Glaramara

A bracken invaded path then leads steeply down through the trees back to the road. I can image this would be lovely route upwards in autumn.

Mellbreak from Loweswater

Mellbreak - from Scalehill Bridge

Date: 17th May 2018
Start/Finish: Park Bridge, Loweswater.
Wainwrights: Mellbreak (1676 feet)
Distance: 6.6 miles
Time Taken: 3 Hours 30 mins
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The route - anti-clockwise from Park Bridge (top)

It has been almost 12 months since I was last in the fells. A big work project has been a somewhat all consuming but is finally starting to slacken off. And so for the first time in ages, I had some free time and a nice forecast, which is always a glorious combination of events. Mellbreak has been on the radar for a while but this is really a fell that must be climbed in fair weather. Not just because of the superb views but because it involves a fairly steep ascent that can involve the use of hands and feet on occasion. I had planned on climbing it from the Buttermere side of the fell but a perusal of Wainwrights pictorial guide revealed that this is not recommended, as the best views are behind you for the bulk of the climb. Far better, apparently, is an ascent from the Loweswater side which he argues is much more interesting and saves the best views for the descent towards Buttermere. Having now climbed the fell, I would have to agree.

From Park Bridge, a path skirts the lower flanks of Mellbreak before turning abruptly upwards along a scree track. It then weaves its way up through Raven Crag to eventually emerge onto a lovely little promontory that reveals expansive views along the length of Crummock Water. An ideal spot for a pause before the loins are girded for the final push up onto the summit plateau.

Mellbreak from near Park Bridge

Views back towards Loweswater

Low Fell and Fellbarrow from the flanks of Mellbreak

Views over to Grasmoor and Whiteside from the steep path

Views from the promontory over to Rannerdale ...

... and Grasmoor / Whiteside

Mellbreak has a north and south summit which are almost the same height, although the latter is marginally higher and therefore the true top. In between is a wide depression about a kilometer in length and peaty underfoot. The best views require a short wander from the south summit over to the Crummock Water side. Here, is the ideal lunch spot.

Mellbreak north summit views to Loweswater ...

... and over to the south summit

Mellbreak south summit views towards Red Pike

Lunch spot views over Crummock Water towards Grasmoor, ...

... Rannerdale, ...

... and Buttermere

A steep descent over Scale Knott emerges by Far Ruddy Beck which is then followed down to Crummock Water. A lovely lakeside path can then be followed along the banks of Crummock water with superb views over to Rannerdale and Grasmoor. I had the company of Cuckoo, hidden somewhere in the trees by High Park, for this pleasant stroll back to the car.

Looking along Crummock Water and Buttermere towards Fleetwith Pike

Looking down on Rannerdale Knotts

The forwards view for most of the descent

Back to Crummock water

The Low Ling Crag peninsula

The lovely lakeside path back to the car

A High Level Wast Water Circuit and Bivvy Camp

Date: 31st May-1st June 2017
Start/Finish: Cinderdale Bridge, Nether Wasdale
Wainwrights: Whin Rigg, Illgill Head, Middle Fell, Seatallan, Buckbarrow
Wild Camp: Middle Fell
Distance: 16.3 miles
Height Gained: 5607 feet
Time Taken: Day 1 = 7 hours. Day 2 = 4 hours
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The route: Anti-clockwise from Nether Wasdale

                        A Video of the Hike


 This was a route planned a good while ago and was just waiting for a favourable forecast over 2 days which coincided with my being off work. According to MWIS there was 0 % chance of rain so I opted for a bivvy & simple tarp to keep weight down. There was over 5,000 feet of ascent on this route and so I really didn't want to carry anything unnecessary.

 After a painfully slow (Bank Holiday week in the Lakes!) drive across the Wrynose and Hardknott passes, I parked by Cinderdale Bridge, Nether Wasdale and was underway by 1pm, hoping to get to Middle Fell with plenty of daylight to spare.

Views of the route ahead, over the Wasdale Screes

Looking down the Wasdale valley towards Great Gable

Looking over to Buckbarrow, Seatallan and Middle Fell - tomorrows route

Glimpses of Wast Water down Greathall Gill

 It is a mercifully gentle gradient up onto Irton Fell and then along to ridge to Whin Rigg. From here the views down to Wast Water begin to open up and indeed were truly breath-taking from certain vantage points along the way to Illgill Head.

Wast Water from near Whin Rigg

Looking onwards to Illgill Head

Views over to Buckbarrow and Middle Fell

 From Illgill Head summit I wandered a little further northwards and found a nice secluded spot with stunning views down to Wast Water far below. An ideal spot for a bite to eat and to just sit and soak up the majestic scenery.

Illgill Head summit views towards Scafell, Lingmell, Great Gable and Kirk Fell ...

... over Wast Water to Middle Fell, Haycock and Yewbarrow ...

... and looking down on Wasdale Head.

 From here, I headed down towards Lingmell Gill, after a brief diversion eastwards for a glimpse of Burnmoor Tarn.

