Can't Stand Up on Skiddaw - no photos today
The weather seems unusually mild for the time of year, not a sight of any snow even on the highest fell. Today’s plan is a walk around Skiddaw and its subsidiaries, postponed for nearly twelve months by its closure due to Foot and Mouth disease.
I leave the car on the car park at the end of the metalled road that starts at the Underscar Hotel, near Applethwaite, which is signposted Skiddaw. The plan is to finish the walk at the car park but that means starting with a two-mile walk along the road, at least it is downhill.
Through Applethwaite to Millbrook, past the village hall and ignore the signed footpath to Skiddaw on the right, shortly after is a lay by on the right and another signed footpath which slants up across the fell. Climb over the stile in the fence/wall, over a stream and follow a path round to the right through the trees.
The path leads to the start of a forest road which I follow, on the left down below are some very tall trees which Wainwright says are Douglas Fir (still there after 40 years?). At a junction of forest roads is a large open space, bear right and immediately take a track on the left uphill, across the other side of Bassenthwaite the Bishop of Barf is visible. At its crest of the path are the remains of a cairn at the start of a vague path on the right leading straight up hill.
The steep rough path passes a mixture of old tree stumps that are useful handholds and replanted trees. It is a gauntlet of pine trees which have to be brushed past, every one attacking my legs with their sharp needles.
The strenuous climb through the young trees leads up to the small summit of Dodd which Wainwright would not recognise, gone is his small cairn, replaced by an upright memorial in slate complete with shiny brass plate which says the summit is at 1592 feet, twenty feet lower than his estimate. Gone are the trees, recently harvested, gone is any path down the forest road, replaced by the mud filled tracks of the harvesting machines, but a least there is now a view.
Down to the col at Long Doors, cross the fence by a stile and follow the parallel fence and wall across the fell until meeting the path coming up from Millbeck. A long trudge up to the top of Carl Side, keeping to the ridge to see Dodd disappearing below, whilst on the other side Skiddaw is covered by a menacing looking mist.
By the time Carl Side summit is reached, the wind is quite strong and it is misty.
Take a compass bearing and head towards Long Side, which becomes visible as does the wide path leading up it. From the summit of Long Side the view over Bassenthwaite Lake is good, after crossing Long Side Edge over to the summit of Ullock Pike the view of the only lake in the district actually named “Lake” is excellent.
Retrace my steps over Long Side, bypass Carl Side summit on the way to Carl Side Tarn. I meet another walker just down from Skiddaw summit who says it is very windy and icy at the top, better put on the bigger gloves and over trousers.
Up the steep, grey, slate scree towards Skiddaw, several people on the way down tell me it is very windy, the last two near to the summit say it is too windy. It is becoming increasingly windy, with frost now on the windward edges of the rocks and vegetation, and as I arrive at the cairn at the top of the path I have difficulty standing up in the wind, it is too windy to walk along the ridge.
I struggle over to the summit shelter for some respite from the wind whilst I have a bite to eat and a drink. A walker struggles along the ridge and rests for a minute on the windward side of the shelter, I learn later that his hat blew away, and then he sets off back along the ridge.
I am joined in the shelter by a couple, they have also walked along the ridge and lost their map when it blew away. I suggest that they join me in descending back down to Carl Side Tarn, which they do. Back up to Carl Side summit, rest at White Stones where there is a view of a snow clad Helvellyn group.
Then the long descent to Millbeck where I now have to walk the two miles back to the car, uphill.
Andy Wallace 19th January 2002