I decided to go and get something to eat before pitching my tent but eating meant going to the pub and that meant not getting back to the camp site until 11 pm. So I had to put up my tent for the first time whilst it was dark but it stayed up for the two nights so I was quite relieved.

Saturday morning was warm and sunny and I couldn't wait for the usual Outdoorsmagic 10:30 start so just two of us set off for the walk. We walked to Seathwaite and turned up the signposted footpath opposite the pub, across fields and through the woods to High Wallowbarrow. To cross the beautiful River Duddon there is an equally elegant stone bridge, much more substantial than the usual functional design that you find in the Lake District.

Walking through the woods you then come to the impressive Wallowbarrow Crag, a truly rugged place. Then in contrast the path is level over wet ground through young conifer plantations until you can see the area called Dunnerdale Forest on the map but it has been cleared of trees. After passing Grassguards by the permissive path, the barking of the dogs made it feel reluctantly permissive, you start to walk along a less obvious path through the new conifer plantings.

I had obviously missed the path to Green Crag, its profile and that of Crook Crag are familiar to me from the Birker Fell road and we were obviously going too far past it. On the path signposted as going to Eskdale there was no obvious way through the young conifers towards Green Crag until we reached a point where we were able to cross a gate-like wooden section in the fence.

After crossing the fence we made a beeline for the col between Green Crag and Crook Crag, the half mile walk through the long grass and flax would have been very tiring with shorter legs than mine. On reaching the col there was the first reasonable gradient of the day climbing up to the the respectably rocky summit of Green Crag.

Having missed the right path to Green Crag it seemed like a good idea to walk down the ridge to try and find it. The path along the ridge was clear enough but we seemed to be losing too much height so I suggested crossing the flat ground so that we could take what looked like a reasonable path upwards on Harter Fell. I should have put my glasses on because what looked like a path through the trees was actually debris from the harvesting prior to the planting of the new trees. It is not the first time that I have toiled through the chaos of a young forest but I haven't done it in shorts before and my legs bore the brunt of the attack from old branches and new pine needles.

After climbing the fence again we eventually reached a path and I decided we needed to get down before we got up again. Wrong again, the path downwards kept going downwards and at a point below Keppel Crag on Harter Fell I decided that is was necessary to apply rule 2. Rule 2 says if in doubt then go up, so we went up steeply through long grass and boulders, this was the closest that my companion came to complaining about the route.

After the steep grassy ascent without a path you come to impressive but rarely seen boulders and crags and eventually we reached a path. With the path came the first signs of other walkers and then the summit of Harter Fell with its towers of rock have to be climbed. The summit was cold enough for the first time that day to put my jacket on but soon after setting off down towards Hard Knott Pass it soon became warm enough for tee shirt and shorts again.

The descent to the pass would make a tiring ascent but it is far less steep than the climb from the other side of the fell. Close to the pass the ground became very wet and muddy in places and suddenly the road appears out of nowhere. There isn't any obvious path up the steep face of Hard Knott so I had to read my Pictorial Guide for clues as to where to start the climb. After passing a large cairn at the top of the pass a new (electrified) fence goes up alongside a grassy rake, the rake and fence should be followed.

The fence has to be crossed at one stage and after following it there is another crossing that could lure you to an unnecessary climb. Ignore the crossing and follow a faint path up to the left and eventually you reach the summit cairn. The view of the cloud covered Scafell group appears unexpectedly, it looks as though the mist might clear soon. The cairn at the other end of the Hard Knott ridge looks higher than the first one and of course when you get to it the first one seems to be the highest.

Downhill all the way now, firstly to Hard Knott Pass and then follow the road down towards Wrynose Bottom. We cleverly cut across fields in order to avoid going all the way down to Cockley Beck and eventually found some stepping stones to cross the River Duddon. We reached the road and followed it for three miles back to the camp site, as pleasant a road walk as you could wish for to finish a day of brilliantly sunny weather.

Sunday morning arrived accompanied by rain, all planned walks were abandoned for various reasons and four of us went over the Wrynose Pass to Great Langdale. From the Stickle Ghyll car park we walked up the reconstructed path to Stickle Tarn and then around the tarn to climb Pavey Ark by its steep and eroded North Rake. The weather got worse as we got higher and the summit of Pavey Ark was as confusing a place as you could find.

The steep descent from Pavey Ark to Stickle Tarn was made more awkward by the wet rocks, and the reconstructed path down from Stickle Tarn was positively tricky.

If all of us had taken my advice to use the path on the other side of the gill we might not have slipped and stumbled quite as often. We got safely back down to the New Dungeon Ghyll car park to begin the end of a thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Andy Wallace 7th to 9th June 2003

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