Nearly Fisher Wife's Rake - no photos today
Today I am determined to ascend Clough Head by Fisher Wife’s Rake although the weather isn’t too promising. I parked the car at Stanah, planning to descend by the Stick Pass path.
In order to make a circular walk I’m going to go north over High Rigg before dropping down and then cross the road over to Hill Top quarries for Clough Head. High Rigg is an excellent, interesting ridge for the walk and for the views, except that today is very wet and the visibility is poor.
Despite its relatively low height, High Rigg has many opportunities for getting lost and for getting into difficulties, following the main path northwards is safe but you miss all of the intermediate summits and the tarn. At the stile over a fence turn right alongside the fence to see the best of the ridge, there are many paths over the peaks but most involve doubling back on them to avoid difficult descents.
When you meet a wall with a wooden fence across the gap common sense says don’t climb the fence but there is an inviting looking path on the other side. Follow the path but once you have got to the highest possible point you should go back the way you came and climb back over the fence, and facing the fence follow the wall to the left (west). Any other way will involve having to walk across very wet ground and having to climb over the wall after one awkward descent or other, especially when grass and rocks are wet.
Having descended to the Youth Centre, turn right along the road, ignore the first public footpath just after the graveyard and shortly afterwards in a dip to the right hand side of the road is the gate leading to the correct footpath. Follow the footpath downwards, at a muddy place where the footpath is unclear head towards a wooden pole carrying electricity cables.
Follow the path through the farm buildings and take the first footbridge on the right, follow the fence to the left over a stile and through a gate where you should turn right eventually going through a metal gate.
The weather has improved and the cliffs and gullies of Clough Head are plainly visible. Follow the track to the road, turn left and after a hundred yards or so the old coach road to Matterdale turns off to the right. Follow the track round a couple of bends until the quarry spoil heaps come down to the fence, climb over the stile and up through the spoil heaps to a level track.
Follow the track to the right and a small path goes up on the left through a plantation. If you get to the quarry workings (complete with equipment) you have missed the path. The path goes up, over a fence and up to the intake wall, climb over the stile onto the open fell where there are many paths to take.
From here I can see the zigzags up on Fisher Wife’s Rake but I can’t see the join that connects the paths across the fell with the rake. I follow a path going right, take the higher path at the first fork and the lower path at the second fork. I can see a path across the scree that I aim for and I start to climb up the grassy slopes.
It soon becomes clear that I am not where I wanted to be, I am climbing up a steep gully, where it becomes too steep I have to clamber up the grass and rocks onto small ridges above the gully. A large dose of adrenalin and large doses of not looking down get me to the top of the gully, I can’t pretend that I am not enjoying this, but it isn’t a walkers route.
I come across the high level path that Wainwright calls “sporting” and I follow it for a while but I am going away from the summit, which after all of this effort I am determined to reach, even if it means not visiting Jim’s Fold.
The climb up the gully has taken much more time and energy that I expected and the climb over ankle length grass to the summit is difficult. As I arrive at the summit so do two other walkers from a different direction – the first people that I have seen for five hours.
A short rest and then set off on the slog up to Great Dodd, calling at Calfhow Pike on the way, the weather is closing in again on the back of strong winds. From Great Dodd take a compass bearing and head south for Watson’s Dodd, a change of plan at this stage takes me down the relatively easy grass slopes to Castle Rock.
Follow the path down to the road for the end of a walk that contained a bit more exhilaration than I would normally have chosen.
Andy Wallace 3rd November 2001