
A mini holiday and an opportunity to see my dad and walk some mountains.
I spent the night before planning the route from Buttermere, to High Crag and then across to Fleetwith Pike and back again. My dad reckoned it was a 5 hour journey....
Not by my measurements. The distance alone with an average walking speed of 2-3km (to account for my partner's lack of mountain walking experience) would make it a 6 hour journey bare minimum.
We parked up in Buttermere at GR:172,173 around 08:50am, and headed south for 1.15km, following a bridleway to the north western corner of Buttermere. The water levels were a lot higher than anticipated, due to the rain. This was evident when crossing the the footbridge.
We headed south east, along the southern shore for 1.91km to find our path up to Haystacks. This path from the shore to the junction for Haystacks was long, roughly 1.45km and ascending 477metres. About a quarter of the way up, my dad wasn't having a great time due to fitness levels, so decided to head back to the car. Which was unfortunate, but I sent him a photo of our route on the map, the route card and when to expect us off the mountain and carried on.
As we ascended the visibility dropped and the terrain got rough, passing High Wax Knott and up the Scrath Gap Pass. Once we made our junction(GR:189,133) we headed East to the summit of Haystacks, which was a bit of a scramble. Whilst pleasant for me, my partner wasn't confident. So I guided her through the scramble, giving coaching advice and making sure she was spotted where necessary. In hindsight a confidence rope would have been useful here.
Once on the summit of Haystacks, the visibility was patchy as the winds whipped the rain clouds over the mountains. We briefly got a look at Fleetwith Pike before it disappeared again. We headed south east, past Innominate Tarn, which had broke it banks and flooded the path. It was 2km from the summit to our river crossing at GR:209,134. We passed some hikers coming from the crossing who had warned us that the water levels were a lot higher than usual and that they had to take off their boots to cross.
We got there and indeed the levels were up. So I got myself and my partner to strap on our alpine gaters nice and tighter over our boots and Waterproofs. I then entered the water and guided my partner over the submerged stepping stones. The use of a walking pole was needed there to ensure I didn't drop into a hole under water. We stopped for lunch once on the other side. What should have taken about 3hrs 20 minutes, actually took us closer to 4 hours.
After lunch, we started making our way up the path, just west of the Hopper Quarry. But the rough and soft terrain was taxing, tough going underfoot. Long with the ascent, made it unbearable for my partner. The visibility had improved by this point and I could see the summit. We discussed our options and how my partner was feeling.
I was confident that I could make the summit in 15 minutes. But concerned as the number one rule is never split up and go solo I.e. leave someone behind. She was adamant that she didn't want me to miss out. So I put her in my emergency group shelter with a stove so she could have a cup of tea and I could easily keep an eye on her location. I left her at GR:206,141, about 250-300metres from the summit and ran to the summit... not easy to do in B1 boots.
Once summited I ran back down, though this wasn't such a good idea as it wore heavy on my knee with the heavy impacts of my boots on the ground. We were reunited within about 20 minutes.
After packing up, we back tracked back down to the bridleway at GR:212, 137 and the followed it down the mountain, heading west. The weather broke at this point and visibility had improved to a clear day.
The bridleway was submerged in a small stream that made walking slow and ardourous. The rocks were wet and the cold and fatigue were starting to set in for my partner. She took a slip and we took a moment to assess her injuries. Nothing broken, a suspected bruised coxics. I gave her both walking poles, pain killers and we slowed the pace.
The plan was to get to Gatesgarth Cottage and then head around Buttermere again, but by the time we had descended, we were behind on time and I wanted to get my partner back as soon as possible. We stopped for ice cream as a sugar boost for her, then followed the road to Kirk Close copse (GR:187, 159) then re picked up the lakeside path as it was flatter. We hadn't used the path from the beginning due to the elevated water levels. The path was flooded in one section when we rejoined it, but it quickly rose above the water level and was much easier underfoot than the road.
We eventually made it back to Buttermere and found a cafe, where copious cups of tea and cake were consumed as we consoled ourselves with the experiences of the day.
Total walking time was 7 hours, 19 minutes.
In hindsight, this wasn't the route for our day one hike. For me, fine. But for my partner, we should have saved this for later in the week, after she had acclimatised to the terrain.
Area :
North Western Fells
Essentially this area is encompassed by Lakes of Bassenthwaite, Derwent Water, Buttermere and Crummock Water with the southern boundary being the Honister Pass