Horseshoe and High Level - Photo Gallery
It was a bright and breezy morning when I arrived at Wasdale; I left the car in the small parking area at Overbeck Bridge as I set off walking, in tee-shirt and shorts, along the road to Wasdale Head. I had a good view of the Scafell group as I walked by the side of Wastwater, but the wisps of cloud hovering just above and around the summits suggested that wearing shorts might not have been the best choice. I was surprised to see a group of walkers making their way up the side of Yewbarrow, it's steep but not intolerable, but there are much better ways of getting up there. When I got to Wasdale Head, I walked between the pub and the shop in the direction of Mosedale, not that I stayed on the path for very long.
As you reach a wall, a level-looking path bears left towards Mosedale but, through a wooden gate straight ahead, rises the steep greenness of Kirk Fell. It is a very steep green hill for the Lake District, it is a bit easier than when I first climbed it, with trodden footsteps making the going a bit better. There isn't much to focus on as you climb, a single large boulder is the only feature, and that seems a long time ago by the time you reach the crest of the first slope. As you reach that first crest you could easily be discouraged; the way ahead looks just as tough as what you have just done.
It is just as steep as it looks, the grass gradually gets replaced by scree; loose eroded stones at first but soon the whole hill is covered in boulders, on a hillside sloping at an angle of forty five degrees. Lighter coloured stones indicate the routes that people have taken before but the lighter colour also means erosion with loose, slippery stones; it is much more pleasant to clamber up the more stable, bouldery scree. After the main scree field you can find your way on an easier route over to the stony ridge; I was passed by other walkers, obviously fitter than me who seemed determined to take the hardest route up the roughest scree.
When I had reached the scree the breeze had become cold enough to put on my jacket, and I was watching the weather come in as I got towards the crest of the scree slope. When the rain inevitably came I thought it was for good so I put on my waterproofs; it was only a few minutes later that I decided it was just a shower after all and I carried on in shorts, jacket and gloves. Once you get to the crest of the second slope you get to one of my favourite places; a small lawn that makes a lovely place to sit and admire the view of the valley below and the hills all around.
After leaving the lawn behind you still have some walking to do, on a stony path, to the summit of Kirk Fell. From the summit cairn you turn left and follow the fence in the direction of Pillar. There is of course some height to be lost but its an interesting way to do so on a rocky scramble down to Black Sail; it can't be that hard because the remains of a fence run all the way down the ridge to the pass. The route to Pillar starts with the obvious path rising up on the other side of the pass; it isn't quite as obvious to find the grassy climb, still following the fence, to the summit of Looking Stead.
From the summit of Looking Stead there is a fine view of Pillar; see if you can trace the High level Route, it isn't easy. After descending to a small col, you climb upwards on the other side and it soon starts to get more rugged; the apparently pointless cairn that you come across is actually the start of the High Level Route. The first thing you have to do is slip and slide down a rough, eroded slope, but you soon start to climb; it's all too easy to take the lower path but keep your eyes open and make sure you take the real high level route.
There is a path all the way, it barely clings to the steep hillside at times, and you will have doubts on a couple of occasions as it disappears in swampy vegetation. Most of the time you can see the other path a good way below; the paths merge before you start to climb up to Robinsons Cairn at the highest point of the High Level Route. There is a good view into Ennerdale below, looking a good deal drier and sunnier than Wasdale when I last saw it a short time before. The real view from there though is Pillar Rock; there is a rough clamber over rocks and boulders heading towards the Shamrock Traverse, an unmistakeable sloping shelf rising up towards the Rock.
After hopping across boulders and clambering over rocks, you walk up a former scree path, where all of the loose stones have been worn away, to reach the start of the Shamrock Traverse. The ledge is wider and easier than it looks from below and you can't see the exposure until you reach the top of the ledge. There you have a sloping slab to get across, easy in dry weather but a slight worry when it is wet and slippery, being so close to the edge of an obvious steep drop. The final slippery slab wasn't wet as it happens, I have struggled across it in the wet before but I usually step across, very close to the edge of it, without thinking about the drop too much.
There is a good, rugged scramble over sloping, slabby rock up to the best viewpoint, almost within touching distance of Pillar Rock. After walking around the top of a stony gully to the base of the Rock, the summit of Pillar is in the opposite direction. It is a steep eroded climb, before an easier path that leads to the final rock step, and an exhilarating scramble up to the summit plateau of Pillar. After walking across the flat summit, you start to descend easily until the ground steepens noticeably, and you have a rough clamber down to Wind Gap. Then there is another climb up to the splendid rocky summit of Black Crag, an easy walk towards Scoat Fell and a final rugged clamber over boulders to the gap in the summit wall of Scoat Fell.
You have to hop across some big boulders before you have an easier walk, by the side of the wall, along the broad summit ridge. There is a good view of Steeple as you follow the wall, which you need to do until you reach the first reasonable gap in it, just past the summit cairn. Once you get onto the other side of the wall, you need to head in the direction of Blackem Head, the col between Scoat Fell and Red Pike. From there, it is a not-too-strenuous walk up to the easy ridge, past the summit of Red Pike, then down to rejoin the main path; you have to bear left downhill just before you reach another substantial cairn. There is an obvious path all the way downwards but it is a long descent to Dore Head; it feels much further than it looks.
When you get to Dore Head, you might be tempted to take the scree run down to Mosedale as an easy short cut. It isn't easy, it's not safe and not very quick; it's much more enjoyable and not much harder to go up and over Yewbarrow. The ascent of Yewbarrow starts with a rough and eroded steep path that suddenly disappears behind a rock; once you get there you can see an obvious way up, it's a good scramble when the rock is dry and even more of a challenge in the wet. Towards the top of Stirrup Crag you get quite close to the edge of a big drop shortly before you reach the cairn at the start of the Yewbarrow ridge. It's a longer walk than you would think to get to the summit, on a surprisingly wide ridge; it was a very pleasant walk for me on an afternoon that was getting warmer all the time.
After passing the summit, with it's legendary view of the Scafells, you start to descend and it quickly becomes a steeper descent towards Bell Rib. You have to cope with slippery eroded loose stones, and then a rough scramble down towards Dropping Crag; you can easily end up having a harder descent than you need. After working your way down to a small wall, you should cross the head of the stony gully to make a final rough descent, although it is much easier than struggling down the gully. Eventually you will join an easier sloping path, the alternative route coming down from Dore Head, leading to a wall that you cross at a substantial ladder stile. After the steep grassy descent back down to Overbeck Bridge I was glad that I had left the car there.
© Andy Wallace 14th Jun 2008