Scafell - Highest Point in England - No photos today

I’m off to Lord’s Rake, the sky is blue and the weather is (too) warm, there shouldn’t be any problems with visibility today. The path up towards Scafell is a long steady climb on good constructed footpaths until the path forks left for Lingmell Col and right for Mickledore.

This time I can see what I missed last week, after passing an unmistakably large boulder there is a fan of scree coming down from the right, scramble up to the top of the scree and the start of Lord’s Rake is on the right hand side.

Lord’s Rake is a strenuous climb, after the initial slippery scree section, the worst of the loose stuff can be avoided by staying near the right hand side. There is a large pillar shaped boulder blocking the top of the first section, this is the result of a recent rock fall. The views would be terrific if the mist hadn’t rolled in.

As you approach the top you have to move over to the left of the rake to get past some larger rocks, there are plenty of loose rocks around but I was able to avoid dislodging them. On the spur of the moment I decide to take the West Wall Traverse path, the start of the path is on the left a few yards before the top of this part of the rake.

What a good choice – the West Wall Traverse is now my favourite path, the initial views are tremendous, the bare crags a few feet away across the deepest of deep ravines. The scramble up Deep Gill is strenuous and interesting and after the final steep section you suddenly on a flat grassy plain – the intermittent view shows Scafell Pike in all of its glory.

Pay a quick visit to the summit cairn, nobody else is there, before I go down the path to Foxes Tarn, the informal dam keeps the pool of water in place. The path down to the Mickledore path uses the five points of contact method in three or four places.

The mist has dispersed but the path up to Mickledore is horrible, I have to force my legs up the steep slope. There is plenty of movement on the crags above – more climbers than walkers on Scafell today.

The path up to Scafell Pike is quite straightforward but my legs have gone, I’m glad to get to the top.

The solitary top of Scafell is in contrast to the summit of Scafell Pike, there is the biggest and noisiest crowd of people that I have ever seen in the Lake District. As the man on the mobile phone says “I am at the top of Scafell, the highest point in England” – the mountain allows even the ignorant to share a terrific view today.

Down to Lingmell Col and a stroll down Brown Tongue back to Wasdale with the view of Scafell and thoughts of the West Wall Traverse. Today was my best fell walking memory.

Andy Wallace 28th July 2001