Lingmoor & Blisco - Photo Gallery

It was a cloudy morning and not very light; it has been a dull, grey autumn. I drove to the end of Great Langdale and turned left after passing the Old Dungeon Ghyll hotel; up the the small steep road towards Little Langdale and parked near the cattle grid below Side Pike. The sky was a strange colour, the huge clouds over Bowfell were filled with a sickly yellow glow. You don't need a degree in meteorology to understand those weather conditions; it wasn't raining yet but I suspected that I might see a few showers and it might be a bit blustery.

I crossed over the stile in the wall that is right next to the cattle grid and followed a faint path that takes you more or less straight upwards. It was pleasantly rugged and unpleasantly wet in places, I had my first, sharp showers of the day. The steepness of the ascent meant I got a view quite quickly; the vomit-coloured clouds contrasting with the autumnal browns and greens of Pike o' Stickle on the other side of the valley.

I reached a large cairn on a small hummock at the top of the steep climb; the climb to the summit of Side Pike began after descending to a small swampy col. After a fairly easy climb through heather and boulders I was suddenly on the edge, the other side of Side Pike drops away vertically. There were a few sheep sheltering on a ledge just below summit; looking over the edge I could see a large group of sheep below, it is very unusual to see so many together in one place.

I resisted the temptation to try and find a route straight down; I followed a faint path that was close enough to the edge, past a split boulder and across a steep rocky slope. The scrambly rock would be quite an interesting challenge on a good day but it was too wet and windy to clamber up and down at the time. I got down to the path and followed it around the base of Side Pike's overhanging crags; the way past isn't clear until you get within a couple of feet of The Squeeze. There is a narrow gap between the cliff and a broken off boulder; you have to hold your pack above your head while you slide through the gap sideways.

I reached the group of Herdwicks I had seen from the summit of Side Pike; they were lying in the sheltered col and were surprisingly reluctant to move out of the way, although I tried not to disturb them too much. Then I realised what was going on; there was a Tup (ram) who had obviously attracted several ewes eager to play their part in the local economy. He looked as handsome as a sheep can be; large curled horns and his smart white fleece stained with red dye contrasted with the dark fleeces of his group.

As I started to climb uphill I was hit by another heavy shower accompanied by a strong breeze that threatened to become more persistent; it was time to put on my waterproofs and resign myself to the weather not clearing up. There is a wall running all the way up to the summit of Lingmoor Fell; you start off on one side but at a rocky outcrop you have to cross to the other side and clamber up the rock onto the ridge. It is a surprisingly long walk to the summit of Lingmoor Fell; just before I got there the mist came in, hopefully it means there will be no more rain but the cloud is moving quickly, being driven by a strong wind on the fell tops.

From the summit you turn right and cross a fence by a stile and continue to descend by the side of another fence down in the direction of Blea Tarn. The path is obvious at first until you reach a small swampy col; you climb up onto a green hummock and then the path completely disappears. There is an interesting group of pine trees there that have been battered into strange shapes and positions by the wind; it is obvious what the prevailing wind direction is.

Once past the trees I started to descend into a shallow gully; generally following the wall without walking in the gill that shared the gully. The path is very unclear, I expected something more obvious on what I imagine is a busy route; eventually I crossed the stream and walked in a gap between the wall and a fence. After a short distance I walked through a break in the wall and down to a more obvious path; the path seemed to be coming down from the direction of the steep water-slide that I had just bypassed.

I eventually got down to the road where I turned right to go across a cattle grid; after a short walk along the road I turned left to go through a gate on to the track leading to Blea Tarn. I crossed the footbridge and turned left to follow Bleamoss Beck as it tumbled down rocks on its way to putting the Moss in Blea Moss; the green juniper growing on the bank of the beck made a nice contrast to the bracken, dark rocks and white water. There is a rough and sometimes wet path through the bracken; you pass above Blea Moss until you reach really wet ground close to the road.

At the road I turned right and while walking uphill I was almost stopped in my tracks by the strong wind; I was beginning to wonder just how high I would get before the wind became too strong. Just after crossing Wrynose Bridge you can see evidence of a faint path going uphill towards a dip in the skyline; it was a surprise to see someone else walking up the path in the distance. I thought this was another busy route but the path is barely visible in places; it was a bit of a plod but not too steep and I was sheltered from the wind.

Eventually the distinctive summit cone of Pike o' Blisco appeared ahead; the path was even less distinct and I had to find way across boulders and between outcrops. There were occasional traces of a footpath but there was enough visibility to just keep climbing and make my own way upwards as best I could. There is a final step up onto the slabs of the subsidiary summit; the best view of the day was the summit crown, bathed in sunshine with a huge amount of cloud in the background obscuring Crinkle Crags & Bowfell.

I clambered over rocks, avoiding the deep bogs to reach the summit; I didn't hang around, although it wasn't as windy as earlier, it was much colder and I climbed off the summit to find a sheltered spot to have a bite to eat. There was a view over to Windermere but the sky was still a very strange colour. I walked back to the small col between the two summits and turned left down an eroded path; I had some doubts whether it was the right way because the ground seemed to fall away very quickly. There are a couple of traps on Pike o' Blisco; I have lost the path on previous occasions and ended up scrambling down steep, wet rock so I was trying to keep to the path.

As it happens, the path leads to the scrambles down steep, wet rock; there are three places where I had to stretch my long legs, it's much more fun going upwards. After the quick part of the descent you have some level walking on an obvious path for a while until you reach a cairn; a steep reconstructed path awaits. I have to say it is not my favourite path and it is a good reason not to come this way; the stones slope downwards and when wet they become slippery and awkward to descend. It defeats the anti-erosion object because walkers will use the grass running parallel to the stone-built path creating more erosion.

After slipping on the wet stones I started walking on the grass myself, sodden short grass can be as slippery as ice and I went down onto my backside again; I stayed on the grass because it makes a softer landing when you hit the deck. You have a long descent on the slippery path that only ends when you cross Redacre Gill. Once I crossed the gill I immediately turned half-right to find a smaller path; you can only see location of the path from above and not when you are right in front of it so you need to note its position before you reach the gill.

It was easy walking following the contours, the path through the bracken was rough and wet in places but much better than the alternative descent and walk back up the road. On this gentle walk I wasn't expecting to come across a waterfall but there it was, about ten feet high just above the crossing place of a small stream. Just as you think you are about to descend to the road the path disappears into a swamp; I carried on ahead to a grassy knoll and made my way over to a wall and followed it for the last soggy descent to the cattle grid where I had left the car.

Andy Wallace 2nd December 2006