Round Both Dales With Ease - Photo Gallery

My expectations of the weather were not too high, I just hoped it would not rain too soon. It was dry and fairly bright when I got to Grasmere and I optimistically took my sun hat with me. I set off along Easedale Road and it quickly became too warm to walk with my jacket on, I took it off and whilst putting it into my rucksack I noticed my Platypus drinking bottle was empty. I must have trapped the valve in the open position when I put my rucksack on the back seat of the car.

I have another two litres of water with me, will that be enough? I had a fairly long walk planned and if it got warm I might run out of water so I walked back to Grasmere and bought another two litres to fill up my Platypus. As I walked back up Easedale Road I was trying not to worry about the two litres of water on the back seat of my car.

You walk along the road that goes across fields and ends abruptly at a gate, straight ahead is the path to Easedale. Here you turn right up an old quarry track constructed from slate and the “Unfit for cars” warning is stating the very obvious. After you pass through a metal gate the path going left would take you to Far Easedale so take the path to the right. The path almost immediately turns back on itself as you start to pass through an old quarry and then climb up a steep constructed slate stairway. At this stage I changed into shorts, maybe it was going to be a better day than I had anticipated.

Above the stairway the gradient eases and there is a newly constructed footpath, one of the better ones with large stones and good footholds that would not be too badly affected by wet or icy conditions. When you reach the ridge there are good views of Grasmere, the lake and the village, and you can see the full length of both Near Easedale and Far Easedale.

There are two significant rock outcrops on Helm Crag, the first one the so called Lion and the Lamb as seen from below and the Lion is fairly easy scrambling to the top. A little bit further along the interesting little ridge is the outcrop that I know as the Howitzer, the true summit of the fell that I have never managed to reach. Today's calm dry conditions are my best chance of getting up the rocks but in spite of trying for fifteen minutes I had to give up.

I could see the way up and I'm sure I could have got onto the awkward slab and to the top but would I be able to get down safely? I wasn't certain of my ability to hold onto the bare rock and even with my long legs I might not have been able to rely on finding a foot hold. Maybe this is the one Wainwright that I won't ever be able to claim to have climbed.

I left Helm Crag feeling defeated but soon got over it, the ridge from there is interesting and undulating but only if you leave the path. There are many subsidiary summits that the path bypasses, the walk is much more fun and the views much better if you keep to the ridge. You will meet the path again at the summit of Gibson Knott, the first summit with a cairn after Helm Crag. By this time there was not a cloud in the sky and it was a good job I had brought my sun hat with me.

From this point the ridge carries on for over a mile with many intermediate summits, some of them with cairns. The views today are hazy but the walking is wonderful, it feels good to be warm and dry for a change. Walking along the ridge also avoids a lot of the wetness, some of the worst boggy areas in the Lake District are on this ridge but even they are dry enough to walk across safely today.

Eventually you reach the summit of Calf Crag and you can see where you are going next, not the watery trudge through Brownrigg Moss but even that wouldn't be too bad today. There is some wetness on the descent from Calf Crag to the head of Far Easedale but I am surprised how quickly it has dried out after all the rain we have had this year.

Follow the path down to the head of Far Easedale and carry on past the old fence posts, generally following Mere Beck there is an unlikely footpath. From a distance it doesn't look like anybody has ever been here and it is a wild and unspoilt area but there are signs of a path, occasional cairns and isolated fence posts lead you towards Codale Head.

This is a wonderful quiet place, much better than Greenup Edge as a way of getting to High Raise. You pass a cluster of three small tarns and then a slightly larger tarn by itself which is where I made a beeline for where I thought High Raise would be. There is a faint path to follow occasionally as you climb the easy gradient over rough grass, a dry day makes the conditions definitely preferable to some of my walks across High Raise.

The gradient eases and you find yourself on the plateau of High Raise, probably the largest flat area in the Lake District, ahead all you can see is grass and it seems to be never ending. Eventually the tops of Crinkle Crags and Bowfell appear over the horizon and you arrive at a cairn at a junction of faint paths. Take the right fork for Low White Stones and left for the summit of High Raise named High White Stones.

The view from High Raise is very extensive but quite hazy today, I can't complain though sitting and enjoying the view and the warm sunshine. Well after a quiet day with few other walkers around this is relatively busy with a constant stream of people coming and going around the summit. For once I allow myself not to use my compass to get off High Raise, the way to Harrison Stickle via Thunacar Knott is very obvious.

I can't remember being on High Raise before and not getting my feet wet if not muddy, there is an easy walk to Thunacar Knott. This, the least distinguished of fells, does have a character of its own, a unique summit arrangement rocks and its own unique view of the world.

I have never approached Harrison Stickle from this direction before and it is the most impressive approach, it looks rugged and imposing. The final climb is over rocks to an impressive rocky summit and a nice scramble over rock will get you down to the path to Pavey Ark.

There are several ways over to Pavey Ark, the main path is very busy today and gives a good view of all of Stickle Tarn. If you keep higher on the fellside you have a much more interesting if more strenuous walk through big boulders. The summit of Pavey Ark is also busy, a small peak so rocky that a cairn would probably not survive for very long.

There is a curious stone wall below the summit ridge of Pavey Ark that makes it unmistakable and is a good clue in mist as to where you are exactly. From Pavey Ark I walked over to Sergeant Man around the head of Bright Beck, I hadn't been looking forward to this slog through rough grass but the dry conditions made it seem not as bad as usual.

Eventually you reach the proper path again but don't daydream here, you have to watch for the faint path off to the right, you wouldn't want to walk to High Raise again would you? Having made the turn the path will take you to where you can see the rocky top of Sergeant Man and you should be able to find your way between the marshes to it. Sergeant Man is surrounded on three sides by wet areas that seem like overgrown tarns, but on wet days they are not so overgrown and behave more like real tarns.

The fourth side of Sergeant Man is a steep downward slope and the path down follows a ridge until the gradient eases and you are on your way to Blea Rigg. It is difficult to decide where Sergeant Man ends and Blea Rigg begins, I always think that the cluster of cairns indicating the way down to Easedale is about the right place.

Blea Rigg doesn't feel like a fell at all, as its name suggests it is just a ridge, there are several rocky outcrops and the way is confusing, too much detail rather than not enough. I was following the path trying to find the summit outcrop when I realised I had ended up on the wrong side of the ridge overlooking Langdale.

I had to use my compass on this bright sunny day to find my way on an insignificant little fell but I did better than last time I was here and found the outcrop with the summit cairn. If you can call three stones a cairn then I found the summit cairn, arguably a better looking summit than many bigger hills.

I carried on along the ridge heading towards Silver How, there are so many Hows and Mosses along here that it was impossible for me to give them their names meaning that I wasn't quite sure where I was. After looking at my map for fifteen minutes trying to work out where I was I decided to just go downwards, I was running out of water anyway.

A steep rough path between juniper bushes and gorse eventually took me down to the main Easedale path, I had missed out on Silver How but nine hours, nine fells and thirteen and a half miles was probably enough for me anyway. It was a good job I had taken extra water, I managed to drink four litres today.

Andy Wallace 1st May 2004