Save it for a sunny day - no photos today
There is a walk that I put away for a sunny day and that day has arrived.
Starting from Seathwaite Farm, turn right under the arch of the farm buildings, cross the river and turn left to follow the path alongside the river at first and then rising gently towards Base Brown. Suddenly, you come across Taylorgill Force, an impressive waterfall that is not visible from the popular footpath to Stockley Bridge.
Scramble up the rocks and through the gate, then continue with more, easy scrambling alongside the falls but well away from the loose scree slope. The path makes its way easily up to Styhead Gill whose waters cascade over the rocky cataracts. The rocks are easily climbed and the gill can easily be crossed in dry weather, if not you can always follow the bank of the gill to an easier crossing place.
The walk from here be the side of Styhead Gill is easy and pleasant, if a bit wet in places, until Styhead Tarn is reached in its perfect setting with high ground all around it. Past the tarn, slightly uphill and you arrive at the head of Styhead Pass with its stretcher box, where many footpaths meet and where you get your first view of some well-known places.
From the stretcher box set off up the Great Gable Breast Route but the first cairn sitting on top of a boulder turn left to pick up the Climbers Traverse, there is also now a short cut, half left, starting immediately at the stretcher box. The path quite easily takes you high on to the flanks of Great Gable with a tremendous view of the Scafell massif and the great scars of Skew Gill and Piers Gill.
Soon, you arrive at the perpendicular cliffs of Kern Knotts, the path keeping as close to the cliffs as possible meaning that you need to scramble over and between some very large boulders. After this the path crosses a lot of scree, the path is safe, the steep view downwards from the path gives a great feeling of being high up.
I had intended getting close to Napes Needle but having missed the path I arrived at Sphinx Ridge, identified by the rock of the same name, how can its face-like features have been created naturally? I climbed up the steep bouldery vegetation to the Sphinx Rock and got a view of Napes Needle complete with climbers and then decided that I could probably climb to the top of the ridge.
The climb was steep and sometimes exposed but I made sure that I didn't get into any place that I couldn't get out of. There was some signs of disturbance that indicated the way up and after the most strenuous climb that I have ever done I arrived at the wonderful, airy little plateau at the junction of the Sphinx and Arrowhead ridges. This is a magical place, easily reached from the summit of Great Gable if you don't fancy climbing up to it.
The way to the summit is then straightforward, the view from the summit is extensive and from the Westmoreland Cairn the view is dramatic. I then descended my favourite rocky scramble down to Beck Head and easily located the other end of the Climbers Traverse.
This part of the path is over the scree ocean that makes up this side of Great Gable, the way isn't difficult but the path can be lost amongst the larger scree fragments. I followed the path then all the way to Styhead Pass and then followed the main path back to Stockley Bridge and the popular path back to Seathwaite.
This was an excellent adventure in perfect weather.
Andy Wallace 1st June 2002