Date: 07-Mar-2010
Map: Landranger 89, OL6
Weather: Mostly bright with a bit of sunshine thrown in.
From Santon Bridge Inn around Irton Pike,
up to Whin Rigg, and along a broad ridge to Illgill Head.
Down to Wasdale Head and return to the start along the
valley roads :
14 miles as measured on memory map.
The last
full day of my Wasdale weekend and I decided that as the
weather was good I'd bag a couple more Wainwrights. It was a
pleasant day as I set out after a good breakfast at the
Santon Bridge Inn. The wedding party from the night before
were looking a bit worse for wear, and so they should be.
Today's route took me on a long steady ascent rather than
too many steep rises. That was just as well that I had
studied the route as I had not fully charged the GPS last
night and me being a muppet, I'd left my map in the car. But
it only led to some guess work for the last mile or two. I
took the road over the bridge and up the initial steep rise
skirting around the base of Irton Pike to the sunny side of
the hill. It was chilly in the shade but perfect walking
conditions, cold and clear, as high pressure still dominated
the country. Around Irton Pike they had been doing a little
harvesting of plantation, and once off road I made a gentle
sustained ascent. I passed by a french girl carrying her
tri-pod on her shoulders - she must have been up early to
catch the sunrise over Wasdale.
Santon Bridge
the start of the off road
a good crop of Mistletoe
Whin Rigg ahead with Great Gable in the distance
I didn't meet many on the
way up but was passed by a member of the local MRT out on a
training walk. He set a good pace and he didn't hang around,
but then again he didn't stop to admire the views either.
The ground levelled off as I came out onto open moor, lots
of yellow tussocky grass, with cattle having churned up the
paths - but it was frozen and good to be bog free, otherwise
it could be a wet walk up here. The path up was indistinct
but I only had one hill to aim for - I had plantation to my
right and Wasdale to my left which kept me on track, with
good views over to Buckbarrow, Middle Fell and Seatallan. As
I gained ground I passed by the plantation and the ground
got a little steeper up to Whin Rigg, some of the bigger
hills at the head of the valley began to appear, dominated
by Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Lingmell and the
Scafells. Away to my right was Eskdale with Hard Knott
prominent, and behind me the coast with the big nuclear
plant at Seascale.
Left to right - Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Whin Rigg
Seascale
The route down before Whin Rigg - across the valley to more
Wainwrights
One thing to note is that it can be very
confusing seeing the other side of a mountain, a bit like
looking at the back of the head rather than the face. You
could walk down to the valley from the approach to Whin Rigg,
but further on are steep crags and scree slopes all the way
down to Wast Water. I marked my progress along the valley by
looking down and seeing the lake below. It was a steady haul
up to Whin Rigg and when I got up there the views were
immense, full sunshine, not much wind and a bit of solitude. The
summit was a broad grassy top and it dips down before the
long steady ascent to Illgill Head. I stayed away from the
edge as I knew there is a steep drop down and I didn't fancy
finding out how steep.
Illgill Head in front of all the big boys
looking over towards Eskdale
looking back down to the start and Seascale from Whin Rigg
steeply down to Wasdale on the left, Illgill Head ahead
The ground continued to be good
to walk on and again the boggy sections were frozen over.
I've been blessed this weekend with great weather, gentle
ascents, and as I reached the top of Illgill Head absolutely
stunning views. It's a great place for lunch on a clear day
so I pulled over a boulder and sat down. I could gaze down
over Wasdale Head and the arena of high mountains all around
- an amazing site. I was mightily tempted to scoot over to
Sleightside as I missed it out when I'd been up Scafell from
Eskdale - I wasn't ticking off the Wainwrights then. But I
sat and munched and watched as an older lady walked up the
hill with her dog. I should have known as she made a beeline
for my perch and there followed a one way conversation, with
the worst of it being she was an old misery guts and didn't
have a good word to say about anyone or anything - I didn't
have the heart to tell her to naff off. But anyway it didn't
spoil the day and I was refreshed at nearly the halfway
point - it was virtually all downhill from there. It wasn't
too steep down to Wasdale Head, and the bridge and campsite
came into view. I started to meet the great and the good who
were ascending up to Illgill Head, and for some it didn't
look like a stroll in the park.
from Illgill Head left to right - Scoat Fell, Red Pike,
Pillar, Yewbarrow, Fleetwith Pike, Kirk Fell, Great Gable,
Lingmell, Scafell Pike
Burnmoor Tarn with Eskdale Fell behind, and Harter Fell
beyond
the route down from Illgill Head
looking along Wasdale to Middle Fell
As I met the treeline I
could look along Wasdale and it looked a long way along the
road. But it wasn't all roadwork and the views more than
made up for it. I reached the valley floor alongside the
campsite, hoping for a tea van, and disappointed when there
wasn't one. I picked up a leaflet which told me all about
the flood management scheme for Lingmell Beck and the
building of a new bridge to allow the beck to flood on a
wider plain and not build up behind the bridge as it does
now. It was lovely in the sunshine looking at the reddish
bracken and the bare bones of the trees, a little wind
ruffling the surface of Wast Water. I wandered on down the
road which wasn't too busy and now wished for an ice cream
van - ever hopeful but thwarted once more. The best views
were behind me now as I progressed down the valley and I
contemplated my next walk up this wonderful valley - it's
full of Wainwrights to tick off bit by bit. Towards
the end of the lake I took the footpath down from the road
which took me past the mock Tudor frontage of the YHA. There
were many stone steps leading out into the lake, presumably
to launch canoes or photographers, and there are plenty of
both.
not too steep down to Wasdale Head
Lingmell Beck, with Scafell Pike topping the lot
one of my favourite views along Wasdale
glacially striated rocks in front of Middle Fell
looking up Wast Water from the YHA grounds
Looking over to Buckbarrow and Middle Fell
Wonderful Wasdale
The footpath wandered away through the fields and the
path eventually came back to the road near to Forest Bridge
- a very apt name as there are some majestic Scots Pine
close by which frame the view back down to Wasdale Head - it
does draw you to the valley and makes it look very inviting.
From here it was a short road walk back to the Santon Bridge
Inn and some well deserved refreshments after a wonderful
weekend in Wasdale.
Where now:
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