Rambling Pete on Walking Places

Cold Pike and the Crinkle Crags

Date: 23-Mar-2011

Map: Landranger 90 OL 006

Weather: Hazy sunshine, occasional cloud.

From ODG car park up The Band to Crinkle Crags, along to Cold Pike, and return down Oxendale to the ODG: 9 miles as measured on Satmap GPS

I planned this walk to take in Cold Pike as the last Wainwright to tick off amongst the Southern Fells. Luckily it was a fine day with hazy sunshine, interrupted now again by the odd rogue cloud. The Langdales is one of the most beautiful areas of the Lake District and I don't think you could ever get tired of the views here. The initial walk takes you out from the ODG car park, over an old bridge and out along a farm track towards the farm at Stool End. We passed by a lady drystone waller and marvelled at the skill involved in fixing and maintaining these old walls - apparently they never put down a stone after they have lifted it, they always find a space for it. I suppose years of skill and backache makes you pick up the correct one in the first place. Through Stool End farm the old horse had his long face poking out of his stable - he didn't look happy. They have a collection bucket out the back for the air ambulance - drop a few quid in when you pass - shamefacedly all my change was in the car. After the farm the path splits - off to the left is the unremitting slog up Oxendale - steeply stepped in places and a bit of an icy cold place in the winter as not much sunshine gets down there. Up to the right the path goes up The Band, and this is a much easier way up to the big boys of Bowfell and the Crinkle Crags. Don't get me wrong it still is steep in places but the gradient is generally easier over the long run and you reach the top a little fresher.

Mickelden with Pike of Stickle up in the clouds

Oxendale to the left and The Band up the right

looking back to Lingmoor Fell from The Band

the Pike of Stickle

Pike of Blisco against the morning sunlight

a broody Bowfell up above - nearing the top of The Band

the distinctive Pike of Stickle - looking north

near to the Three Tarns, looking back to The Band

Three Tarns with the Scafells in the distance

Bowfell with Scafell Pike on the left

Occasionally we paused on the steeper parts to look back down to the famer liming his fields, backwards and forwards he went in a white cloud - good job it wasn't windy, which is why he was probably out doing that. Up to the right the Pike of Stickle is prominent with it's rounded top visible from a lot of corners of the Lake District - it always seems to be in sunshine as well. There were some clouds floating around Bowfell but it looked like it was clearing as we got higher. There was also a noticeable lack of snow up there, with just the odd patch of icy stuff on the northern facing slopes. As we progressed higher up The Band there is a path that veered off to the right - this is the climbers traverse that runs below Bowfell Butress and meets up with the bottom of the Great Slab of Bowfell - an interesting route itself. The path up The Band eventually reaches the Three Tarns and here is a choice between Bowfell, steeply up to the right, or left to Shelter Crag and beyond to the Crinkles. It was always going to be the Crinkle Crags today and we had a little rest at the top to put an extra layer on as the wind had picked up. The views over to the Scafells were crisp, but a little further afield down to the coast was hazy sunshine, although we could see the Isle of Man clearly. Once up on the top of Shelter Crag the gradient completely eased with the odd dip down between the Crinkles. As always the Scafells and Bowfell to a lesser extent were making their own cloud cover as the moist air drifted in from the sea. The walk along Long Top on the crinkles is fairly flat and we found a nice sheltered spot for lunch, with fantastic aerial views down over Great Langdale. The silence was complete with no real wind noise at all, apart from my whistling tinnitus even I could appreciate the peace and quiet. What a spectacular view it is and as the land drops away steeply to the north east it's a great vista to look down upon. There's a spot called Mickle Door that looks down along Crinkle Gill to the valley below - the ODG car park is a mere dot in the green valley. Walking down off the last Crinkle was the bad step - it's ok to climb up to the right side, but going down is a different matter. So I settled on a detour down and around the obstacle that bought us down off the last crag.

looking down Mickelden from Shelter Crags

the Isle of Man out to sea

the Scafells and Bowfell from the summit of Shelter Crags

looking down Eskdale

on the summit of the Crinkle Crags

The Pike of Blisco with Windermere beyond, Wetherlam to the right

the back end of the cloud cover - hills make clouds

a great view down Great Langdale from Long Top

negotiating the 'bad' step

The next objective was Cold Pike and it was mostly downhill to cross over a boggy section. Conveniently there were a set of old rusting fence posts and a feint trodden line through the grass to guide us across to Cold Pike, carefully avoiding the wet patches. Looking back up to the Crinkle Crags showed us their nice outline in shadow against softer afternoon light. A gentle ascent saw us up on top of my only tick of the day - Cold Pike, a nice blocky summit with views over to the Pike of Blisco, the Tilberthwaite Fells and the hills seen earlier. The path down from here is quicker to retrace steps rather than a kamikaze plunge of the north end of the summit. As we rejoined the path down from the Crinkle Crags at Great Knott the choice was up to the Pike of Blisco or down to Oxendale. Gravity took it's affect and a pint in the ODG beckoned. It's not easy on tired old knees going down this way and it took a while to get back down to the valley floor, crossing over the beck by a wooden bridge and returning via Stool End farm once more. Soon enough we were back in the pub and having a refreshing draught of Black Sheep - an excellent pint. A fine walk in good company - no I'll never get tired of Langdale, but my legs will.