Blencathra Trip

Towards the end of September 2010 I climbed Blencathra, nr Keswick in The Lake District.
This pic was found on Google image search as I forgot to set the scene. All other images are from the trip.

Blencathra has a special significance to me for a number of reasons. My Dad lived and worked in a hospital on the side of Blease Fell when he first left home. Blencathra dominates the A66 coming in to Keswick from Newcastle, and I have often looked up at it in awe. I have attempted to climb the mountain before, but the weather intervened.

The route we took was a circular walk from Threlkeld, up Halls Fell, across the summit heading west to Blease Fell. While on the summit we took an excursion over to the top of Sharp Edge to look at Scales Tarn.
Halls Fell is a rocky ridge which leads directly to the summit of Blencathra. It narrows as you climb, and becomes a bit scrambly.

We parked at Threlkeld and after a pleasant stroll through a wooded valley and across fields and streams we reached the bottom of the fell. The lower slopes were smooth and steep, but the wind was gusty, and there were threatening clouds coming from the west. We could see rain on Skiddaw. As we climbed the ground became rockier, and the ridge narrowed.

Fortunately the winds dropped, and the threatened rain did not arrive. Doubly fortunate, as our route-finding was awful as we tried to avoid the difficulties, and in so doing created larger problems of our own.

I was resorting to using my buff to keep the wind out of my ears – hence the “bad hat”. In the above picture I’d just had a foothold collapse, and pulled a handhold clean off the rock. This is why I have the look of concern.

The views back across towards the Dodds, Helvellyn range, Keswick and Derwent water were superb.

The descent over Blease Fell had great views over the back of Skiddaw and the crags on the eastern side. The views across Keswick and Derwent Water continued to impress, but the route was simply an extremely steep drop down a grassy ramp. I fell a number of times, and was glad to get back onto the flat.

We had made a decision in planning that we would stop overnight in a “Camping Pod” at the NT campsite at Low Wray. This was christened “The hobbit hole”.

The hut was great – clean, dry, etc – but I suffered LiLo failure before midnight. The heavens opened shortly afterwards, and this, combined with the noise of the geese, did not make for a restful night.

Not sure what the best solution is for this type of expedition – drive back shattered, or try something like a Youth Hostel next time.