Crinkle Crags & Bowfell via Climbers Traverse

Date : 31st July 2009
Route : From Stool End Farm up the Oxendale path to Red Tarn then Crinkle Crags and on to Bow Fell via climbers traverse and back via the Band
Wainwrights : Crinkle Crags, Bowfell
Distance : 8.13 miles (13.1km)
Height Gained : 3528 feet (1075 meters)
Time Taken : 4.5 hours

The Route : Clockwise from Stool End farm

(An updated description of this route in perfect weather is described here)  

In my humble opinion, this is simply one of the best walks in the UK and includes, according to Wainwright himself, the finest ridge mile in the Lake District. The forecast suggested cloud rolling in from midday but clear skies up until then. I therefore left Preston at some ungodly hour, parked near Stool End Farm and had set off before sunrise. A steep but steady path climbs from the Oxendale valley up towards Red Tarn.

Crinkle Crags and Bowfell at 5am

The morning sun just touching Crinkle Crags

Sunrise over the Great Langdale valley

Looking back towards the Langdale Pikes

The red path to Red Tarn

Red Tarn and the Coniston Fells

 
From Red Tarn the onwards path levels off a little as it heads towards the first Crinkle. 

Looking over Cold Pike towards the Coniston Fells

Looking back towards Pike O'Blisco

The onwards path to Crinkle Crags

Views down the Great Langdale valley

The Scafells come into view

Crinkles 2 &3 from Crinkle 1

Once on top of the first Crinkle it becomes very obvious that Crinkle 2 is the highest point of the ridge. An obvious path leads directly onwards towards the crags where the notorious 'bad step' is waiting. At first it seems impossible to climb up until you realise that the solution is a fairly simple rock climb up the crags directly right of the 'step'. For those of a nervous disposition there is an alternative way up which skirts the left side of the crags without having to resort to the use of hands. Once on top of Crinkle 2 you are stood on the summit of Crinkle Crags.

The path towards the 'bad step'

The 'Bad Step'

Crinkle 2 summit view back over Crinkle 1 towards the Coniston Fells

Crinkle 2 view along the ridge towards Bowfell

  
From Crinkle 2 it is a simple matter of following the path along its ups and downs across the remaining Crinkles before dropping down to the 'three tarns' Col. 

The Great Langdale valley from Crinkle 3

The Scafells across the Esk valley

Bowfell over the final Crinkle

From three tarns the obvious path up to Bowfell is clear to see on the picture above but I really wanted to find the infamous 'climbers traverse' which ascends on the eastern side. From here Bowfells finest aspect can be appreciated; huge crags, impressive rocky buttresses and the aptly named 'Great Slab'. The climbers traverse is not shown on OS maps but I had briefly studied Wainwright's pictorial guide before setting out. From three tarns I would either have to descend along the Band before picking up the traverse path somewhere off on the left, or head up the main path seen above but then attempt to skirt round to the right and pick up the traverse around the south eastern shoulder. I opted for latter and thankfully managed to stumble across the meandering path without too much difficulty. The traverse is an old route used by rock climbers to access the Bowfell Buttress and Cambridge Crags. It winds it way underneath Bowfells most impressive rock scenery. For a guide to finding the climbers traverse from 'The Band' click here

The Climbers Traverse path

Bowfell Buttress

 Just as I reached the spring by Cambridge Crags where Wainwright recommends stopping to refill your water bottle, the clouds came in. From here a path doubles back to climb diagnonally upwards along Cambridge Crags. I scrambled as quickly as I could safely manage up the steep path but by the time I reached the Great Slab visibility was lost. 20 minutes later I was on the summit but there was nothing to see so I headed down the main path on the southern side back to the three tarns and then descended via the Band. 

The spring under Cambridge Crags

The upwards path along Cambridge Crags

The cloud descends over Great Slab

Half an hour earlier and I would have just made it to a cloud free Bowfell. Ah well, the early start did reward me with great views from the Crinkles. This really is my idea of perfect mountain scenery. It has everything I enjoy about hiking in the Lake District. I have a feeling I will be revisiting this area many times. 

