Harter Fell (Eskdale)

I keep starting blogs like this but it has been some time since the last walk!  Only one done this year so far, the second walk of the year and its September!  My turn to drive and as we were heading over to Harter Fell we got an early start so I picked Peter up at 6.15.  On the way we were trying to work out if it would be quicker going over Wrynose and Hardknott Pass or round the main road to Eskdale.  After much discussion we decided on the passes.  My Sat Nav also decided to include Kirkstone Pass which made the journey to the start a little longer than it should have been. (That'll teach us, not to rely on Sat Nav!)  Wrynose and Hardknott are very steep but more importantly very tight, with only just enough room to pass another car at passing places.  Fortunately we only met two vehicles at that time of the morning.  However we realised it would be much busier in the afternoon when we were on our way home.  So we decided to head out to the A595 and follow that route back home.  We arrived at the parking spot at the foot of Hardknott Pass just after 9.00 am.  Peter had brought Scotch Eggs for breakfast and we started walking around 9.20.

We set off over a small bridge (Jubilee Bridge) and turned right through a gate heading towards the fell.  It was a reasonably warm morning for September and the climb was fairly steady at this stage.  Plenty of time (and breath) for a chat and putting the world to rights.  The path was clearly defined most of the way to the summit.  We crossed a couple of gills and then took a left on a less defined path.  Very shortly the climb started to get a little steeper although it was still relatively easy.  The final 70 - 100 feet were a little more rocky and a little steeper and also in a little mist.  We reached the summit just after 11.15 still in mist which was a shame as all the books talk about the views from up here.   

A slightly misty summit

We had a sit down over looking Hardknott Pass and had some bait.  The mist was starting to clear and very quickly became quite clear.

Looking down to Hardknott Castle and Pass

We could now see cars on the Pass and could actually hear tyres screeching as they struggled to get a grip on the steep road.  In only a few minutes we counted 7 or 8 cars trying to pass each other and we realised our decision to avoid that route on the way home was the right one.  As we sat we heard voices approaching and quite quickly there were several other people at the summit.  Harter Fell is a particularly nice summit with plenty of space to sit in solitude.  However this morning everyone seemed to want to sit right next to us!  We left the top around noon and decided to follow the same route down.

It seemed a little steeper going down than the ascent but again it was relatively easy, fairly steady on the knees.  We took our time aiming to get back to the car around 2.  

The Scafells in cloud

So we had a little time for another bait stop and time to take a few more photos of the fantastic views.  

Looking back at Harter Fell

We ended up sitting for about half an hour, soaking up the sun and just chilling.

Eskdale towards Sellafield and the coast

We got back to the car just after 2.00pm and had time for a couple of pints at the Sportsmans on the way home.  A steady, but extremely enjoyable walk today, just over 16,000 steps on the Fitbit, around 6 miles.  Now only 17 to go!  Next one planned for 3 weeks, see you then!

Great End and Esk Pike

Only 3 weeks since the last walk but we wanted to get out this weekend as it may be a while before the next one with Easter coming up and holidays etc. Steve couldn't make it so only Peter and myself on this walk. We probably picked the worst weekend to walk as the clocks went forward so we lost an hours sleep! To compensate for this Peter picked me up at 6.30 am (BST!) and we were on our way to Borrowdale. On the way we decided to park at Seathwaite and walk up to Esk Hause and then decide which tops to do, we had a choice of Glaramara, Great End, Esk Pike or indeed the Scafells. The Australian Grand Prix was on the radio for the journey and we arrived at Seathwaite about 8.30 am, got ready, tucked into the Angus Steak pies and set off walking about 8.45. The car park was already starting to fill up. It was cloudy on the tops at this stage but even this early we could tell it was going to clear later. We considered going up Taylorgill Force but thought we were going out of the way a little so went over Stockley Bridge and straight up Grains Gill. We had our first bait stop at the foot of Sprinkling Crags.

After a cuppa we set off and walked a little further until we were at the foot of Great End. A great slab of rock right in front of us with a large gully in the middle (Central Gully) covered in snow and a smaller gully (Custs Gully) to the right as we looked at it.

From this point we could see where the path joined us had we taken the route up Taylorgill Force. There was also a great view of

Great Gable from this point.

The path took us round to the left and up to Esk Hause where we would turn right up to the summit. Esk Hause seemed to be a very busy junction where lots of walks criss crossed. There was one guy stood there who said he was not going to the top as he couldn't see anything, seemed a shame as he was so close to several great tops from this point. We carried on our way to the summit reaching it just after 11.30.

We were still in cloud at this stage but it was clearing from time to time. We dropped down off the top and found ourselves looking down Central Gully which we had been looking up not long ago.

We walked round the top of Great End and stopped for another cuppa and it was now starting to clear.

The shot on the left is looking back towards Glaramara and the one on the right is looking across Esk Hause to Esk Pike with Bowfell behind it. We decided at this stage that we would head towards Esk Pike meaning we would get 2 top 10 mountains chalked off today.

We stopped a while, had some more bait and a good look around at the clearing summits, it was a great view from here. We then set off down to the Hause and up the short, rocky climb to Esk Pike.

We reached the 2nd summit of the day just after 1pm. Both mountains are in excess of 2900 feet so a satisfying morning! This was a really good walk with lots to see. The picture below is from the summit of Esk Pike looking towards the Scafells

We descended Esk Pike on exactly the same path as the ascent, back down to Esk Hause. By now it was like Piccadilly Circus here, with lots of fell runners out today and a very busy walking day! We walked around Great End and down Grains Gill. We stopped at the foot of Great End again for a final bait stop in very warm sunshine. We set off for the car and with very tired legs made it back just after 3.30.

A very good day on the fells although it will probably be May before we can get the next walk in. I am now half way through my challenge of 71 tops.

See you on the next walk.