Longsleddale Horseshoe - Photo Gallery

It had rained overnight and there was frost on the car in the morning so I wasn't really sure what conditions would be like in the Lake District. The sky was clear and by the time I got to Sadgill at the end of the Longsleddale valley road it was sunny and seasonally cold. The normal route to Shipman Knotts from here is to walk half way round to Kentmere take the Tourist Route to Kentmere Pike. I was sure I could do better than that and from the car parking place at Sadgill I could see what I call a “natural” route going up from the valley to the impressive Goat Scar.

I walked along the quarry road up the valley, it didn't look promising with all of the gates shut and each bearing a sign stating “Grazing Land, Private” - would I have to climb over the wall? After about a kilometre I came to a metal gate, through it I got onto a track leading towards a small dam, this field wasn't marked as grazing land but all the sheep were there. The track leads towards the dam and I wasn't sure how I was going to cross the river but above the dam water is shallow and split into several narrow channels that are easy to step over.

Once across the river there is a gate in the wall, the sign says “Please shut the gate” but the boulder wedged up against it says “don't open the gate” so I climbed the wooden fence panel by the side of it. There is a steep slope, a wall that goes all the way up it, a stream next to the wall and the ground is covered by dead bracken. There are occasional signs of flattened grass but these are unlikely to be anything except sheep tracks. It would be difficult to get through this much live bracken but maybe the way through it might be more obvious when it is green.

In spite of the bracken it is a good route, generally dry ground but that might be because it was quite frozen anyway, the only slight problem was that the bracken hides greasy boulders. In the sunshine the visibility was excellent, there were wonderful views up the valley framed by Goat Scar's rugged and colourful profile. I like this place, it is unspoiled and unfrequented, it feels good to discover places that nobody else is likely to see.

As you get above the bracken the gradient eases a bit, up on the left a curious looking rounded gully goes up to the skyline and on the right a straightforward if steep slope leads to a higher skyline. I chose to go right, at the top of the gully I would have probably needed to do some more climbing anyway. It became a steeper climb but on good ground, mainly grass with avoidable stony sections but plenty of grip for my boots and no need for hands. I crossed several paths running along the contours, these must be sheep tracks because they only lead to more grass and around the bend where I couldn't see and had no intention of going to look.

I could see a ridge on the left above the gully I had seen earlier; a little late I decided to check my map and it looked as though I have overshot Shipman Knotts with being so clever. Not to worry – it was too late to turn round, the going was even steeper the higher I got until eventually the visible skyline looked like a real skyline. I got into a small gully with more obvious foot holds until the steepness ended and I was on the summit plateau of Goat Scar. There were blue skies and hills everywhere, Goat Scar is off the main Kentmere path and you have to climb over a wire fence to get back to it.

I made the quick fifteen minute walk back to Shipman Knotts, the top of the wall running along the crest of the ridge is the nearest thing this hill will get to a summit cairn. There was a cold wind up on the ridge and a dusting of snow on the tops, the view of the Ill Bell ridge was splendidly illuminated. Walking on the frozen ground was much easier that the the normal soft ground and even the real boggy areas didn't need the usual wide detour.

There was a covering of snow on the long summit ridge of Kentmere Pike, at the top you need to make an easy climb over the wall to reach the triangulation column on the opposite side to the summit cairn. It was a very pleasant walk in the sunshine over frozen ground to Harter Fell, I didn't expect to have such a clear view of Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar although the view of the bulky Scafell massif is familiar from several places. The first big cairn on Harter Fell marks a junction, turn left to Nan Bield Pass and go straight ahead to the summit. Harter Fell has twin cairns at its summit, the iron posts embedded in them seem to be arranged differently each time I get there.

The view of Haweswater was stunning from the summit, High Street was showing off its best side and the crags in Blea Water's corrie looked as rugged as any. The descent to Gatescarth Pass is on one of the JCB-made paths, they are not as pretty as the stone built pitched paths but much safer and more practical for descent in wet or icy conditions. Branstree seen across the pass looked every inch the big green lump that it is but at least I could see it for a change. There is a good path over Gatescarth Pass between Mardale and Longsleddale but off the path the ground is very swampy.