 Wainwright Count : 12 / 214

Fairfield & Seat Sandal

Date : 30th May 2009
Wainwrights : Stone Arthur, Great Rigg, Fairfield, Seat Sandal
Distance : 6.7 miles (10.8km)
Height Gained : 3168 feet (966 meters)
Time Taken : About 4 hours

The Route : anticlockwise from Grasmere

So far Fairfield had not been kind to me. I had stood on the summit twice in the last few months and seen diddly squat both times. This time I was taking no chances. The forecast was perfect and it was shorts and T-Shirt temperatures. I also had company today in the form of my 11 year cousin-in-law. I wanted to take him on a familiar route which was not too far or too difficult. I also desperately wanted to see a view from Fairfield summit so decided to repeat the walk from a few months ago and maybe tag Seat Sandal on at the end if the little lad could manage it. 

Grasmere from the path up to Stone Arthur

Looking over Stone Arthur to Grasmere

Glimpses of Grisedale Tarn with Seat Sandal left and Helvellyn right

 Despite it being essentially the same route as last time it felt completely different in the bright sunshine. It certainly makes a difference when you can see where you are going! The views I was denied previously on Fairfield summit were now laid out in all directions. Third time lucky.

Fairfield summit view over the Deepdale valley towards St Sunday Crag

Fairfield summit view towards Helvellyn

Glimpses of Ullswater down the Grisedale valley

Great Rigg and views back to Grasmere

Looking over to Seat Sandal

At Grisedale Hause we had a quick debate as to weather Seat Sandal was manageable. He felt fine so on we went up the steep ascent following the tumble down dry stone wall. The summit of Seat Sandal is largely a flat grassy plateau with superb views down the length of Grasmere and over Helm Crag to the Langdales. It would make a great wild camping spot.

Grisedale Tarn

Yours truly on Seat Sandal summit

A distant view of Easedale Tarn from Seat Sandal

Grasmere from Seat Sandal

Thirlmere from Seat Sandal

On the descent path - the little un did good

Wainwright count = 10/214

The Deepdale Horseshoe from Patterdale

Date : 21st April 2009
Wainwrights : Hartsop Above How, Hart Crag, Fairfield, St Sunday Crag
Distance : 8.9 miles (14.4km)
Height Gained : 3377 feet (1029 meters)
Time Taken : about 5 hours (due to dismal visibility)

The route : anticlockwise from Patterdale

 Having been denied a view on Fairfield last month I decided I might have more luck tackling it from the other side. I didn't. Its a shame because this looked like a great route around one of the quietest and prettiest valleys in the region. Unfortunately though, I walked into clag at about 500 feet on the way up Hartsop Above How and didn't see more than about 50 feet in any direction until halfway down St Sunday Crag 5 hours later. I didn't take a single picture. At this stage I was not yet a Wainwright bagger and so walked right past Birks without even visiting the summit, which is a great excuse to do this walk again in better weather.  

Wainmwright Count : 9/214

Fairfield from Grasmere

Date : 9th March 2009
Wainwrights : Stone Arthur, Great Rigg, Fairfield.
Distance : 6.5 miles  (10.5 km)
Height Gained : 2758 feet (841 meters)
Time Taken : 3 hours

The Route : anticlockwise from Grasmere

 Three weeks after my first solo hike I was back in Grasmere, this time with intention of climbing Fairfield. This was a considerably more substantial proposition than Helm Crag, especially as it was still quite wintery on the mountain tops. I set off towards my first fell, Stone Arthur, along a good path. About an hour later I was on the summit of this craggy outcrop which is a Wainwright all by itself but in reality is just a gnarled protuberance on the shoulder of Great Rigg.

The view over Grasmere from early in the walk

Looking over to Helm Crag

The view from Stone Arthur

Looking up the Greenburn valley towards High Raise from Stone Arthur

A straight and steady path then leads up to the summit of Great Rigg itself. At this point the weather took a turn for the worse. Dark clouds appeared and it started snowing. The wind then got up and by the time I reached Fairfield summit I was in a virtual whiteout. The following pictures were taken opportunistically during gaps in the cloud. The video was taken just under the cloud base on the approach to Fairfield. There were no summit views.

