Date: 18-Mar-2011
Map: Landranger 90, OL004, OL005
Weather: Late afternoon sunshine
Raven Crag from the car park at the end
of Thirlmere, up and down :
2.2 miles as measured on the GPS
The
last time I was here was purely a Wainwright ticking walk as
the weather was
awful and we couldn't see a thing - see the trip
here. It's a straightforward
walk up and down to the crag, but this time I included a
visit to the old hillfort at Castle Crag, a short walk down
from Raven Crag. The views down Thirlmere are fine with the
Helvellyn massive across the valley prominent. If I'm honest
the views are not fantastic in a panoramic sense and I'm not
quite sure why Wainwright chose this as one of his tops. It
is quite atmospheric though and the summit is at the top of
a shear drop down, affording an aerial view down over the
end of Thirlmere reservoir. You can walk down a little to
stand near to the edge for the best view, but I wouldn't get
too close - it's a big drop down over the crag, about 500ft
or so. This is a climbers haunt when the peregrine falcons
are not nesting - usually from the start of April the
climbers leave this alone. I didn't hear any of them around
today, but that might be more due to my hearing. Up on the
top of Raven Crag it has the feel of a good look out post,
and there are stone walls that have been built around the
crag - maybe the remnants of a defensive barricade to anyone
heading up the hillside. It would link well with the old
fort at Castle Crag. Here there are some distinct ramparts -
defensive ditches on the east side, as the other sides are
covered by steep ground down to Shoulthwaite Gill. The only
other thing to note up here was the thickly planted
plantation conifers, whilst on the lower slopes the trees
are more mature and let in a modicum of daylight on the way
to the top. There isn't any warm up on this walk - it's
straight up and down without any variation. Not the best
Wainwright, but not the worst either. It all looks ok when
the sun shines.
Raven Crag
the start
of the upward ascent
it's a
steady haul up through the trees
nearing
the top
nearly in
the sunshine
looking
north to Skiddaw
across
the valley is the Helvellyn range
the summit of
Raven Crag
Helvellyn
across Thirlmere
looking
down over the edge to the car park
the view down
Thirlmere to the south
the north
view to Skiddaw and Blencathra
on top of
Castle Crag
back down
at the reservoir
Where now:
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