Lingmoor Fell : A Dad & Lad Hike

Date: 24th August 2014
Start/Finish: Old Dungeon Ghyll
Wainwrights: just Lingmoor Fell
Distance: 4.5 Miles
Height Gained: 1719 feet
Time Taken: 3-4 hours

The Route : Clockwise from old Dungeon Gyll

Standing in isolation between the Great & Little Langdale valleys Lingmoor Fell is a bit of a loose end for a Wainwright bagger who likes to link many peaks together over longer walks. The solution was therefore to bring to my 7 year old and make a day of it. No rush, just a leisurely exploration of a fell untrodden for me but often seen from above. As the boy loves 'climbing' and 'scrambling' I decided on a route from Old Dungeon Ghyll which took in the rocky Side Pike and then return via Blea Tarn where he could skim stones and do other 'boy stuff'. It was a resounding success. He had a great day and the weather was perfect. He now wants to climb the Langdale Pikes having seen them from one of their best vantage points on this walk. 

Admiring the Langdale Pikes

Looking along Mickleden

Bow Fell & Crinkle Crags

Doing some 'Scrambling'

Racing me to the top ... and winning!

Lovely views over to the 'Pikes' ...

... and over to Bowfell / Crinkles

'Boy Heaven'

Side Pike summit panorama

Looking over to Lingmoor Fell from Side Pike

Squeezing through rocks on Side Pike

Looking back to Side Pike - Great spot for a rest

Stunning Scenery

No words required !

Picture postcard stuff !

Looking back along the route taken

Blea Tarn

Approaching Lingmoor Fell summit

Great views over to Bowfell

Lingmoor Fell summit with Windermere beyond

Views back westwards

Lingmoor Fell summit panorama north ...

... and south

Summit Selfie

Nice views from our lunch spot

Heading back down

The Heather in full bloom

Always time for a bit of tree climbing

Thinking Blea Tarn is heart shaped

Those Langdale Pikes are just too photogenic

Blea Tarn ...

... and again

Doing 'boy stuff'

Looking back towards Lingmoor Fell ...

... and Side Pike

Nearly back at the car

But first a bit of paddling

That felt good!

Perfect spot to cool down

   We actually spent about an hour by this stream as the boy insisted on taking his kit off and going for a 'swim'. It really was a lovely spot to splash around and cool down. The perfect end to great dad & lad day out.

A Dad & Little Lad Hike : Silver How from Grasmere

Date : 30th July 2014
Start/Finish : Grasmere
Wainwrights : Silver How
Distance : 3.5 miles 
Height Gained : 1158 feet 
Time Taken : 3 hours (including a summit picnic and ice cream in Grasmere)






I have walked past Silver How many times on the way back to Grasmere from along the Blea Rigg ridge but have never made the short detour to the summit. Now, being a bona fide Wainwright bagger, I had to make amends. It's only a short walk so I took my 7 year old son along for the ride. It would be his 3rd Wainwright (having previously climbed Helm Crag and Loughrigg Fell) and my 143rd. The weather was bit drizzly on the way up to the summit but then it brightened up. The cloud base was about 2500 feet so we had unimpeded views the whole way round.

The upwards climb through bracken

Views back towards Fairfield (under cloud)

A drizzly looking Grasmere

Waterproof over the rucksack - genius idea!

 It was still drizzling on the summit so we found a spot out of the wind and had lunch looking out over Grasmere.

Silver How summit

Views over Grasmere

Views along the Blea Rigg ridge towards the Langdale Pikes

 On the way down the rain stopped and the sun even threatened to come out. The boy had a great time dissecting sheep bones (Boys !?!) and wandering through head height (for him) bracken.

The path back to Grasmere

Helm Crag

Seat Sandal over Dunmail Raise

 When we got back to Grasmere we had the obligatory well earned ice cream before heading home. This was great dad & lad walk but I think next time I need to take him up something a bit more challenging because afterwards he asked if we could go up it again!  I'm thinking Langdale Pikes next. That should wear him out.