A Lancashire Inversion

The drive up the M6 and then over to Ingleton was largely in fog but it had mostly cleared by the time I had reached the layby just past the Hill Inn.  A look up to Ingleborough revealed only sparse snow cover so I decided to leave behind my ice-axe and crampons.

The start of the walk is a gentle stroll through fields until a path of flagstones and duckboards crossed the open moorland.  Although well-made, the flagged path was iced over because water had seeped over the edges and frozen.  To avoid the ice and inevitable injury I had to walk on the frozen vegetation on either side, somewhat negating the value of the work done to prevent erosion !

As I gained height, the lower slopes started to disappear under cloud with only the highest tops being seen clearly in the bright sunshine.  I reached the start of the steep final slope and started to regret leaving behind the crampons as the path was completely iced.

I had to take a lot of care to reach the top and passed a couple descending with some trepidation, the young lady deciding that the easiest way to get down was on her bottom.  I didn’t feel that an ice-axe was needed as my poles helped my stability but if I had brought my crampons I would have put them on; the path was treacherous.

Pen-y-ghent

Whernside

At the plateau I turned toward the summit of Ingleborough which was just an easy stroll away.  The hills to the east could be clearly seen with Pen-y-ghent prominent.  Whernside poked out above the clouds and both the Scafell and Helvellyn ranges in the Lake District were easily identifiable.  But to the south, Lancashire was completely covered in cloud making it the most extensive inversion I’ve ever seen.

the Lake District

I was pleasantly surprised to find a topograph mounted on the pillar at the centre of the cruciform shelter.  I had not seen this on my previous visit and speaking to a friend about it later revealed that he didn’t know about it either, despite more than one visit to the summit.  Such is the advantage of always visiting the highest point !

The walk to the top of Simon Fell was a simple jaunt and I was soon needing to make a decision about where to descend of the plateau to avoid the ascent path.  I picked a point a few hundred yards east of the icy path and easily made my way down to Humphrey Bottom and onto the flags and duckboards once again.

Simon Fell from Ingleborough

Ingleborough from Simon Fell

Wainwrights and other lists

I’ve been bagging Wainwrights for almost 30 years and for most of that time I’ve been aware of the existence of “book 8” – the Outlying Fells.  Most Wainwright baggers are satisfied to complete all of the 214 fells listed in the classic seven books, but I’ve always felt that by including the Outlying Fells, the round is “more” complete.

So for the last few years I’ve been working my way through book 8 and am now at a point where I only have one “regular” Wainwright and one Outlying Fell to tick.  I’ll be completing both lists on the same day later in the year; the Outlying Fells in the morning and the Wainwrights in the afternoon.

There are also a couple of lesser known lists that have a lot of summits in common with the Wainwrights.

The FRCC 244 are the fells contained in the Fell & Rock Climbing Club’s “The Lakeland Fells”, published in 1996.  It’s not a surprise that there are 244 of them !

Another list is the “Fellrangers”.  I’ve attributed this name to the fells listed in Mark Richards’ 8 volumes of Lakeland Fellranger guidebooks published by Cicerone.  There are 227 of these, 228 if The Nab is included as a separate fell.

Because of the overlap across the lists, anybody who is close to the end of their Wainwright round will be close to the end of the FRCC 244 and the Fellrangers – particularly if the Outlying Fells have been getting ticked along the way.  My final Wainwright is also a FRCC 244 and a Fellranger, so, with a bit of judicious planning I can complete three lists on one fell.  Which is exactly what I will do.

There are a couple of non-Wainwright summits that I need to tick this summer to enable this and I’m looking forward to walking over some new terrain and some areas I haven’t been to in a long time.

Focussed bagging doesn’t really allow for time to revisit old favourites !  I’m looking forward to completing so that I can try some new routes on some old favourites like the Scafell, Great Gable and the Dodds.

A Greendale Variation and Eskdale Fell

When ticking a hill list, it’s probable that as you near completion, the remaining summits are likely to be clustered in less accessible areas.  As I’ve been getting ever nearer to completing the Wainwrights and Outlying Fells, the summits that I’ve been ticking have been predominantly in the west of the Lake District.  Today was no different.

Greendale is an ideal starting point for Wainwrights of west Wasdale with paths leading uphill alongside Greendale Gill.  Middle Fell was the day’s first summit and is an excellent viewpoint for the Scafell massif which dominates the view.

Scafell Massif

I walked north to the Seatallan col, just above Greendale Tarn, with the summit of what is to be my final Wainwright looming tantalisingly close.  But that one is for another day.  An easy traverse in the sun led to the elegant cairn built by Wasdale's fellrunning legend - Joss Naylor.  It’s not an obvious viewpoint, although the views are quite good, but the slender cairn is deceptively solid.  Buckbarrow’s summit was only a short stroll away.

The recognised summit of Buckbarrow is set back from the cliffs that drop down towards Greendale.  But a walk to the top of Bull Crag reveals a superb view of the Wastwater screes that tumble into the lake from Illgill Head and Whin Rigg.  Also in stark view is the gully that descends between Bull Crag and Pike Crag.

Wastwater Screes

For a bit of adventure I decided to descend the gully.  It is steep and loose and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it as a way up.

Buckbarrow descent gully

A quick drive into neighbouring Eskdale led me to the Dalegarth railway station car park.  I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I last walked in this valley (possibly 25 years !) but the sunshine accentuated its grandeur and it deserves some future visits.

I walked past the Boot Inn and up the track towards Gill Bank, passing an impressively solitary scots pine.  There was no clearly defined path on to Whinscales or even further towards Great How.  The flank of Scafell and the white summit of Slight Side dominated the walk ahead and the vista towards Harter Fell, over Stony Tarn and Eel Tarn, lent an air of wilderness.  For isolation that is easily accessed, there aren’t many better places in the district.

I descended to and crossed Lambford Bridge over Whillan Beck leading to my final summit of the day, Boat How.  The walk from the bridge was easy with the top being an unusual viewpoint for Kirk Fell and Great Gable to the north.

Kirk Fell and Great Gable

The early evening walk back to Boot was as pleasant as any I’ve done in the last few years.  Probably enhanced by the knowledge that this day had brought me to within one easy day of completing the Wainwrights and the Outlying Fells with only one of each left

Roll on August Bank Holiday Monday !