When we climbed Esk Pike and Bowfell
in June, the visibility had not been very good, and when we climbed
Pike O'Blisco last September, it had been downright dreadful, so
I mentioned to David before this holiday, that the one walk I was
hoping for decent weather for was Crinkle Crags, because I would
like to see the Scafells from "the other side". Well,
we were not disappointed with the weather when we woke up on Tuesday
- there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining brightly.
We did not waste any time, but set off to the
Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel to make the most of this wonderful weather. |
|
stopping to look at the Langdale Pikes
from Chapel Stile |
| We parked in the car park by the Hotel,
then walked along the lane to Stool End Farm. Ahead of us was the
day's route laid out in front of us. |
|
The Lane to Stool End Farm with crinkle Crags and
Bowfell behind |
|
Some sheep enjoying the morning sun |
| The sun was bright, but there was
very little haze about, and as we walked along the lane to Stool End
Farm, we had fantastic views of the Langdale Pikes, towering above
us. |
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The Langdale Pikes from the lane to Stool End Farm |
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The Band, with Crinkle Crags to the Left and Bowfell
and Rossett Pike to the right |
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Pike o'Blisco from the lane to Stool End Farm |
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Crinkle Crags |
| Stool End Farm is like Seathwaite
Farm in that the path runs through the farmyard, but it is well signposted,
so we were not likely to end up in a field or trespassing. |
|
Arriving at Stool End Farm |
| Once through the farmyard, you arrive
in Oxendale, where a clearly defined path takes you to either the
Band, our route of descent, or alongside Oxendale Beck to Brown How
and Red Tarn, which is the route we were taking this morning. |
|
Oxendale with Pike O'Blisco behind |
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Brown How and the path to Red Tarn |
| Looking back from the slopes of Pike
O'Blisco to Oxendale as we started the steep climb up to Red Tarn,
we had wonderful views of the Langdale Pikes and also Crinkle Crags
and Hell Gill. |
|
Oxendale and the Langdale Pikes |
The walk from the Hotel through
Oxendale is on almost level ground, so when you start climbing,
it gets steep quickly to get you to Red Tarn, but the path is good
all the way.
The sun was shining and by now it was quite hot, so we were looking
forward to the little bit of shade we could see ahead where Pike
O'Blisco shielded the path from the morning sunshine. |
|
The path keeps rising relentlessly to Red Tarn |
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Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, with Hell Gill in front,
from the path to Red Tarn |
|
David waits for me as the path finally levels out
a little below Pike O'blisco. Cold Pike is ahead, with Great Knott
to the right |
|
The final part of the path to Red Tarn is a little
rocky, but at least it was in shade! |
|
The Langdale Pikes - Pike O'stickle, Loft Crag and
Harrison Stickle |
| Before you reach Red Tarn, the path
splits, and we took the path leading behind Great Knott and onto the
first Crinkle. |
|
Pike O'Blisco from the path to Great Knott |
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Red Tarn, with Wetherlam in the distance |
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The langdale Pikes in the distance, with our path
of ascent in front below the slopes of Pike O'Blisco |
|
The Path to Crinkle CRags |
| The path to Crinkle Crags bypasses
the actual summit of Great Knott. Although we would have liked to,
we did not visit it, as it was a hot day and we knew the walk over
Crinkle Crags was going to be rough, and therefore hard work, without
adding extra, so we decided to leave Great Knotts for another day. |
|
David waits for me as the Crinkles come into view
in the distance |
|
Approaching the first Crinkle |
| Once you reach the first Crinkle,
the going gets very rocky. On such a nice, clear day as today, there
was no trouble at all in finding our way, but I can understand how
people suggest it can be confusing in mist, because of the rocky terrain,
where it is often impossible to see a path. |
|
David ascends the first Crinkle |
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More Crinkles ahead... |
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Looking towards the Band with the Langdale Pikes and
High Raise behind. In the far Distance, skiddaw and Blencathra are
visible |
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Still ascending the first Crinkle... |
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Getting close to the summit of the first Crinkle |
| We finally made it to the summit of
the first Crinkle. From here, we had splendid views of the Scafells,
bathed in glorious sunshine. |
|
David at the summit of the first Crinkle, with Scafell
and Scafell Pike behind |
| From the first Crinkle, we started
making our way over the rocky ground to the second Crinkle, Long Top,
which is also the highest, and therefore the true summit of Crinkle
Crags. |
|
The second Crinkle (Long Top) from the first Crinkle,
with Scafell Pike in the distance to the left |
| The approach to Long Top is blocked
by the Bad Step, a very steep, rocky scramble to the summit. It was
clearly visible as we approached from the first Crinkle. |
|
The second Crinkle (Long Top) with the Bad Step clearly
visible in the middle |
I had managed to do the 20ft Step
on Glaramara three years ago without problem, but my hands have
deteriorated quite a bit since then, and the Bad Step is harder
still.
