For our lightning visit this July
with Mike, we decided to repeat our walk along the Helvellyn ridge
from Sticks Pass. It is a nice walk, and on a good day the views
are fantastic. Also, it gave Mike a chance to visit a 3,000 footer.
Additionally, looking back on our pictures from our first visit
in October 2000, we were not fully convinced
that we had actually visited the summit of Nethermost Pike that
day, so we made a slight variation to the walk from July
2003 by skipping Dollywaggon Pike and making sure we got to
the summit of Nethermost Pike this time.
Like last time, we drove to Wythburn where we
parked, and then we caught the bus back to Sticks Pass. |
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Wythburn Church from the Car Park |
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A large mushroom by Wythburn car park |
| It kept trying to rain as we reached
Wythburn, and by the time we got to the bus stop it was clear that
we were going to need to put on our waterproofs to avoid getting wet.
Luckily, we were in plenty of time, and were able to shelter under
the Pine trees across the road until the bus came. |
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David and Mike put on their waterproofs under a Pine
tree while waiting for the bus |
| Having got off the bus at Stanah,
we were just by the start of Sticks Pass, which we knew well by now. |
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Getting ready for the walk at Stanah |
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The stile at the bottom of Sticks Pass |
| The start of Sticks Pass is quite
steep, but there are some lovely waterfalls to stop and admire. The
path itself has quite a lot of Bracken around it, which makes it look
indistinct from the road, but when you get there, it is quite easy
to follow. |
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Near the waterfalls |
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By the waterfalls at the bottom of Sticks Pass |
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The first part of Sticks Pass is steep but not difficult |
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Copper Underwing Moth on Sticks Pass |
Height is gained quickly on the
first part, and looking back to the Central and Northern fells gives
some stunning panoramas.
Although it had never stopped raining since we left Wythburn, the
cloud stayed well above the fell tops, so although we could not
give Mike the sort of views we had been treated to last time, when
there had been a heatwave, we still got some pretty good views all
around. |
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Raven Crag with High Seat and Bleaberry Fell behind.
The small wooded fell in front is Great How |
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Looking towards Skiddaw from Sticks Pass |
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Thirlmere with High Tove and Armboth Fell behind |
As we got nearer to the sheepfold,
from where the path levels out a little, the cloud had started to
come down over the Dodds, and we thought we might have seen the
last views of the day.
Luckily, as we walked on, the cloud kept moving and somehow we
always seemed to be just below it. |
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Nearly in cloud on Sticks Pass - Stybarrow Dodd is
just about visible now behind |
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Sticks Pass levels out a little from the Sheepfold |
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Cottongrass in a small pool |
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Not so steep nearer the top of Sticks Pass |
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Watson's Dodd and Stybarrow Dodd are nearly out of
the cloud |
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The top of Sticks Gill to the right as the mist comes
down again |
When we eventually reached the
summit of Sticks Pass, we decided it was time for lunch before tackling
Raise, our first summit of the day. There was still rain in the
air, but it was not bad enough to give us soggy sandwiches, so we
had a nice break before setting off to the right to join the Helvellyn
ridge.
We did not hang around too long, though, as the wind chill made
it seem more like winter than the height of summer!
As we set off towards Raise, we were in luck again, as the cloud
that had been hovering around its top now started to lift. |
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David and Mike at Sticks Pass summit |
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Cloud covering Stybarrow Dodd |
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but lifting from Raise |
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Common Water Crowfoot growing in a small puddle |
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Setting off towards Raise |
| Although it was raining, being below the cloud, we were
treated to excellent views of both Ullswater and the Far Eastern Fells
on our left, and of the Central Fells as far as the Scafells on our
right. |
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Ullswater and Sheffield Pike from the path to Raise |
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Looking back towards Stybarrow Dodd and Sticks Pass |
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Raining on Raise |
| Raise has quite a rocky summit for
the Helvellyn range and, as usual, when it came into view, David took
the prompt and steamed on ahead, waiting for us by the summit cairn. |
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Nearly at the summit |
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David waits at the summit of Raise |
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David and Mike at the summit of Raise |
From Raise the slope becomes more
gradual on the grassy path to White Side, our next summit of the
day. By now, David had realised that I am not the only one stopping
to take photos every couple of minutes - Mike was just as bad. It
was lovely to be in the majority for once!!!
And as we walked along the path, still out of the cloud, we had
plenty of opportunities to take photos with such stunning views
in all directions. |
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Setting off towards White side, with Helvellyn in
the distance to the left |
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Catstycam, Helvellyn and Lower Man from the path to
White Side |
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Helvellyn, Lower Man and White Side |
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Catstycam |
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Thirlmere with Bassenthwaite Lake in the distance |
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Walking towards White Side |
| By the time we reached White Side's
summit, Mike was really getting into the fells, and was nearly as
good at naming them as we were. |
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Mike and David at the summit of White Side |
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Raise, with the Dodds behind, from White Side's Summit |
From White Side, the path narrows
as it climbs to Lower Man and its attractive, slender summit. This
is another summit which Wainwright does not count as a separate
peak, but which most others do.
On the Thirlmere side of Lower Man is Browncove Crags, an we stopped
to watch a group of rock climbers making their way up the crags.
To our left, Swirral Edge was looking as impressive as ever, and
we observed a steady flow of walkers making their way across it
from Catstycam.
