Date: 25-Feb-2010
Map: Landranger 89, 90, OL6
Weather: Overcast, with a little sun late
on.
From Burnthwaite B&B at Wasdale Head up
to Styhead, returning on the higher path :
4.3 miles as measured on memory map.
I was
meeting up with Paul and Dibble for a walk tomorrow, so I
drove up the night before hoping for a view of Wasdale - it
was more wishful thinking really, as the forecast was for
low cloud and it wasn't wrong. I hadn't been to Wasdale, and
there's always an anticipation of a walk in a new area,
although I have been up Scaffell Pike twice. It was also a
longer drive up to the western lakes but pleasant and easy
enough. I booked to stay at Burnthwaite Farm B&B at Wasdale
Head - very cheap and cheerful at £27 for a night. I had a
leisurely drive up and stopped for lunch at the Santon
Bridge Inn - that prepared me nicely for a journey into
Wasdale. I stopped frequently as I drove along to gaze at
the view ahead.
peaceful despite the murky grey
Great Gable is high up to the left
looking back along Lingmell Beck - a jumble of boulders
my first attempt at a fluffy waterfall shot
Lingmell is up to the left and Yewbarrow has some cloud cover
The first sight is breathtaking, almost
alpine on a small scale. The snow capped peaks couldn't be
seen as there was a uniform cloud base. After getting to the
B&B I decided to stretch the legs with a walk up to Styhead
alongside Lingmell Beck. I'd bought a new camera recently
and am still learning how best to use it, so I tried my hand
at a milky waterfall shot and it turned out not to shabby.
The snow had thawed from the lower slopes and the ground was
still frozen enough to keep my feet above water. There was a
flock of sheep bought down from the higher fells munching
turnips, and with only a month left until lambing the
Sheppard decided to keep them there. There were masses of
rounded boulders up the beck, a remnant of great glacial
outwash dumped as the glaciers retreated. There's been a few
shifting channels of water down here over the years, and
there's plenty of boulders for wall building, in fact
there's too many. I took a few shots of the waterfalls and
by rights I should have had a tri-pod, but the camera
allowed me a certain shake and compensated for it - I was
quite pleased with the results.
ahead to Styhead Tarn
the setting sun starts to illuminate the valley below
zoomed in on Yewbarrow
a warming sunset over Yewbarrow
It's a 2 mile plod up to Styhead flanked on one side by Lingmell and the Scafells,
and Kirk Fell and Great Gable on the other - the only
trouble being I couldn't see any of them. I got to Styhead
and luckily behind me the cloud had cleared from Yewbarrow
(tomorrows walk) and I was going to get some good sunset
shots. I tried various combinations and had a little
success. The return path traverses the lower slopes of Great
Gable and was really easy to stride down - 1 or 2 rocky
patches but generally made for a rapid descent. I could see
a headlight below along the road to the B&B and arrived back
as Paul parked up. That was good timing and we retired to
the Wasdale Inn for some nosh and refreshment. We vowed to
only have a couple of pints, but failed again - as it was
only 2 miles to the start of the walk we didn't really mind.
Obviously from Styhead you can either turn left for Gable or
right for the Scafells - not an easy choice.
Where now:
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