Nevertheless, I was keen to have a go, so I approached the Bad
Step hopefully. I managed to get up the first couple of rock steps,
but the third one (being short!) required me to grab the rock with
both hands and pull myself up. Unfortunately, my fingers kept locking
and I was unable to grip the rock, so I had to come back down again.
Not to be defeated, I sat down, loosened my fingers, then had another
go. Again, my fingers locked as I tried to hoist myself up, so at
this point I had to admit defeat rather than risk becoming a casualty,
and I dejectedly walked round the long way. David had not expected
me to be able to do it in the first place, but had waited patiently
for me to find out for myself, then joined me on the route to bypass
the Bad Step to the summit. |
|
The Bad Step! |
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The alternative route to the summit |
| The name of Long Top is justified
as the summit plateau is very large. There is even a small tarn. |
|
A small tarn on Long Top's summit plateau |
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David at the summit of Long Top - the highest Crinkle
- with Bowfell Behind |
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Anna at Long Top's summit |
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The Langdale Pikes and High Raise from Long Top |
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Setting off towards the third CRinkle with Bowfell
in the background |
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The Scafells and Bowfell from Long Top |
| The views were stunning in all directions
as we walked across the bouldery top towards the third Crinkle. |
|
The other Crinkles from Long Top |
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The Third Crinkle from Long Top |
|
Mickle Door |
| By the time I reached the Third Crinkle,
David was on the Fourth Crinkle, so I took a picture of the summit
cairn instead. |
|
The summit of the Third Crinkle |
| |
Scafell, Scafell Pike, Broad Crag, Ill CRag, Great
End, Esk Pike and Bowfell from the third Crinkle |
| I then caught up with David on the
Fourth Crinkle. By now, he had decided that he ought to have his picture
taken on all the Crinkles, so he nipped back to the Third Crinkle,
where I took his picture from the Fourth Crinkle. |
|
David on the Fourth Crinkle |
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David on the Third Crinkle from the Fourth Crinkle |
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The Band and Langdale from the fourth Crinkle |
| When David returned to the Fourth
Crinkle, we set off towards the Fifth Crinkle (Gunson Knott). |
|
Making our way to the Fifth Crinkle (Gunson Knott) |
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Looking back to the Fourth Crinkle |
| |
|
|
Scafell Pike, Broad CRag, Ill Crag, Great End, Esk
Pike and Bowfell |
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Scafell, Scafell Pike, Broad Crag, Ill Crag and Great
End |
|
David on the Fifth Crinkle (Gunson Knott) |
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Pike O'Blisco from Gunson Knott |
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Bowfell with Shelter Crags in front from Gunson Knott |
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The Scafells from Gunson Knott |
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Descending from Gunson Knott |
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Looking back at Gunson Knott |
After Gunson Knott, we had the
usual discussion that I imagine most people have when walking towards
Shelter Crags, namely why is it not a Crinkle?
The sun was beating down and it really was one of the best days
of the year. |
|
The path to Shelter Crags from Gunson Knott (why is
it not a Crinkle?) |
|
Tarn near the path to Eskdale |
|
Pike O'Blisco and Cold Pike with the Coniston Fells
behind |
| Shelter Crags has little Tarns near
the summit. They looked beautiful and deep blue in the sunshine. |
|
Langdale from Shelter Crags |
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Shelter CRags with Bowfell in the background |
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David on Shelter Crags |
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Bowfell from Shelter Crags |
| From Shelter Crags, it was time to
make our way to Three Tarns below Bowfell, from where we would join
The Band back to Stool End Farm. |
|
Descending to Three Tarns from Shelter Crags, with
Bowfell behind |
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The depression to Three Tarns with Bowfell behind |
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Three Tarns with Scafell, Scafell Pike and Broad Crag
in the background and bowfell to the right |
| |
|
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Another tarn at Three Tarns |
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Three Tarns |
| At Three Tarns, we turned right to
find the path along The Band. |
|
The Band, with the Langdale Pikes in the background |
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Pike O'Blisco with Wetherlam behind from The Band |
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The Langdale Pikes from the Band |
| We found walking down The Band a long
slog in the heat after the Crinkles, but we did have some splendid
views of Langdale with hardly and haze at all. |
|
The Great Langdale Valley from The Band |
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Pike O'Blisco, Cold Pike and Great Knott from the
Band |
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The Great Langdale Valley from The Band |
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Tormentil growing on the Band |
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Reaching the intake walls on The Band |
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Reaching Stool End Farm |
| When we got back down to Stool End
Farm, we went through the farm yard again, then followed the footpath
between the fields back to Old Dungeon Ghyll below the Langdale Pikes. |
|
The Langdale Pikes from Stool End Farm |
|
The path back to Old Dungeon Ghyll from Stool End
Farm, with Lingmoor behind |
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The Langdale Pikes from the path back to Old Dungeon
Ghyll |
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Sun over Crinkle Crags |
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Back at Old Dungeon Ghyll |
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Back at the public car park by the Old Dungeon Ghyll
hotel |