Until now, we had not met many people. The first people we had
seen today were group crossing from Glenridding to Stanah, while
we were having lunch on Sticks Pass, but as we got to Lower man,
it started to get busier everywhere. |
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David and Mike walking towards Lower Man, with Helvellyn
to the left in the background |
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Lower Man and Browncove Crag |
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Catstycam with Swirral Edge leading to Helvellyn |
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Thirlmere from the ascent of Lower Man |
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David on the path to Lower Man |
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Glenridding Common and Catstycam |
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Lower Man |
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Near the summit |
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Browncove Crag and Thirlmere |
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White Side from Lower Man |
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Mike with Catstycam and Swirral Edge behind |
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Catstycam and Swirral Edge |
| The summit of Lower Man is rocky and slender, just as
you would expect when you ascend from White Side, and there are excellent
views in all directions. |
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Mike and David at the summit of Lower Man |
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Browncove Crag and Thirlmere from Lower Man |
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Helvellyn from Lower Man |
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The Central Fells from Lower Man |
| The path on the Helvellyn side is much broader, as it
winds its way round to the enormous summit plateau of Helvellyn itself. |
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The path to Helvellyn from Lower Man |
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Mike and David walking towards Helvellyn |
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Looking back to Lower Man from the path to Helvellyn |
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David walking towards Helvellyn |
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The Wythburn Valley and the Central Fells with the
Scafells in the far distance |
| The Trig Point is reached first of
all, and we were still lucky enough to be out of the cloud, which
meant that Mike was able to get good views of Swirral Edge and Red
Tarn below. |
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Mike and David by Helvellyn's Trig Point with Ullswater
behind |
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Red Tarn from the Trig Point |
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Swirral Edge |
| Then it was on to the big one! As
we reached Helvellyn's summit there were cheers all around as Mike
made it to 3,000ft at his first attempt at fellwalking. |
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Made it!!! Mike and David at the summit of Helvellyn |
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Mike celebrates his first 3,000 footer |
| We then went to have a good look at
Red Tarn, flanked by Striding Edge and Swirral Edge. But they were
not for us today, our route taking us along the ridge to Nethermost
Pike to look for the true summit. |
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Red Tarn and Striding Edge |
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Red Tarn and Swirral Edge |
| First of all, though, we had a rest
in the Cross Shelter for a drink and some Jaffa Cakes. |
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By the cross shelter on Helvellyn |
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Striding Edge from the Cross Shelter |
| From here, we rejoined the main path
and after a look at the memorial to the first man to land an aeroplane
on a British mountain, we set off for Nethermost Pike, which was clearly
visible ahead. |
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The memorial to the first aeroplane being landed on
a mountain |
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Towards Nethermost Pike |
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St Sunday Crag from the path to Nethermost Pike |
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Nethermost Pike - the main path bypasses the summit |
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Striding Edge from the path to Nethermost Pike |
| True to form, the Lakeland weather
was not going to let Mike get away from his first fellwalking experience
completely unscathed, and as we descended from Helvellyn's summit
the cloud started to come down behind us. It was clear that we were
not going to get away with it this time as it rolled towards us in
its usual ominous fashion. But, as we said to Mike, you are not a
true fellwalker until you have experienced mist! I am not sure how
far that is true, but you have to believe in something when you cannot
see where you are going. |
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Mike watches the mist coming down over Helvellyn |
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Mike and David by a cairn on Nethermost Pike |
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Cloud over Helvellyn, but Striding Edge is still clear |
| By the time we reached the summit
of Nethermost Pike, Mike was a true fellwalker, as we were now completely
in cloud. |
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On the broad plateau of Nethermost Pike, walking towards
the summit in the mist |
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David and Mike at the summit of Nethermost Pike |
| Having found the true summit, we cut
across the broad summit plateau to rejoin the path to Wythburn. |
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Looking back to Helvellyn from the way back from Nethermost
Pike's summit to the path back to Wythburn |
This path makes it was down fairly
steeply by Comb Crag, but it is quite easy going since the path
has been improved. It used to be quite eroded in places, but is
now repaired.
But it is still a long way down! |
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Thirlmere and Ullscarf from above Comb Crag |
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Steel Fell from above Comb Crag |
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Thirlmere from Comb Crag |
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Looking back towards Nethermost Pike from Comb Crag |
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Herdwick by Comb Crag |
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Descending to Wythburn by Comb Crag |
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The zig-zagging path by Comb Crag with Thirlmere behind |
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Comb Gill and Nethermost Pike |
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Thirlmere with Skiddaw in the distance |
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Comb Crag |
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The steep path by Comb Crag |
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Marsh Thistle |
| By the time we reached the wood above
Wythburn, Mike had learnt another fundamental fellwalking lesson,
namely that although it looks straight enough, by the time the path
has zig-zagged its way down the slope, it is much longer than it seems
when you are looking down on it. |
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Reaching the wood above Wythburn |
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Not so misty as the first time we came here... |
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Wyth Burn with Steel Fell on the left and Ullscarf
right |
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Steel Fell from the path to Wythburn |
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Reaching the wood above Wythburn Car Park |
| After walking through the wood, we
arrived above the car park, where some mountain bikers were congregating. |
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Reaching Wythburn Car Park |
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Comb Gill by Wythburn Car Park |
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Mike and David arrive back at the car |
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Still discussing the walk as we arrive back at the
tent, with Walla Crag behind |
Back at the tent, there was time
for a shower and a rest before we went to the Heights Hotel across
the road from the campsite for an absolutely delicious meal.
The next morning we had to go home, but we did have time to stop
on our way through at Stanah to look at yesterday's route, before
driving to Brockhole for a walk through the gardens to the shore
of Windermere for that classicc view of the Langdale Pikes. |
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Stopping to look at Sticks Pass on our way home the
next day |
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The Castle Rock of Triermain from the car park at
Stanah |
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David and Mike looking back to Sticks Pass where we
walked the day before |
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View towards the Langdale Pikes from Brockhole |
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The Langdale Pikes from Brockhole |