Great Rigg is up there somewhere

Looking back to Great Rigg from the path to Fairfield

Looking along the Fairfield Horseshoe to Windermere

The large summit plateau seemed quite disorientating in these poor conditions but I trusted my compass and headed off in easterly direction until a path appeared which wound its way steeply downwards. As I passed through the cloud level I got my first glimpse of Grisedale Tarn which was a fine sight and very reassuring that I was indeed on the right side of the mountain.  

Seat Sandal comes into view while descending from Fairfield

Grisedale Tarn & the Grisedale valley

Looking over Grisedale Tarn to Dollywagon Pike & Striding Edge

Looking back up to Fairfield summit which is now clear !

The Tongue Gill valley and the route back to Grasmere

It was lovely walk back down the Tongue Gill valley to the road. The bad weather passed over as quickly as it came and the sun was shining by the time I got back to the car. I was just unlucky with my timing on this walk. If I had been on Fairfield summit 30 minutes earlier or later I would have enjoyed a summit view. Ah well. A good excuse to come back soon.


Wainwright Count :  6/214

The Quest Begins : Helm Crag to Calf Crag

Date : 20th Feb 2009
Route : From Grasmere up to Helm Crag, then along the ridge to Gibson Knott & Calf Crag before returning via the far Easedale Valley.
Wainwright's : Helm Crag (the lion and the lamb), Gibson Knott, Calf Crag.
Distance : 7.5 miles  (12.1km)
Height Gained : 2011 feet  (613 Meters)
Time taken : About 3 hours
 
 I write this post retrospectively in 2014 having decided it would be good idea to document all of the walks and routes in my quest to climb the 214 Wainwright Fells in the Lake District. I have posted, and will continue to publish the posts on the day the walk was done so as to keep everything in chronological order. From early 2012, when I started the blog, the walks were written as I did them, so the details are more thorough. Up until then I am writing from memory so please forgive me if the content seems somewhat sparse.

But first some back story. I had been hill walking for years on & off but always seemed to climb the same handful of fells and never with any variation or sense of purpose. The usual culprits were Snowdon, Scafell Pike, Great Gable & Loughrigg as well as numerous lower level walks in the Lake District. I suppose it was the Julia Bradbury TV series on Wainwright walks that re-sparked my interest and before I knew it I was on Helm Crag summit (AKA the lion and the lamb) on a cold February morning wondering why I had not climbed this fantastic little fell before and being totally mesmerised by the surrounding views. I didn't know what I was looking at though, and other than Loughrigg, I couldn't name any of the fells in sight. I think it was then that I decided I really must familiarise myself more with this amazing region. There was no initial intention to attempt climbing all the Wainwright's. I really just wanted to expand my knowledge of the fells and try to climb the ones which seemed most appealing to me. It was only after I had climbed a dozen or so that idea of tackling all 214 became appealing.

The route : anti-clockwise from Grasmere

 And so I set off on this first hike with a cheep & cheerful camera which I only remembered to use on 4 occasions, the results of which are below. So captivated was I from the whole solo walking experience that I even forgot to take pictures of Helm Crag summit. I had initially intended to walk up Helm Crag and then return the same way but having climbed up there in less than an hour, I really wasn't ready to head back. A quick perusal of the map suggested a route along the ridge over the 'unheard of' Gibson Knott and Calf Crag before joining a well marked path back along the valley to Grasmere. 

Blea Rigg from the path up to Helm Crag

The ridge to Gibson Knott from Helm Crag

Looking back to Helm Crag from Calf Crag

Walking back along the Far Easedale Valley

Like I said, not many pictures. One thing was certain though. I had most definitely been bitten by the fell frolicking bug. The sight of Fairfield dominating the eastern view from Helm Crag had whetted the appetite and that was going to be the next fell to explore.

Wainwright Count 3/214.