Burnmoor Tarn

Yewbarrow

Lingmell Beck with Kirk Fell and Great Gable as the backdrop

 Once back down to 'lake level' there was a brief rest-bite of level walking along the road until its time to gird up the loins again in preparation for further ascent. Middle Fell looks fairly innocent when looked down on from the screes opposite but now, from Nether Beck at the shore of Wast Water, it looked ferocious. There is no marked path from this side of Middle Fell on the OS map and so I spent some time just staring up at the steep crags trying to find a line of ascent. Finally, after some internal debate about the most plausible route, I headed up.

 It was indeed hard work. 'Middle Fell' sounds like such a bland and innocuous proposition but this couldn't be further from the truth. A more appropriate name would be 'torment fell' or 'morale sapping fell'. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the ascent but that was probably because I didn't have the nerve to prise my hands off the rock for long enough to press the shutter.

 Eventually I accepted defeat and convinced myself that discretion was indeed the best part of valour. I found a nice flat grassy ledge about 2/3 of the way up, with lovely views of Wast Water, and set up camp. The unfinished business with Middle Fell would have to wait until the following day when my weary legs had recovered.

Looking back over to Illgill Head

Yewbarrow from the foot of Middle Fell

Views back to Lingmell and the Scafells

Camp spot on a ledge 2/3 of the way up Middle Fell 

Nice views of the Scafells

 Shortly after setting up camp it started raining. This wasn't forecast! A light drizzle persisted for 30 mins before the mist rolled in and the wind got up. I very nearly didn't take the tarp as the forecast was so benign but I was very glad of the wind protection it provided through the night. By sun-up the clag looked fairly persistent. I was camped just below the cloud base and so had hazy views down to Wast Water but visibility quickly deteriorated as soon as I gained height.

Morning views from my camp

 Despite having 'rested legs' the remaining ascent of Middle Fell was far from easy. The pathless steep rocky terrain, poor visibility and a number a false summits made for slow progress. Eventually, the summit was reached and I couldn't see a thing. My abiding thought was that I must climb this fell again on a cool, clear day with a light day pack and then thoroughly explore the extensive crags and rocky summit plateau.  

Middle Fell summit with nowt to see today

 A faint path leads northwards towards Seatallan. I briefly dropped below the cloud base at the col between the 2 fells but was soon in the clag again on the steep ascent up onto Seatallan's broad summit plateau.

Seatallan's trig point and summit shelter 

 I finally got back below the cloud on the gentle descent to Buckbarrow and was rewarded with some hazy views over Wast Water to the Screes.

Buckbarrow summit views. Middle Fell, far left, still under cloud

Looking back up to Buckbarrow

The Wasdale Screes and yesterdays route from Nether Wasdale

 And there ended a cracking 2 days in the fells. This really is a great route which could be managed by a fit walker in a single day over 8-10 hours. Indeed, with a light day pack, the steep ascents up Middle Fell and Seatallan would be much more enjoyable.

Kit List

Shelter: Backpackinglight solo tarp (278g), 6x 8 inch Easton pegs, 6x 6inch titanium skewers, 2 x 3 foot bamboo canes (tarp lifters), 6 x 5 foot lengths 2mm Dyneema cord.  
Sleeping System: As Tucas custom down quilt (519g), Mountain Laurel Designs Superlight Bivvy Silnylon Large (190g), Tyvek solo ground sheet (100g), Exped SynMat7 UL LW (595g), 3 strips of anti-slip matting (50g).
Stove: High Gear Blaze titanium stove (48g)  + Primus 100g Gas Cart   
Pans: Evernew Solo-set (250g)  

Rucksack: Osprey Talon 44 (1.18kg)
Hydration: Deuter Streamer 2lt Bladder (185g) and 600ml Sigg bottle (100g empty) + Sawyer Squeeze filter (84g).
Food: Fuizion Chiken Tikka Masala, tortilla's, Supernoodles,various sugary snacks.

Bits & Bobs: headtorch and spare batteries, Iphone + Anker 5800mHh battery,  victorinox knife, map & compass, basic first aid kit and Petzl e-lite, spork, various fold dry bags, flint & steel, plastic trowel, smidge & sun screen.
Camera: Panasonic DMC-LX7 & lowepro case. Go-Pro Hero 5 and spare battery.


Clothes: Rab interval long sleeved T (135g), Rab 100 wt fleece (250g), Montane Lightspeed windproof jacket (147g), TNF Meridian Cargo Shorts (190g), Tilley Hemp Hat, ME beany, TNF E-Tip gloves, sunglasses, Buff, Innov8 short socks. PHD wafer down jacket (about 200g), Rohan Ultra Silver long sleeved top (95g) and leggings (80g) used as pyjamas (instead of a liner - which doesn't really work in a quilt).

Poles : Black Diamond Trail Compact (488g pair)
Trail Shoes: Meindl Respond GTX (820g pair)

Total weight excluding water = 8kg