You have to cross over a marshy area that is not quite frozen even today, you never really know how deep the water is below the reeds that you walk over. There are no navigation problems here, you just follow the fence uphill, it's a grassy slog all the way to the top of Branstree. The most interesting feature on the top is the junction of the fence with a wall, the wooden stile is a recent addition. A faint path going half left takes you to the summit where there is the footing of a triangulation column and an insignificant small cairn. I followed the faint path over to Artlecrag Pike cairns to see the large cairns there, although for once I could see the larger of the two from the summit of Branstree.

You have a good view of the High Street range but I really came here to look how far Selside Pike is and if I could see a way from it over to Tarn Crag. I'm sure a route exists but Selside Pike is just off the map; there are old quarries over there and I wasn't sure if I had time to go that way so I decided not to bother and went back to summit of Branstree. I crossed over the new stile and followed the wall and then the fence down to a broad muddy col. There is a large gate in the fence where it crosses the path between Mosedale and Brownhowe Bottom for Longsleddale, the path is marked on the map but it doesn't look as though it has been used for a while.

I continued to follow the fence uphill on the Tarn Crag side of the col, it was a good job the ground was frozen – it is very boggy. It has to be said that it is a bit of a slog and I had to climb over the fence and back a couple of times to avoid the worst of the bogs and peat hags. This is another big flat top where you should aim for the obvious old survey pillar, you can't miss it even in mist. From the pillar you then turn left and a faint wet path takes you to the summit cairn where there is another faint path heading towards the fence. On the way towards the fence another couple of paths turn downhill promising a less muddy descent but you will end up at the fence anyway because you can't avoid the mud.

You keep following the fence all the way across Greycrag Tarn, there is no tarn but the name leaves you under no illusions about the state of the ground. At one point there are three upright posts in the ground, are they the remains of an old signpost? Shortly afterwards there is another solitary post, is it supposed to warn you about the swamp? A floating bed of matted vegetation provides a strange and worrying sensation as it sinks a couple of inches with each footstep, it is like walking over a water-bed.

There is not too much more climbing before you get to yet another wide and flat summit plateau, although Grey Crag has more mud and peat hags than most. I lost the path and ended up walking over rough tussocks of grass between the hags, I was thankful again that the ground was frozen and I found the path again just before I reached the summit cairn. The descent from here is the bit of the walk I was worried about, there are no obvious paths and there is a steep slope to get down. The visibility is still good but the bright sun was shining in my eyes making it difficult to follow the occasional vague footpath clues.

When the clues ran out I decided to head towards Great Howe hoping to find some evidence of a path but none was found. I arrived at a fence running parallel to a ruined wall leading to a more substantial wall that itself seemed to be heading to Stockdale - not where I want to go. The sun was very bright in my eyes making it difficult to see what paths might exist but I saw the observation pillar that is marked on the map standing not far away from the wall in the distance. I followed the wall walking through tall reeds over wet ground until I came across a couple of step stones in the wall. I checked first that there were corresponding stones on the other side of the wall before climbing over it.

I climbed up over steep pathless grass to the survey column, there was a clear line of sight to the one on Tarn Crag. I thought I might find some signs of a path here but there were none so I climbed uphill to the summit of Great Howe. Looking down I could see some walls, I didn't really fancy the steep descent at the side of fence that joined the wall to the valley floor. I walked down to a wall and then kept above it across steep ground along sheep tracks until I got to a profusion of walls and fences. I was just about to be confused when I saw a stile crossing the fence between two walls.

I crossed the stile and found a path that seemed to be heading in the wrong direction back towards Tarn Crag so I headed downhill in a wide shallow gully. The gully split into two either side of a grassy tongue so I continued to walk down the tongue when I saw the stile in the wall below. I was busy admiring the wall above me where it is built in sections joining up a line of large boulders on the steep ground and I lost sight of the stile. I kept going down the steep rough ground when I saw that I had overshot the stile and had to walk back over boulders and through dead bracken diagonally downwards.

It was strenuous but I eventually reached less rough ground just before getting to the wall, a brand new stile has finally replaced Wainwright's hurdle, it even includes a clever dog gate, how thoughtful. A straightforward walk down the grass brings you to road not far from where I left the car.

Andy Wallace 28th January 2006