Three peaks stand in line above Wasdale, and in the middle stands Scafell Pike – Cumberland’s county top and the highest in the Lake District and in England.
It is a long haul up, but yesterday was the ideal day for it – dry, clear and still. It was a contrast to the first day I appeared in Wasdale, when I was told bluntly by the National Trust staff not to attempt it – and they were right. Yesterday I passed by the glass-like, beautiful lake beneath the Screes, where canoes were being carried to the water – the previous time (Sunday) a lone paddleboarder was looking uncertain, while wild winds washed Wastwater with white-water waves.
The path from the National Trust car park is a clearly laid track, frequented by many feet, so on a clear day even out of season you will never be alone, and the nervous, inexperienced walkers may appreciate cheery encouragement. It is an unrelenting, steeply climbing path all the way and you can think that the pain and exhaustion will not let you go any further – but it will. Once you achieve the top, all that exhaustion goes away.
I watched a few pairs and couples pausing in panic where you wade through the Gill at one point, but they soon find it is nothing – if you have the right boots or at least the right attitude. And so it climbs, apparently endlessly.
Actually, you cannot see the top until you approach the looming crag – then it is a haul up (hands and knees if you must for that bit, though you should just be able to walk, as if up randomly placed steep stairs.. Then round the crag, the top is in sight.
I did not want to leave. I was bathed in sunshine, and surrounded by good company (I was climbing alone but, as I said, you are never alone) and the views were awe-inspiring. From there the mountains of the massif and others of the Lake District rise in an endless parade. Below is Wastwater, glimmering. Further off the Duddon Estuary appears.
I showed the Cumberland flag – this is the county top, after all – then descended, far faster than the climb, and meeting many groups then coming up, giving encouragement and occasionally showing then were they were on the map.
Another fell done, and happily done.
Route map
Maps
- Lake District – Pathfinder walks guidebook: Ordnance Survey
- Explorer maps (1:25 000): Lake District Map Set, including:
- OS Explorer OL04: The English Lakes: North-Western Area (incl Skiddaw and Keswick)
- OS Explorer OL05: The English Lakes: North-Eastern Area (incl Helvellyn and Ullswater)
- OS Explorer OL06: The English Lakes: South-Western Area (incl Scafell and Coniston)
- OS Explorer OL07: The English Lakes: South-Eastern Area (incl Windermere)
- Landranger maps (1:50 000):