Words & Photos Ian Battersby

September 21 2011

Apart from the snappy rise of Lingmell from Wasdale, I’ve always tackled Scafell Pike from valleys that fan out between radiating ridges, but in the long days of summer there’s plenty of time to ride the high road of one of these crests before tackling the crown of England itself. I settled for the clamber onto the prominent crags of Thornythwaite Fell, before travelling the ups and downs of the long Glaramara ridge, where a confusion of rocky knolls and tiny tarns succeeded in swaying me from the path. I could happily spend a whole day on this quiet peak. At Allen Crags I looked back along its length, bidding it farewell, after delighting in its jaunty perspective over the Langdale fells.

Great End is magnificently named with cliffs falling sheer from the country’s arch podium. The blinkered path to England’s greatest goal ignores it, leaving its legacy for those who invest a little more. A small diversion from the main drag brings one of the finest views in the district. A few steps from the summit precipice delivers a dizzy outlook over Sprinkling Tarn and the glinting pools of Seathwaite Fell. Glaramara stretches north to Borrowdale surrounded by a complex panorama of fells. We have surpassed the 900m contour here, but we’re not quite above 3,000 feet, not that such detail matters at all once caught within such inspiring scenery. Still, the ears back home will require figures to put the walk into perspective. You can impress with stats, but they can’t convey the life force that filled my spirit at that moment.

I joined pilgrims filing to dreams, but diverted like a child to Ill Crag, which presides over the vast sweep of the Esk, and to Broad Crag for a profile of Great Gable, stumbling over jumbled boulders, and breaking from the line of cairns normally slavishly followed in thick mist to the funnel over Little Narrowcove. A scree-laden path lifted me into blinding light bouncing off brightly toned rocks, where contented musings over tardy sarnies rippled out over the top. I sought a lonely spot to soak up the complete panorama, before dropping to the deep gash at Piers Gill.

The Corridor Route traverses north below towering crags, crossing deep gills that mingle with the flow down in the depths of Wasdale. Great Gable and Kirk Fell swell up on the far side, one a colossal pyramid of rock, the other a verdant jumble of chaos. I teetered along, scrabbling up a rocky rise, then sauntered down to Styhead Tarn’s moment of calm in this tortured landscape, before seeking out the minor path that scrambles entertainingly down the north side of Styhead Gill.

Distance: 19km/12 miles Ascent: 1350m/4425ft Time: 8-9 hours Start/Finish: Seathwaite (GR: NY 235122) Map: Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 90 (Penrith & Keswick Ambleside); Harvey 1:25,000 Superwalker (Lakeland West) Tourist Information: Keswick, 01768 772645 Public Transport: Buses to Keswick, Borrowdale Rambler (service 79) to Seatoller; information from Traveline: 0871 2002233, www.traveline.info

Technical Spec
S through Seathwaite then Allerdale Ramble NE for 1 mile. Path generally S climbing through woods, passing Thornythwaite Fell and Raven Crag to Glaramara. Continue SSW to Allen Crags and Esk Hause. W then NNW leaving main path for summit of Great End. Paths generally SW to Scafell Pike, diverting to Ill Crag and Broad Crag if desired. Path descending NW to junction of tracks. Corridor Route NE then NNE to Sty Head. Track NNW to Styhead Tarn. Path descending to left of Styhead Gill past Taylorgill Force (easy scrambling) and turning N bridge over Derwent to Seathwaite.