Wansfell to Caudale - Photo Gallery

It was a frosty bright morning when I got to Troutbeck, I parked at Church Bridge and walked up the icy road uphill to the top of the village. I met a local resident complaining about the return of winter, “it's alright on picture postcards” he said. At the top of the village a footpath leads up to Nanny Lane, as I got higher up the track it became increasingly snowy. By the time I reached the summit of Wansfell Pike, it was properly snowy and the views were fantastic; I walked along the undulating ridge, through deeper snow and some slippery steep descents, to Baystones, the summit of Wansfell.

I followed the wall northwards, I didn't see many signs of a path but there was a single set of footsteps in the snow. I had to climb over one fence but there were obvious crossing places in the other walls that I came to. At the final wall, before I got down to Woundale Raise, I had to make a lengthy detour until I found a way to get through it; the deep snow on either side would have made it difficult to climb over it.

I walked a short way along the Kirkstone Road, there was still old snow banked up on either side of it to a depth of four feet; it's no wonder the pass is sometimes blocked. I found a place where I was able to climb over the wall, and then walked up the ridge of Broad End; when I reached the cairn at the top of Ravens Edge, I met a couple of photographers, they were the only other people I saw all day.

It is a long walk, up a steady slope, plodding through deep soft snow, following the wall towards the summit of Caudale Moor. At a point where I felt where I was high enough, I crossed the wall and made my way across the broad plateau to the summit cairn at Stony Cove Pike. There was a tremendous view of Thornthwaite Beacon and the Ill Bell ridge; it was very inviting but it was too late to make the crossing of Thresthwaite Mouth and walk the ridge.

I retraced my steps by the side of the wall, and then made a descent directly towards Hart Crag; there is always a fascination with walking through soft virgin snow, especially when you are not going uphill. From the impressive summit cairn on Hart Crag, there is not much of a path on an easy descending ridge. I made the wrong navigational choice at a wall junction and ended up having a difficult climb down a wall.

I walked down by the side of the wall, and eventually got down to Trout Beck; I didn't cross the beck but made a difficult walk through the woods, until I reached the track at Hird House. It was not where I thought I was going to be, and walked across field until I reached Ing Lane at Ing Bridge; just a couple of miles to walk back to the car.

© Andy Wallace 22nd February 2010