Fisher's Wife's Rake's progress - Photo Gallery
I've studied the map, I've scrutinised the photographs and today I know that I will find Fisher's Wife's Rake, I am apprehensive about what I will find but if Wainwright managed it then I should be alright. I parked the car in my regular spot by the phone box at Stanah and set off along the two mile walk on the road through St. Johns in the Vale.
I turned right into Bramcrag Quarry and followed the quarry road around its hairpin bends and became completely disorientated so I climbed up the grass to find a viewpoint. I came face to face with the main quarry but was able to see a way over to the north east corner where there is an old gate leading onto the fell where a fence and a wall meet.
Through the gate and follow the wall upwards as it bends around to the left at a rounded wall corner there are signs of a path leading up towards the start of Fisher's Wife's Rake. It is a steep climb over grass and scree, the recently thawed ground being soft and slippery, until meeting a small but distinct path. It is obvious from here that I could have followed an easier route alongside the wall to a large slab of rock and got on the path from there with much less trouble. It is strange that Wainwright didn't find this, his direct route up the scree slope from the other corner of the quarry indicates an uncharacteristic lack of exploration.
From the wall the first part of the rake looks easy enough but once you get onto the path the way ahead looks quite precarious, the narrow path just about clings to the steep fellside. After about a hundred yards there is a bit of a scramble over a small outcrop of rock with a tree growing out of it and then it is very steep all of the way to the top. The path is distinct and not difficult but being narrow it requires some concentration and definitely requires that you don't look down whilst you are walking, the steepness with which the ground falls away is quite intimidating.
The path gets right up against the crags at one stage before the path gets steeper and then after passing a small gully with exhilarating views upwards and downwards the path gets steeper still. There is a section that requires the use of all four limbs to scramble up the grassy slope and also requires you to forget just how steeply and how deeply the ground falls away behind. Eventually you reach an ancient cairn, with another close by at an excellent viewpoint where because the ground is so steep that you can't see your route although you can see the wall and the rock slab close to your starting point.
Only now can you see the nice zigzag pattern of the path upwards, it is still steep but you are no longer exposed. Eventually you arrive at the head of Sandbed Gill, I passed this point a week ago and did not suspect that there could be a way down from here, and indeed it would be an exhilarating descent. I continued to follow the line of the path which had faded, roughly north eastwards towards higher ground and found Jim's Fold.
There was a faint path going in the direction of Calfhow Pike that I followed for a while but I decided that it must have been going somewhere else (Fornside I think) so I headed upwards across the grass to reach the Pike. Up to this point the weather had been reasonably mild with some rain but the way ahead was going to be rougher, the wind was stronger and the higher ground was covered by cloud.
The long slog up towards Great Dodd seems further than it is especially with having to walk into a strengthening wind and now the mist has turned to rain. The path bears slightly right and avoids the summit and I have to leave it in order to reach the summit cairn. At the summit the wind really hits me and I have to batten down the hatches on my hood. This summit is windy and wet and cold with no visibility, having stopped at the shelter cairn for a quick bite to eat my hands have got cold. The walk over to Watson's Dodd is easy enough for me to walk with my hands in my pockets trying to warm my hands. The main path misses Watson's Dodd and you have to look out for a less obvious path going straight on whilst the main path bears left, the walking is very level and it is difficult to decide where Great Dodd finishes and Watson's Dodd begins.
The summit of Watson's Dodd is windy and wet and cold with no visibility, no place to hang around and I turn sharp left to pick up the path to Stybarrow Dodd, still with hands in pockets. At least there is a slight depression that separates Watson's Dodd from Stybarrow Dodd, I have to leave the path again in order to reach the summit but the climb up the easy slope suddenly becomes much harder as the wind seems determined to keep me away from it, the effort of getting to the summit has warmed my hands up anyway. The summit of Stybarrow Dodd is windy and wet and cold with no visibility, I am beginning to think that I might not reach Helvellyn today, the conditions can only get worse.
The descent from Stybarrow Dodd leads down to Sticks Pass, there are several larger snow remnants on the way down. At Sticks Pass it is too early to go home but forward progress might be difficult, I decided to climb to the summit of Raise and see how conditions are, in the unlikely circumstances that the weather might improve. The climb up towards Raise is a real struggle, the wind stronger than ever, but I am determined to reach the summit. I meet a party of walkers coming down, they think that they are heading towards Whiteside having abandoned their plans to visit Helvellyn, they are obviously completely lost and my advice is to continue to Sticks Pass and turn right to get back to Glenridding.
The summit of Raise is extremely windy and wet and cold with no visibility, I am having trouble moving around in the strong wind. When the wind is in this mood there can only be one winner, so I accept defeat and descend back down to Sticks Pass for the relatively easy descent back to Stanah.
No matter, Fisher's Wife's Rake is an excellent route, it needs good calf muscles and a head for heights and I'm not sure that I would trust it as a descent but it is definitely on my list of routes to be done again. Fisher's wife must have been a special woman to have this route named after her.
Andy Wallace 8th February 2003