Date & Time: 13th October 2006. Friday. 9.45 am start.

Location of Start : Roadside parking at Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale, Cumbria, Uk. ( NY 235 123 )

Places visited : Seathwaite, Taylorgill Force, Styhead, Corridor Route, Lingmell, Scafell Pike, Broad Crag, Ill Crag, Great End, Ruddy Gill, and back via Stockley Bridge.

Walk details : 9.9 mls, 3780 ft of ascent , 9 hrs exactly including several slightly extended stops.

Walked with : Jill, Rowland, Ann and the dogs.

Weather : A cool, damp morning with fell-top cloud improved to give good breaks of sunshine, clearing to give wide open blue skies. A cool breeze on the tops, particularly late afternoon.

~ A cut glass occasion on Great End ~

Walking the Wainwrights is considered by some as a task, by others as a pleasure, and by some outsiders as an obsession. For us they have been a delight.

The first round took us twenty one years, the second round under five years, but we have had the advantage of living here within the fells for four out of the last five of them. They have taken us to all parts of the Lakes, to see all the valleys and the favourite fells from unusual directions. We have seen rain, hail and snow, been blown sideways, but where possible, walked in glorious sunshine too.

This is the story of our walk to complete all the fells for a second time.

We waited a short time for a nice day - always a good way to enjoy the fells.

This was our weather prospect as we drive up Buttermere Valley. Sunshine, fluffy white clouds, but the high fells still have a covering of morning mist.

Ann and myself at the start point, Seathwaite Farm in the Borrowdale Valley.

Photo by Jill, who has driven over to join us for the walk.

Rather than Stockley Bridge, we cross over and walk the other side of the river.

The path is a little rougher here, making the first part of our walk a little slow. Still it is new route for us, and there is the prospect of a close view of Taylorgill Force ahead as we climb slowly towards Styhead Tarn.

If you ever wondered where the local hotels get their fresh Borrowdale Trout from . . . now you know . . .

Seathwaite Trout Farm

The way forward was over a tall ladder stile, slightly green and rather slippery due to the morning dampness, or if you are small enough like Ann and Jill then you can follow the dogs through the sheep hole in the adjacent wall !

Sun shining through the Glaramara cloud onto Seathwaite Fell.

The dogs wait as we catch up and together we soon climb into the sunshine.

A great little scramble as we climb up the valley alongside Taylorgill Force

Atmospheric high clouds on Scafell as we near Styhead.

The weather suggests a continued good day as there seems to be no malice in these high mountain mists.

A clear view of Lingmell, our first summit.	Ann and Jill pass Aaron Slack, one pathway up to Gable.

A wide view of Styhead Tarn.

Behind is Great End in the mist, the Scafells missing completely, and Lingmell just clear of the cloud.

A Patagonia Moment

Ann poses as foreground for Jill's photo of the tarn.

A well known landmark, the Stretcher Box, sheltering behind the rock at Sty Head.

The start of the Corridor Route across towards Scafell	Looking across to the Great Napes and screes on Great Gable.

The start of the Corridor Route has two options. Either you can climb slightly towards Esk Hause and drop down onto it as we did, or you can drop down towards Wasdale slightly and climb up to it , as in the second picture.

Looking back along our route.

Styhead in the distance now, and our path high on the right of the photo.

At last, Lingmell is starting to look a little closer.

Piers Gill is the dramatic water worn valley following the fault line off Lingmell.

Clear summits ~ here the top of Lingmell ~ not far to go now.

Looking back again from the end of the Corridor Route this time.

That cloud is lifting slowly but progressively. It looks like the weather is on our side today.

Great Gable as seen from just before Lingmell Col.

Piers Gill.   A wild, rugged place. The streams on this northerly side of Scafell Pike has cut a deep groove in the hillside as it cascades it's way down into Wasdale.   There's no path down there and it reminds us of the wild glacial rivers we saw in Iceland last summer.

Before we climb Scafell Pike, there is the little matter of Lingmell to visit first.

Ann and Jill start the ascent from Lingmell Col.

The first summit of the day, about three hours or so into the walk.

Dramatic crags looking down on Styhead	The lower pillared cairn overlooking Wasdale

The pillared cairn again and the southern slopes of Great Gable.

Leaving Lingmell, we join the popular "Lingmell Path" and make our way up towards Scafell Pike.

First view of the summit, and the rocky fell top.

There's no obvious path through the small boulders but a good line of cairns leads you clearly towards the summit.

The two girls reach the Trig Point successfully, with plenty of energy left for the last major climb, up the large summit cairn behind.

Group photo, courtesy of Liz, a fellow walker.

Jill celebrates being on top of the highest mountain in England,   with the bonus of a cloud free summit and views in every direction.

The summit plaque, looking east to the Langdale valley.

It still seems to be holding onto a little cloud.

Bowfell standing proud above the many summit shelters on Scafell Pike.

Each has a small group of people sitting, and presumably enjoying their lunch, sheltered from the cool-ish breeze.

The way ahead to Broad and Ill Crag, and Great End.

Click here or on the photo for a larger annotated image

Lingmell and a view across to Kirk Fell and Pillar, in the fine afternoon sunshine.

Ill Crag summit and the view back, a reverse of the earlier picture.

Our last goal in sight now as we scramble across the boulders, round the small pike, and walk over to Great End.

Mission accomplished ~ and a reward awaits.

Bubbly and real glasses to enjoy it with.	Top of the world , but nearly the bottom of the bottle !

Click here or on the bottle above for the short video record.

( The 30 sec video should open a new window and play in your Windows Media Player)

( It may take a minute or so to download on slower connection speeds - please be patient )

Another group photo to say Hi to Liz and Andy who happened to be on the summit at the right time to help us enjoy the celebration.

We had all been following a similar route today, and we'd talked to them on several occasions, so it was fitting they should be there at the end.

Down now to join the Esk Hause path.	Another cross-shaped sheep shelter below Great End.

Just the long walk out now as we make our way down towards Ruddy Gill.

The familiar outline of the Gables ahead, but they can wait till for a while.

Great End Crags behind as we turn down Grains Gill.

A darker photo of Stockley Bridge as the sun has set on the valley path.

A ghostly artwork of a Herdwick Sheep greets us as we return to Seathwaite Farm

at the end a very successful day on the fells.

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Technical note: Pictures taken with a Canon IXUS 400 Digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . your own bottle of something and a big list of completed fells.

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Previous walk - 9th October 2006 Bowfell, Esk and Rossett Pike in the sunshine

Previous time drinking Champagne on the fells - "Morning till night ~ Completing our 214" 31st December 2001 ~ New Years Eve 2001

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