Red Screes to Caudale Moor - Photo Gallery

It was just about light when I got to the car park across the road from the Kirkstone Pass Inn. The sky was quite clear but the clouds seemed to be moving quickly over the tops of the fells, a sure sign that it is windy up there.

In the far corner of the car park is a gate, through that is a fairly obvious path heading towards the towering mass of Red Screes. The lower slopes are quite grassy and the path zigzags around the many boulders. The path seems to split, the more obvious branch going left presumably to find the easier way up but that isn't what I am looking for.

The right hand path is less obvious in size but the way it goes is obvious, up more steeply now over grass and through the boulders. After a quick gain in height you have a good view of the Inn down below and you can also follow the winding road called The Struggle down towards Ambleside.

Then things begin to get interesting, the first of the steep red screes has to be climbed leading to a narrow steep-sided gully. The gully is rocky and relatively easy to climb up but the water running over the rocks makes you ask the question about how slippery those tilted rocks are going to be.

Safely through the gully and a short distance further on is the next section of red scree. This is quite a long climb upwards before you arrive inevitably at the next narrow gully that is rockier, steeper and wetter than the previous one. The view of the Inn far below gives a good feeling of being high up on the hill side. The next section of red scree is steeper and looser than before and the next gully looks quite intimidating.

The wet rocks are relatively easy for me to climb over these days but I remember how apprehensive I was when I first used this route. There are plenty of good foot and hand holds but some of them require a bit of sideways movement or have to be searched for. Once through the gully is yet more red scree, still steep and eventually meeting the head of a steep gill.

There is a slightly awkward step over loose stones across the top of the gill and then the final rough climb to the large grass ledge below the summit. A short walk then took me to the summit, Red Screes was so pleased to see me that it started to rain, cold rain, as I reached the summit shelter, the wind greeted me strongly too.

By the time I had put my camera away, put my waterproofs on and stood up to see how bad the weather was, it had stopped raining and Middle Dodd and Dove Crag were bathed in sunshine. As I walked along the ridge towards Middle Dodd the wind became stronger until I had to sit down for five minutes until the strongest gust had died down a bit.

Walking at forty five degrees along the ridge at first it was quite a struggle until I lost a bit of height and the wind eased a bit. The view of Brotherswater was wonderful, the valley was bathed in sunshine showing off the autumn colouring of brown and green. Having got past the summit I started the descent towards Hartsop Hall and Middle Dodd is as steep as it looks although the faint path made quite an easy job of getting down.

I crossed the wall that passes at right angles to the ridge and the ground was steeper but I followed the easy path until I was looking over the edge of crags. The path had led me right to the top of the crags, rather than around them so I had to make a detour to get past them on the left. At the bottom of the steep slope is a wet area and the path splits into two, one going towards Hartsop Hall and the other going towards the road.

I chose the path going to the road because I had quite a lot of walking to do and I thought it might be a bit quicker than going round the back of Brotherswater. For a road walk it was lovely, the sun shining and a bright blue sky, until just after passing Brotherswater I turned right along a path leading to the hamlet of Hartsop.

Walking up through the stone houses you reach a car parking area, then carry on along the footpath signposted as leading to Hayeswater. Where the path splits take the right hand branch, cross over a footbridge and go through a gate. The path begins to rise and you can see Gray Crag on your right hand side, then you go through a second gate.

I have climbed Gray Crag before, starting from higher up the footpath and looking up at the steep grass it didn't seem any steeper than what I have done before so I headed straight up the fell. The climb up Gray Crag is a slog over pathless grass, to bypass the crags part way up I went around the right hand side of them and as I got to the top of them I came across a path. The path led me onto the ridge where the wind was strong but nowhere as strong as on Middle Dodd.

The ridge is quite level for a while, then there is a steeper section that leads to the summit of Gray Crag. From there it is an easy walk up a gentle gradient although it steepens slightly as you reach the boulders near the summit of Thornthwaite Crag. The view of the climb to Caudale Moor on the other side of Threshthwaite Mouth looks quite intimidating. The summit of Thornthwaite Crag bears what is probably the tallest cairn in the Lake District, visible from many miles away.

Whilst at the summit the weather closed in again and I really thought that it had settled in for the day, the sleet and mist seemed set to stay. From the summit I headed in the direction of Caudale Moor and quickly found the steep eroded path that leads down to Threshthwaite Mouth. Half way down the path the weather cleared again providing views along the valleys to both sides.

The prospect of the climb upwards to Caudale Moor is intimidating indeed but even though it was at least as steep as Gray Crag it felt much easier stepping over boulders that walking through grass. The path led all the way to the summit of Caudale Moor named Stony Cove Pike, the sun was setting as I reached the top.

The descent from Stony Cove Pike is alongside the wall, westwards initially then south all the way to the Kirkstone Pass Inn. It took an hour to get to the Inn from Stony Cove Pike, I was beginning to wonder if I was going the right way at times but all the time I could see Red Screes so I knew I wouldn't be too far away.

I paid a visit to Mark Atkinson's monument on the way down, just who keeps putting those blue flowers there?

Andy Wallace 14th December 2003