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Crinkle Crags is usually walked from the Langdale Valley

but today Ann and I decided to approach from Three Shires Stone to the south

and an initial climb up Cold Pike seemed a nice way to vary the out-and-back route.

Cold Pike on a warm day.

It has the potential to be a rocky track today so Harry has his protective sock on . . . best gortex of course !

As we start the climb from Three Shires Stone (by the yellow van)

the bulk of Wetherlam starts to show above the descriptively named Wet Side Edge.

To our right as we look back, the Wrynose Pass descends to Wrynose Bottom and heads down the Duddon Valley past Harter Fell.

At Cockley Beck Bridge it splits and the mountain road rises again, over the Hard Knott Pass, the steepest road in Lakeland.

Our virtually pathless route also increases in steepness as we neared the summit of Cold Pike.

Below us now the waters of Red Tarn looked decidedly black not red . . reflecting the mood of the sky.

Still the breeze is warm and it's shorts and (icebreaker) t-shirt weather here at the top of the Pike.

A choice of two paths to walk across the flatter ground towards Crinkle Crags.

These paths are probably only frequented by sheep and the occasional fell walker aiming to climb another of the 214 AW peaks.

Moody skies over Langdale.

The mid-grey clouds in the background are in fact the landscape of the Helvellyn fells.

The gap will be Raise Beck leading up to Seat Sandal with St Sunday Crags and Fairfield to the right.

We join the wide path that will take us on towards Crinkle Crags.

The cloud comes and goes as we make our way up.

The second Crinkle (from the south) and central to this picture is the highest of the five.

There are several groups of people ahead of us . . . and some of them are standing directly on the skyline.

Mmm . . . one for the record as they say . . . this was the view down into Eskdale from the first Crinkle summit cairn.

It was so dark under the cloud that the camera's flash kicked in for this one.

On the opposite side, the view down into Langdale is only slightly better.

However, the clouds do introduce their own form of beauty at times.

From the first Crinkle summit we look across to the second . . . and get a view of the "Bad Step" climb.

The path directly ahead climbs up a gully but the way ahead had been blocked by an overhanging boulder stuck in the narrow grove. A short and enjoyable scramble up exists alongside but the ten foot section is not the best for the dogs especially as they would need a hand up from below and another hand from above to help them up the scramble. We have climbed it a couple of times on previous visits, but it needs companions with us including someone taller than Ann (her words) to enable me to help the dogs up and over. - - - o o o - - - A quick swap of lenses as two folk appeared on the face of the crag, they stood there and peered down enjoying the view. I don't thinkn they climbed directly up but the "life on the edge" situation looked interesting.

The top cairn on the highest Crinkle is camouflaged by the sheer number of similar rocks and boulders that scatter the summit area.

Looking down Mickle Door and across to Great Knott . . . the white is not snow but a small tarn we would visit later.

Great Cove below is the source of Crinkle Gill which flows out of the Oxendale Valley and on through Langdale.

In practice of course the middle of five is always number three . . . which ever direction you start from !

Number four summit cairn and now the sun is starting to break through . . . lighting up the rocks on Bowfell in the distance.

Ann pauses as we descend the rocks to the tarn that will lead us on to the fourth summit.



The cairns highlights an indestinct route through the rocks.	Blue skies really brighten the day.

One of several small tarns along the ridge . . . the reflections were nice.

After completing the five tops it is always an arbitrary decision where and when to turn round.

That lower summit with a nice view of Three Tarns seemed like a good place to end on.

In no time at all you are transported there . . . I took us a little longer as we had to walk !

There's a great view from here.

Click here or on the photo above for a Loweswatercam 360 degree annotated panorama

Time to turn round and do it all again.

With the weather improving all the time, the walk back was easy going

made even easier by missing out on the final scramble to each of the cairns that we had visited on the way out.

Back down the side path to avoid the "Bad Step" . . . the cairn guides you along the way.

This is a colour version of that black and white photo of Langdale we took on the way out.

We were even honoured with a few "passing cloud shadows" to enhance the fell side below.

The tarns at Great Knott . . . reflecting the five (or so) peaks that make up the high ridge walk of Crinkle Crags.

A slightly wider view . . . now that the sun is also shining on Bowfell at the end.

Ahead, Red Tarn nestles between Pike O'Blisco on the left and Cold Pike on the right that we climbed on the way up.

Not far now . . . back to the Three Shires Stone and our car waiting to be driven home.

One the way over Hard Knott we stopped to help extricate a car on one of the sharp bends.

Our route home took us past the Gosforth Pottery that I visited recently and where I enjoyed a few pottery lessons.

The product of my labours have been glazed and now have pride of place at home . . . pass the jar of cereal and a spoon please.


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